Last weekend I sowed several more salad varieties:
I sowed three different types of lettuce:- "Fristina", a curly green one; "Delicato", a red oak-leaf type; and "Valdor", a large green Butterhead type. "Valdor" is often sown as a Winter lettuce on account of its tolerance of cold wet conditions. It should be ideal for an English summer then!! I'm sowing it because it is one of the varieties sent to me for trialling by The London Herb Garden, but I received it last Autumn when it was too late to sow.
I also sowed two types of Endive:- "Pancalieri" and "Grosse Pommant Seule". These are varieties specially suited for spring sowing. With Endives you really do need to sow at the right time. If you sow an "Autumn sowing" variety in the Spring it will probably bolt before it matures.
The mixed salad seeds that I sowed in that big green plastic crate are germinating now, so I have moved the crate out from the garage into full daylight. The first seeds to germinate were the aptly-named Rocket.
The Wild Garlic that I brought from my MIL's house last year is growing vigorously.
I didn't think it would be very happy in that plastic tub for much longer, so I have transplanted it to the border.
The unsightly sticks are a very necessary anti-fox measure. I hope the garlic will spread rapidly - hopefully next year I will be able to harvest a crop from it.
Lurking in the centre of the clump you can see the first flower-bud coming up.
In the area where I have put the garlic there are also a couple of clumps of Snakeshead Fritillaries.
Not as many as I would like. I was hoping that they would make themselves at home and spread out, but there are fewer of them than I had last year, and individually they look quite thin. Maybe next year...?
I've had snakeshead fritillaries for a few years but they've never bulked out. They're lovely plants though so I might buy some more to add to the few I've already got.
ReplyDeleteI haven't got any fritillaries (yet), I do have some seed though in my seed box. Well done on your lettuce sowing, apart from the mixed salad leaves I haven't sown any single varieties yet, I must pop off to the greenhouse.
ReplyDeleteSo is it now domesticated wild garlic. Lots of flowers featuring recently - have we a convert?
ReplyDeleteMy wild garlic has recently come out! I was more than happy to see it. I took two leaves and ate them on the spot! Now, I'm waiting for the flowers!
ReplyDeletelets hope the foxes don't like garlic,my fritillaries self seed all over the place,I am very sandy so maybe that is what they prefer
ReplyDeleteI wonder if your wild garlic is something that we call ramps. I think it might be the leaves look very similar.
ReplyDeleteAnother name for it here is Ramsons, which probably comes fron the same liguistic roots as Ramps.
DeleteI believe you are correct Daphne, They sure look like ramps, We're some weeks way before we can forage in Illinois.
ReplyDeleteVery healthy wild garlic leaves. Would love to see the lettuce in your future posts!
ReplyDelete