How to grow leafy greens and salads?
Growing your own honest leafy greens in the garden or in a growbox when summer arrives has plenty of advantages for every grower. Growing leafy greens is not at all difficult and takes less time than growing agricultural crops. It is therefore an ideal way to try uncomplicated gardening in practice for the first time and immediately benefit from it, whether on the plate, or rather in the salad bowl, or later in the form of health benefits. In short, it is high time to remind ourselves not only of the reasons, but also of the basic prerequisites for a successful harvest of leafy greens. Read on to find out how to easily grow a juicy vitamin bomb this year.
What are the specifics of growing leafy greens?
- Leafy greens in general, because this term covers a great many species, of which we will name at least the healthiest a little further below, represent a rich natural cocktail for the human body, packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. It would therefore be a shame not to use quality organic fertilisers, which will help you achieve a fresh harvest in harmony with nature and with regard for the environment. The result is a purely natural composition without a trace of chemicals and an intense, authentic flavour. Are you interested in the best biological fertilisers? Try, for example, the 100% natural fertilisers from BIOCANNA. There is no single definitive answer to this question, but the following articles will certainly give you a good starting point:
Our TIP: Value sets for the first harvest are the best way to get to know plant nutrition from a specific manufacturer during one growing cycle. Here are a few examples:
- BioCanna Starter Kit
- BioNova Hobby pack Veganics
- Organics Nutrients Starter Kit
- BioBizz Starters Pack
- Given that in the vast majority of cases only the leaves are harvested, you will save a great deal of time as a grower, because unlike other types, leafy greens do not require you to wait for the fruits to ripen.
- Leafy greens need regular, nourishing watering, directed away from the leaves themselves and the hearts. A generous watering means water in which quality fertilisers have been dissolved in sufficient concentration. Not too much water. Water leafy greens more often, but with smaller amounts of water. In addition to regular watering and sufficiently fertilised soil, leafy greens place no other special demands on the grower, which is why we indicated right at the beginning of this article that it is a great opportunity to start growing. Leafy greens are made for beginners!
- Thanks to the short growing cycle, you do not even need a greenhouse. Leafy greens prefer cooler air. Some species can even be grown year-round. If possible, plant leafy greens in partial shade and avoid soil that is too acidic. If you want to be sure, you can use tools for measuring pH.
- The edible part of leafy greens is the leaves, or sometimes the stems, which are most often eaten raw. In this form they contain the most beneficial substances, which brings us back again to the importance of a harvest in BIO quality.
- All types of leafy greens are characterised by a very low calorie content, which is why they are often the basis of a weight-loss diet, for example in the form of fresh salads.
- To avoid making it sound too rosy for beginner growers, leafy greens grown outdoor, that is, outside under the open sky, often face invasions of all kinds of pests. To stop slugs, for example, from nibbling the leaves before you do, we recommend the proven natural pest spray Canna CURE. You can also read a separate article: How do you deal with pests?
- Effective bio protection against pests and diseases is certainly in order. It is not only about pests. It will also help you prevent fungal diseases, which most often attack plant leaves. As part of prevention, in addition to suitable preparations, sufficient spacing between individual plants in the bed is also important.
- As we have already explained, leafy greens have the advantage that you do not have to wait for the fruits to ripen. Therefore, it is not too late to plant them even in summer. Seedling germination and cutting rooting will be made easier by propagators, a plastic greenhouse and also a propagation substrate, designed directly for successful sowing and cutting propagation. When planting leafy greens, the most important thing is that the hearts of the plants are above soil level.
