Salad Leaves

The salad leaves in my raised bed are a little sad, flattened by the snow and cold snap before Christmas. However, what I miss most is being able to pick a little flat-leaved Parsley to chop up and sprinkle on winter stews or vegetables. It too has rotted, but I have been blessed with a population of healthy self seeded parsley plants that are growing through the cracks in my patio. They are healthy, untouched by the cold/wet and actively growing. I have to learn from this that I need to add more drainage, in the form of grit if I am to succeed in growing salad leaves and herbs successfully through the winter. The alpine strawberries that have also self seeded on my patio are also the strongest in my garden.

For many plants to thrive through the winters we have experienced recently, they must have free draining soil to ensure their roots do not freeze when waterlogged. This is especially true of silver leaved plants such as Lavender, Cistus and Helianthemum and those plants that have aromatic leaves- Rosemary, Curry Plant and Geraniums.  All are native to warmer climes where winters are as cold as ours but not as wet.

So, as you prune back or replace any winter damaged plants this spring be sure to give them the best start and treat them to a extra bit of grit for long term success.