WE ARE TOTALLY FEELING SPRINGY : TIME TO GROW OUR SALAD

Yes, we are currently still in Singapore where it is summer all year round, but we are totally feeling the excitement of spring from our friends in temperate climates. It is time to go to the gardeners to stock up on your geraniums and rosemary shrubs. This is the time to sow any seeds or buy any smaller plants so that they will be basking in the glory in summer. We are not girly flowery people, but we are definitely the greedy type. Apart from our wonderful herbs already waiting for us in Amsterdam, we are looking at other easy-to-grow edible plants.

(S=Sow, H=Harvest)

MIZUNA

We remember this from our regular shabu shabu indulgence. We never knew what it is called until last night. We got so excited when we stumbled upon the seeds of mizuno. We got some of these information from Wikipedia.

Mizuna (Japanese: 水菜 'water greens'), also called Xiu Cai, Kyona, Japanese Mustard, Potherb Mustard, Japanese Greens, California Peppergrass, Spider Mustard, etc., is a Japanese name used primarily for cultivated varietiesBrassica rapa nipposinica but also for Brassica juncea var. japonica.^[1][2] 

The taste of mizuna has been described as a "piquant, mild peppery flavor...slightly spicy, but less so than arugula."^[1] It is also used in stir-frys, soups, and nabemono. A seller of packaged seeds in the United Kingdom describes mizuna as:

A vigorous grower producing numerous stalks bearing dark green, deeply cut and fringed leaves. They have a fresh, crisp taste and can be used on their own or cooked with meat. The Japanese are fond of them pickled. Highly resistant to cold and grown extensively during the winter months in Japan.^[3]

According to the BBC:

Not only is it good to eat, it's also quite decorative, with glossy, serrated, dark green leaves and narrow white stalks, looking good in flower beds and as edging. It's vigorous, adaptable and easy to grow in most soils. Mizuna greens have a mild mustard planttransplanting under cover.^[4] flavour. The usual sowing time, outside, is from early to late summer, but it can be sown in late spring or early summer, when it may have a tendency to bolt. Another alternative, is to sow in early autumn, for transplanting under cover.

Another source says that:

...this vegetable averages 14" to 16" in height with leaves that are green and yellow, smooth in texture and somewhat feathery in shape. It is available as a mature green or as a baby version that is smaller in size and more tender in texture. As a salad green mizuna can be steamed, boiled, stir-fried or used to complement other greens mixed together for a salad, especially Red Asian Mustard greens. When cooked it shrinks to about half its size so it takes a large amount to make a cooked vegetable dish containing only mizuna. Mizuna can be found in well-stocked grocery stores or produce markets but is most readily available in early spring to late summer. Select fresh crisp leaves, avoiding those that are slightly discolored. They will keep four to five days when wrapped in plastic and stored in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator.^[5] 

S: March onwards H: As required through summer months

ROCKET APOLLO 

We love, love, love rocket but we didn;t know that there are more thean one species of it. Rocket is a weed and it grows like wild fire. We love this species of rocket as it is small and can grow in a pot and look quite pretty as a foliage in a pot. 

Rocket Apollo is a fast growing salad rocket with large, rounded, tender leaves, and an excellent peppery taste but no bitterness. Plants are slow to bolt but Rocket Apollo is best harvested as young leaves or as cut and come again salads. A rich source of vitamin C. Flavour guide: Peppery, best eaten when leaves are young. Easy to grow, can be ready to harvest in 25 days. 

S: Sow seeds April-September outdoors or October-March under glass. Sow seeds thinly, 13mm (½in) deep in drills 45cm (18in) apart in soil that has been raked to a fine tilth. When large enough to handle, thin seedlings to 23cm (9in) apart, or leave un-thinned and harvest as 'baby salad' leaves or as 'cut and come again'. Sowings made in late summer will carry on cropping into winter if given protection by cloches or if sown in frames or in pots in the greenhouse or on the windowsill. H: Harvest young leaves as required, picking only a few from each plant. Pinch out flower buds to prolong cropping, although flower buds and shoots can be eaten they are much hotter in taste. Can be used in salads, sandwiches, or as a pizza topping with parmesan cheese and sun dried tomatoes. 

ROCKET WILD GRAZIA

This is another one of those potted rocket we love. Cute! 

S: March - August H: pick leaves as required May - October. Strongly flavoured decorative leaves. A favourite in salads, easy to grow, even in containers.

SORREL BLOOD VEINED

New, colourful salad leaf innovation to add a sharp but pleasant taste and texture to mixed salads, when eaten young. Also makes an attractive 'dot' plant in the flower border. Ideal used in soups and sauces. Hardy Perennial but grown as an Annual. Flavour guide: Sharp but pleasant.

This is ideal for containers in the sun or part shade. 

S: for salad leaves sow March-May outdoors. 13mm (½in) deep in drills 30cm (12in) apart. Sow thinly in soil that has been raked to a fine tilth. H: Harvest young leaves as required, picking only a few from each plant.