Grow sweet and crunchy baby leaf salad greens or full-sized heads — just space to suit the purpose. This blend can be harvested at the baby leaf stage, mid-head, or full-head size without losing any of its characteristics. This blend of two green and two red Eazyleaf lettuces grows a diversity of shapes and textures for an interesting and tasty salad.
The Eazyleaf® series of lettuces are bred to yield a high count of leaves of uniform shape and size ready for salads, with one cut. Plant at 15-20cm (6-8″) spacing to harvest the full head just above the root and make your final cut for salad leaves just before using. Or plant heads at 10-15cm (4-6″) spacing and cut in the field just above the growing tip for a harvest of loose leaves ready to eat as a salad. Leaves will grow back for multiple harvests. Matures in 40-50 days.
Timing: Seed every three weeks from just before the last frost date until the end of summer for a continuous harvest. Provide frost protection with a cloche or heavy row cover when frost looms in the fall. Many mesclun types and mixes will continue to grow all winter where winters are mild.
Starting: Plant in a block or in a wide row. Sprinkle the seeds evenly over prepared, moist soil. Try to space seeds about 1cm (½”) apart. Cover lightly with soil, and firm them in. Four grams of seed will plant a 12m (40′) row that is 7cm (3″) wide, so don’t plant the whole packet at once. For container growing, choose containers that are at least 10cm (4″) deep. Wider is better. The most common mistake is over-planting.
Growing: Moderately fertile soil – particularly if you’re planning multiple harvests. Dig in 1 cup of complete organic fertilizer for every 3m (10′) of row. For containers, use peat or coir based mix with compost added. Water regularly. If growth slows after harvest, use a bit of kelp or fish based fertilizer to provide a boost of nutrition for the next growth spurt.
Harvest: There are two methods of gathering salad greens. You can use scissors to cut everything about 2-5cm (1-2″) from the ground, when the plants are about 10-15cm (3-4″) tall. Or, you can pick individual leaves as they’re needed. The first cutting may contain more brassicas than lettuces (arugula, mizuna) but if you cut the mix back when the leaves are still small, the lettuce will catch up. The salad greens will regrow for a second harvest in another 2 or 3 weeks.
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