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encyclopedia of salad greens

The following detailed list of green vegetables gives the particulars for growing a lifetime’s worth of salads. For more detailed information on soil preparation, mulching, fertilizing, composting, and pests and diseases, see Appendixes A and B (pages 92-103). Many can be grown as baby greens and harvested in the cut-and-come-again method—and those I have so noted. See the Andrea Crawford interview (page 10) for more information on this method of growing and harvesting baby greens. Of course, most of these greens can also be cooked, but the “How to Prepare” instructions here focus on using them raw in salads.

There are many hundreds of salad greens. For this section I have chosen my favorites. The encyclopedia entries include the Latin plant names so that you can identify plants properly. Some of the species and varieties are quite popular and will be readily available, many, however, are only available through specialty mail-order houses. I have listed the seed companies that carry the largest selections of greens in the Resources section on page 104. You will need to obtain at least three or four catalogs to get the best selection of greens.

Amaranth ‘Sensation’

AMARANTH

Amamnthus hypochondriacus, A. tricolor

Amaranth leaves can be green, red, cream, or a combination of all three, depending on the variety. The young shoots and leaves are tender and mild enough to eat raw in salads. From the land of the Incas, this nutritious green has traveled a bit: in Africa and the Caribbean it is known as callaloo, and in China a leaf type called Chinese spinach is grown. Amaranth is one of the few salad greens that glories in warm weather. Young leaves from the leaf-type varieties can be used as a substitute for spinach.

How to grow: Start amaranth seedlings after all danger of frost has passed. Plant seeds ⅛ inch deep, 4 inches apart in full sun and in rich, well-drained soil, and keep the bed fairly moist. Thin the plants to 1 foot and mulch to preserve moisture and prevent weeds. Generally, amaranth seeds and seedlings grow with great enthusiasm. The leaf types grow to 2 feet, some of the showy varieties to 3 feet. If cucumber beetles or other chewing insects are a problem, protect the plants with floating (polyester) row covers. Harvest the tender leaves when they are quite young.

Varieties

‘Burgundy’: 105 days, spectacular reddish purple plants to 8 feet tall, grain type

‘Green Leaf Vegetable Amaranth’: 50 days, oval green leaves, 18 inches tall, leaf type, the best for salads

‘Joseph’s-Coat’: a tricolor variety (red, cream, and green leaves), spectacular plants, leaf type, great as a garnish

‘Merah’: 80 days, crinkled bicolored green-and-red leaves, leaf type

‘Puteh’: 80 days, light green leaves, 18 inches tall, mild flavor, leaf type

‘Red Leaf Vegetable Amaranth’: 50 days, bicolored green-and-red leaves, 18 inches tall, leaf type

How to prepare: Select young, tender leaves and use them raw in salads or as spectacular garnishes.

A leaf-type Oriental amaranth

Arugula grown as a cut-and-come-again crop.

ARUGULA

(rocket, roquette)

Eruca vesicaria (E. sativa, Arugula sativa)

RUSTIC ARUGULA

(wild arugula, rucola)

E. selvatica (Diplotaxis tenuifolia)

Arugula leaves are lobed, pungent, and nutty; they taste a bit like horseradish. The most common arugula is the domesticated one. However, there is another, usually called rustic arugula, that is perennial and has a more intense flavor.

How to grow: The standard arugula is grown in cool weather in early spring and again in the fall. The plants are short-lived; they get quite spicy and bolt in hot weather. Rustic arugula is a tender perennial that if started in spring and kept cut back, grows throughout the summer and fall and will winter over in mild-winter areas. Common arugula is planted in the fall for a winter harvest in these same mild climates. Broadcast seeds of both types over rich soil in a sunny area of the garden and lightly cover the seeds with soil, or plant them in flats and transplant the seedlings out into the garden. In the fall in cold climates, plant common arugula in a cold frame or greenhouse for winter salads. For succulent growth, keep arugula well watered and fertilize lightly. Both arugulas have few pest and disease problems. Harvest individual leaves or cut back the plant and leave a few inches of growth for a cut-and-come-again crop. Common arugula comes back more quickly than rustic does. Arugula flowers attract beneficial insects, so I usually keep some going for much of the spring. If allowed to go to seed, both arugulas reseed readily in your garden.

Varieties

Arugula: 40 days, lobed green leaves, plants grow to 1 foot tall, white flowers

Wild rustic arugula (Italian wild arugula, ‘Sylvetta’): 55 days, finely cut leaves, plants grow to 8 inches, yellow flowers

How to prepare: When they’re only 2 or 3 inches tall and very mild, arugula leaves can be used in fairly large amounts to add a peppery and nutty flavor to a salad. Combine them with other assertive greens, especially the fall and winter ones such as cresses, mustards, or chicories, and complement them with strong cheeses, meats, and fruits. Later, as the leaves become much more pungent, use arugula as an herb in a mixed salad, dressing, or main course. Good companions are anchovies, duck breast, chicken livers, capers, olives, and fruity olive oils—in other words think “gusto.” Long after the leaves become too strong, the flowers are great in salads or as a garnish.

CABBAGE and CHINESE CABBAGE

Brassica oleracea, var. capitata, and B. rapa, var. Pekinensis

I find the cabbages to be quite splendid in all their variety. The puckery Savoy types with their handsome crinkled leaves and rich texture are real eye-catchers, as are the red and purple ball-like smooth cabbages. Then there are the Chinese cabbages, which are tall and stately and have a milder flavor and a more tender leaf than their cousins. The ornamental cabbages, which look like giant reclining peonies, are spectacular: their foliage is crinkled and comes in shades from pink to purple.

How to grow: Cabbages are best grown as cool-season annuals and will bolt and go to seed in extremely hot weather. In cold climates cabbage is started in early spring or early summer, depending on the variety. In the South and warm-winter parts of the West, it is started in late winter or midsummer. The colorful flowering cabbages prefer a frost or cool nights to turn their deepest purple, so they are best planted in summer for a fall display. Cabbages need full sun, although they prefer light shade in hot climates. Plant seeds ¼ inch deep, 4 inches apart in rows. (Cabbage seed does not germinate well in cold temperatures.) Or buy small plants at a local nursery, or start seeds indoors about eight weeks before your last average frost date. Transplant your seedlings out into the garden in rich soil about two weeks before the last average frost date. Seeds or plants can also be planted in midsummer for a fall crop. Space small varieties 12 inches apart, and larger ones 24 inches apart, in rows spaced no closer than 2½ feet. When transplanting cabbages, place them lower in the soil than you would most transplants—up to their first set of true leaves (the first leaves after the seed leaves). As these plants tend to be top-heavy, planting them too high results in plants that are not sturdy enough to support their interior weight as they develop. Chinese cabbages do not transplant well, tending to bolt if disturbed. As they grow best in fall, you should probably start them from seeds planted directly in the garden in midsummer so they can mature in the cool weather. Cabbages are heavy feeders and need soil that contains a good deal of organic matter; in addition, add a balanced organic fertilizer: 1 cup worked into the soil around each plant at planting time. Cabbages need regular and even watering. They seem to grow best where the soil has the capacity to hold on to the large amounts of moisture they require for the development of firm heads. Mulching helps retain this necessary moisture. The biggest problem in growing cabbage is keeping ahead of the pests, and the Chinese types seem to get more than their share. The white cabbage butterfly has flitted its way across the entire continent, and its green caterpillar offspring chew on cabbages all season long. As soon as the plants are in the garden, prevent the butterfly from laying eggs by covering your cabbages with floating row covers. If you get a severe infestation, the pesticide Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) controls the caterpillars very effectively, but it also can kill all other types of butterflies (as any kind of caterpillar eating the Bt would be affected). Instead, I usually pick the eggs off the underside of the foliage, where the butterfly deposits them every few days. These eggs are cream-colored and about the size of a large pinhead. Cabbage root fly is another troublesome pest. You can use floating row covers to prevent the fly from laying her eggs on your plants, or you can prevent the larvae (maggots) from entering the soil by placing a 12-inch square of tar paper or black plastic directly over the roots of the plant. To do so, cut a slit about 6 inches long from one edge directly to the middle of the square and then slip it around the plant. Cutworms often attack young cabbage plants. A good preventive measure is to place a collar of cardboard around each seedling. Club root is a serious fungus disease of the cabbage family, as are black rot and aster yellows. Good garden hygiene is your best prevention here. Buy disease-free plants and do not accept plants from friends who have had the problem. Rotate members of the cabbage family with other vegetable families so that they do not grow in the same area for more than one year. And pull up all cabbage family weeds; mustard and shepherd’s purse are the most common. Harvest head cabbages anytime after they have started to head up well and before they become so large that they split. Mature cabbages can take temperatures as low as 20°F, so do not rush to harvest all of them before a frost. The Savoy types are the most hardy. If a hard freeze is expected, harvest all the cabbages and store them in a cool place, stacking them in straw if possible.

Ornamental cabbage and the edible ‘Alaska’ nasturtiums make good bed mates in a fall garden.

Savoy cabbage

‘O-S Cross’ giant cabbage

Varieties

There are many different types of cabbages: red-leafed ones; Savoy types with their crinkly leaves; diminutive varieties suitable for one meal; Chinese cabbages, both the tight cylindrical heads called Napa cabbages and the looser-growing ones that look like romaine lettuce, referred to as lettuce types; and the multicolored flowering cabbages. For planting in early spring, choose early and midseason varieties of standard and Savoy cabbages; for fall crops and winter storage, choose midseason, Chinese, and ornamental varieties. Also look for varieties that are resistant to some of the cabbage diseases.

Chinese Cabbages

‘Blues’: 50 days, hybrid Napa-type Chinese cabbage, bolt- and disease-resistant

‘Lettucy Type’: 45 days, thin tender leaves, tall open-top Chinese cabbage

‘Market Prize’: 70 days, light green crinkled leaves, Napa-style, cylindrical heads

Ornamental Cabbages

‘Tokyo Mix’: 60 days; mix of white-, pink-, and red-centered ornamental cabbages, very cold-tolerant

Savoy Cabbages

‘Chieftain’: 83 days, well-savoyed 4- to 5-pound heads, mild taste great for slaw, stands in garden well without splitting

‘Julius’: 75 days, blue-green savoyed round heads, 4 to 5 pounds

‘Savoy Ace’: 80 days, hybrid, good quality, almost round, up to 412 pounds, highly resistant to fusarium wilt and insect damage

Standard and Red Cabbages

‘Columbia’: 73 days; midseason; round 3- to 5-pound, blue-green heads; resistant to fusarium wilt

‘Dynamo’: 70 days, hybrid, one-meal-size, 212-pound green heads that resist splitting, plant spring and again in fall, resistant to fusarium wilt

‘Early Jersey Wakefield’: 63 days, green heading type with pointed head, longtime favorite, resistant to fusarium wilt, fine flavor

‘Green Glitter’: 80 days, hybrid, dark green 312-pound heads, holds up well in the garden for winter harvest

‘Red Express’: 63 days, early, round red compact heads up to 4 pounds, split-resistant

‘Ruby Perfection’: 80 days, popular round red cabbage

How to prepare: The taste of all types of cabbages is similar. The Chinese and young Savoy cabbages are among the mildest-flavored of the group and the most versatile for mixed green salads. Heading cabbages are great for coleslaw. The Oriental cabbages are great alone or mixed with other Oriental greens with dressings containing rice wine vinegar, grated ginger, and sesame oil. In Mexico, cabbages are often used in all types of salads, and in the Southwest they are used in a classic taco salad. Red cabbage and flowering cabbage add color and texture to mixed salads.

Chard with stems of many colors

CHARD

(Swiss chard, leaf chard)

Beta vulgaris var. cicla

Chard is a close cousin of the beet and a mild-flavored green that tolerates a lot more heat than most salad greens. There are two types, stem or Swiss chard with its wide crunchy and sometimes colorful ribs and large leaves, and another less well-known type, variously called leaf chard, leaf beet, or perpetual spinach, which looks more like a light green tall spinach. Both have their place in salads.

How to grow: Start both chard types in early spring in hot-summer areas and through late spring in mild-summer areas. Gardeners in areas where winters have but a few frosts can plant them in spring, and if the weather’s not too hot, the plants will produce until the next spring when they finally go to seed. In these areas chard may also be planted in late summer for fall and winter crops. Swiss chard grows upright and straight, even to 4 feet tall when it bolts. Its strong supporting midribs can be white, pink, cherry red, orange, coral, or yellow, and its deep green leaves are usually ruffled and rich-looking. They are one of the most spectacular vegetables you can grow. These colorful chards look handsome when planted with other greens or edible flowers that complement their colors.

Plant chard seeds ¼ to ½ inch deep in full sun, in neutral soil with lots of added organic matter. Chard seeds are actually fruits containing four to eight seeds, so plant them 4 to 6 inches apart, then thin them to a foot apart. When you plant the colored mixes, because they are predominately red and white, seed a full flat and wait until the plants are 4 inches tall to select out yellows and oranges. For tender succulent leaves, keep plants well watered but not soggy. Mulch with a few inches of organic matter to inhibit weeds and preserve moisture, and add organic matter to the soil. When plants are about six weeks old, fertilize them with ½ cup of balanced organic fertilizer for every 5 feet of row. A few pests and diseases bother chard, namely slugs, snails (especially when chard is young), and leaf miners, a fly larvae. Leaf miners tunnel through chard leaves in early summer in northern climates and all spring and most of the summer in the West, disfiguring leaves by causing patches of dead tissue where they feed. To harvest chard, remove the outside leaves at the base so tender new leaves can keep coming throughout the season.

Varieties

There are numerous varieties of chard: many are from France and Italy; others are old American favorites. The leaf chard is often listed in the spinach section of a seed catalog, not with the chard.

‘Argentata’: 55 days, a large Italian green-and-white heirloom chard, plants are widely adapted and among the most cold-tolerant

‘Bright Lights’: 60 days, a large chard with colorful midribs of yellow, orange, red, pink, coral, cream, and white, with some streaked plants in the mix. This variety was selected to have a higher proportion of yellow and orange plants than usual in mixes

‘Five-Color Silver Beet’: a large chard with colorful midribs of yellow, orange, red, pink, cream, and white, with some streaked plants in the mix

‘Fordhook Giant’: 60 days, the standard American green chard with white ribs, fairly cold-hardy

‘Paros’: days, a French green-and-white traditional-type chard with milder and more tender stalks than some domestic varieties

‘Bright Lights’ chard

‘Perpetual Spinach’ chard

‘Perpetual Spinach’ (‘Spinach beet’): 60 days, small ribs, provides a very long harvest of especially tender leaves from spring through winter in most climates, good for baby greens, especially well suited for greenhouses and cold frames

‘Ruby’ (‘Rhubarb’): solid red, sometimes dark pink stems with dark green leaves; an heirloom variety that is widely available

How to prepare: Young chard leaves are tender and mild; they’re used as a staple in mixed green salads or as a bed for fruits and other vegetables. The leaf chard is especially suited for this treatment. As chard leaves are large, remove the long, crisp ribs and chop them separately from the greens; or if they’re too tough and stringy, use the ribs in soups instead. Before adding them to salads, rip or cut the greens into bite-size pieces or cut in a chiffonade. Do this close to serving time because the leaves and ribs, especially of the colorful varieties, discolor once they’re cut. To keep the color, I’ve found that julienning the stems just before serving makes a colorful confetti to sprinkle on a salad; if you sprinkle the julienned stems with lemon juice or vinegar they will hold their color longer in a slaw or mixed salad. To accentuate the bright-colored chards in a salad, I sometimes combine red chard with red beets, and the yellow chard with yellow beets.

CHICORIES

Cichorium intybus

Chicories are a cool-weather salad staple in parts of Europe. The quintessential Italian cutting chicories, the burgundy-colored heading radicchios, and the elegant Belgian endive are all covered here. Curly endive and escarole, well-known chicories associated with France, are covered in their own entry (see page 35). All chicories have in common a mildly bitter taste that can be mitigated by blanching, and by weather conditions. Blanching is a process whereby you exclude light from the new shoots so they emerge creamy white and lose a lot of their bitterness.

How to grow: Generally chicories are easy to grow, though they prefer cool growing conditions and often perform poorly in very hot-summer areas. Plant all chicory seeds ¼ inch deep in good soil filled with organic matter and in full sun. (Or start seeds inside and transplant them out when they are a few inches tall.) Thin seedlings to 8 inches apart and keep them fairly moist to produce healthy plants that have few pests and disease problems. The challenges to producing some of the chicories are in the timing and the pre- and post-harvest treatment. And it’s here that there are major differences by type.