FOUR SEASON SALAD HERBSCAPE

 

 

Salad has become part of our everyday cuisine and herbs add to this exciting and healthy way of getting our daily intake of beta carotene, vitamins, calcium and iron not to mention adding lots of great flavor.  Spring, summer and fall salad herbs may be grown everywhere in the garden to add variety to your salad bowl or just simply use different large containers.  Whatever your choice, remember to plant in succession with the herbs first and then the faster growing mix of lettuces so that you can harvest them all together.  Winter is more of a challenge in the north, but growing in pots on a sunny window and clipping the baby greens is a feasible alternative to liven up any salad mix until the seedlings can be planted out in cold frames or with some form of protection in the garden.  Try growing some of these herbs so that you can enjoy salads year-round!!

 

WINTER: Arugula (nutty, peppery, smoky flavor), chervil (subtle flavor of parsley plus tarragon), mache corn salad (mild, sweet flavor and tender “melt in your mouth” leaves), miners lettuce (very mild, slightly buttery flavor rich in Vitamin  C) and mizuna mustard (mild, sweet, earthy, mustardy flavor)

 

SPRING: Arugula, bronze fennel (strong anise flavor), chervil, chives (mild onion flavor), American cress (peppery flavor with a touch of mustard), lambs quarters (one of the best tasting potherbs), mizuna mustard and watercress (snappy, clean, peppery taste)

 

SUMMER: Amaranth (hearty spinach flavor that is sweet and slightly tart), bronze fennel, dill (mixture of anise, parsley & celery), lambs quarters, nasturtium leaves (peppery taste), purslane (delicious sharp flavor), salad burnet (refreshing, light cucumber flavor), and sorrel (lemony, tart flavor)

 

FALL: Arugula, garlic chives (mild garlic flavor), mache corn salad, mizuna mustard, nasturtium leaves, and sorrel

 

“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.”
Psalm 24:1-2