Late salads

Summer is over now, and Autumn is here, but there are still some occasions on which salad seems like the most appropriate food. On Monday, for instance, we ate a Butternut Squash risotto, for which salad was the perfect accompaniment. Fortunately, I was able to muster some - home-grown lettuce and tomatoes.

Monday's lettuce.

That lettuce was sown so long ago I've forgotten what variety it was! Maybe it was a "Webb's Wonderful"?

I have about a dozen more lettuces on the go, although they are still fairly small and I'm not sure they will come to much.

It won't be long before we can eat the first Endives - probably my favourite salad ingredient - I just need the frost to stay away a bit longer.

On Monday I dug out my bell cloches, which have been submerged under piles of other stuff in the garage since the Spring, because I think it won't be long before they are needed. Most varieties of Endive will survive a little frost, but not much.

Radicchio is hardier. I have about two dozen plants in various places around the garden, many of them getting big and looking strong now.

As the weather gets cooler, the Radicchio will change colour from green to red, and the plants will form dense hearts.

Even if I didn't want to eat the Radicchio, I would probably want to grow it just for its ornamental value, since it's very picturesque.

The recent advent of my new cold-frame will add another (vertical) dimension to my Winter salad opportunities.

It may be too late for this year, given other commitments, but I reckon this piece of kit will be ideal for growing some trays of Baby Leaf Salad.