My favourite winter lettuces | salads for winter | what to grow in winter | self-sufficiency
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- Опубліковано 26 лип 2024
- This video provides an overview of my favourite winter lettuces and a few other favourite extras that add some sparkle of a winter salad. For more details please check out my database, which provides more information:
airtable.com/shrEELeP7jABxGmQg
If you have questions, we have a FAQ document and video, which you can find here: steves.seasidelife.com/2020/0...
If you are new to my allotment videos you might find a bit of context useful. We live in the north west of England, in Lytham St Annes, which I believe is the equivalent of USA Zone 8. The garden is about ½ a mile from the sea, the allotment about a mile, it’s fairly mild, but very windy.
A lot of people ask about the databases and apps that I mention in the videos, I make these are freely available, for more check out these blog posts steves.seasidelife.com/catego...
We used to have three allotments in my family, mine (Steve), my wife's (Debbie) and my middle daughter's (Jennie) and you will see these featured in many videos. We’ve recently handed Jennie’s back to the council as over the years we now grow more on the other two plots than we did on all three a few years ago. We also have a small kitchen garden at home.
All of the plots are managed in an integrated fashion, so don't expect to see the usual mix of veg on each plot. I do most of the planning and seed starting. We each have our own plots, but we all help each other out.
Debbie's plot is mostly full of perennials, it's an ornamental plot. We did a lot of work to keep the weeds down and Debbie's approach is inspired by the TV programme The Ornamental Kitchen garden.
My plot is all about experimental growing, maximum productivity and year round abundance. As with all of the other plots I did a lot of work to control the weeds, but it's a high maintenance plot. I'm always planting, harvesting, experimenting and generally having a great time.
Collectively the plots deliver an amazing abundance of fruit and veg all year round. Debbie, Jennie, Jon and I are effectively self sufficient in veg all year round and in fruit for much of the year. During winter we sometimes have enough surplus to feed our local family. During the rest of the year when the surplus from our house garden comes on stream we have surpluses in some crops for quite a few friends as well.
This video provides an overview: • The big picture of our...
I do an update of the allotments, roughly twice a month, you can find the tours here:
• Full allotment tour as...
Our approach to allotment life is to: grow as much as we possibly can, to be self-sufficient in veg all year round and in fruit in season, to give away our surplus to friends and family, and to have as much fun as possible.
For more on self sufficiency check out these videos:
• Super quick update on ...
We are not slaves to gardening though, I spend about 12 hours a week on the plots (on average) Debbie and Jennie a lot less. We keep nudging that down as we eliminate non-productive work: like grass cutting, weeding and watering as much as practical. We are newbie gardeners, only starting the allotments in 2016.
I'm a bit obsessive about the nutrient density of the veg that we grow and making the plots easy to work because it's through this allotment lifestyle and food that I've overcome a debilitating auto-immune disease.
I'm always aware though that it might not last so I make sure that I don't work too hard, eat as much organic fruit and veg I can and design the plots so that I can still work them when I flare up.
Lovely little video Steve. I grow lambs lettuce but for the life of me I cannot get any perceivable hint of flavour front it. To me it tastes of filtered water but it's well worth while growing. Got up yesterday at 5am got all ready for the garden, finished me coffee and strode into the kitchen to catch the daybreak only to see the rain bounding off the vehicles!!!🤣 Forgot to check the weather!!!👀
It's our usual harvest day Andy so I checked, saw the weather and harvested on Friday instead : All the best - Steve
@@SteveRichards Unlike my good self who relied on my Irish decent to guess the weather only to fall flat on my face 😂
Cheers
Love your channel!
Hi Steve, A great video, This is why your channel helps me, Take care and STAY SAFE.
You've done a great job 👌👍
Another very helpful video Steve, thanks for sharing 👍
Woody
Thanks Woody : All the best - Steve
You’re an inspiration to me Steve,, I’ve really upped my game in the winter leaf department 😄,, Thankyou for showing what can be achieved and taking the time to make these videos,, very much appreciated ,, best wishes, Lisa
Thanks Lisa, I do love the leafy greens, for me they look better than flowers : All the best - Steve
I like the roxie ,i should grow more lettuce this winter.thanks for sharing.The carrots are fat and juicy
Roxy is great Lillian and it's a shame I didn't have a way to show you how it improves in mid/late winter : All the best - Steve
I just brought a handful of random leaves in for Dave to identify (my planting pattern is a bit random) - we both prefer the stronger flavours so the rocket, spinach and mustards are our favorites along with Chinese leaves and fennel. I am growing one kind of winter lettuce, but we tend to go with cold food in summer and hot food in winter. I need to do more thinking about the sort of lettuce we actually like - crisp and crunchy I guess.
Crispy is my go to texture too Bernadette, the best so far for me is Canasta which is not a winter lettuce, but it's still going strong. I like a mix of textures though, the tender leaves I like to wrap around a grape, which provides the crunch and sweetness : All the best - Steve
I've got my usual ones on the go this Winter: Brighton, Navara, Winter Density & Valian.
Take care mate
You should branch out a bit Steve, I've not tried Brighton, but all the others have been rejected over the years in favour of my picks. I love Navara in spring and summer though and Winter Density is always on my list for spring : All the best - Steve
@@SteveRichards Maybe but these grow outdoors well here - and I like them LOL
I like them too Steve, but I still rejected them because the others were better. Impressive that they grow outside though,they'd be inedible here : All the best - Steve
@@SteveRichards No choice with me Steve, I have no inside LOL
I thought you had one of those pods
I am just the opposite, I am all about mustards and love cabbage which is very difficult for me to grow alas, salad greens I can take or leave.
I just - today - transplanted a dozen cabbage thinnings from my main spring cabbage bed : All the best - Steve
Wow..didn’t realise there were that many types of winter lettuce..which I’ve made a note of ...as ones I’m trying must be summer type ..oh well maybe next year 🤞🏻🤞🏻
Getting the right lettuce for each season makes such a difference, unfortunately seed packets are a terrible guide : All the best - Steve
Another great video. I've got some winter density in the greenhouse going well and some other cut and come again leaves, in the kitchen, that I've put under a previously unused LED lighting strip that was meant for aquarium plants (your lighting video gave me the idea). A question on potatoes if I may- do you save your own seed potatoes? I'm thinking of growing aran pilot and aran victory as early as possible next year and as long as possible throughout the year too but want to avoid having to purchase loads of seed spuds. With them being old heritage varieties I thought it might be possible to save my own seed spuds, like growers used to do years ago I guess.
I save seed for the potatoes that I'm going to start in January and February so that I can start chitting in December. I buy the rest mainly because I tend to get a little scan on mine and I don't want to pass it on : All the best - Steve
That was great Steve. I've put a link to your channel on my blog. Can I ask about chard as I have never grown it before. Will it grow outdoors through the winter or should I have planted some under cover? It's looking great right now and it's gorgeous in salads.
It depends a lot on your micro-climate. Here it's just too windy for it and it's leaves get shredded and it doesn't grow at all in winter, but starts again in spring. Under cover tough it grows all winter long : All the best - Steve
Thanks for the shout out on the blog : All the best - Steve
Ha, at last someone else who doesn't really like mustardy leaves. I've tried growing but they just don't get eaten. Lovely selection of lettuces.
It amazes me that anyone likes them, we feed 28 people right now and hardly anyone prefers them to a nice selection of lettuce and salad rocket, closest we get is Tatsoi : All the best - Steve
I don't really like Rocket either 😄. But I guess it's best to start with easy to grow things that don't attract slugs too much.
Bit off topic Steve but in your Airtable it lists Luz De Otono in varieties but i can find no mention in sowing or harvesting.I was a bit late to sow these but i bought some plants in and they were planted out 3rd Week in August.They are disappointing to say the least but the plants were not the quality that i would grow myself.So how did you fare with them,sowing,planting etc.The pods of these beans are few and are about 100mm long with about 4 small beans.Cheers Rob
Hi Rob, they were rubbish, that's why I don't mention them. personally I only grow broad beans over winter and in late winter as they freeze very well : All the best - Steve
@@SteveRichards You want to check out a variety called Masterpiece.These beans are the best tasting i have ever had,they remain green when they are cooked,they are delicious raw and they freeze well .
Thanks for the tip Mark! : All the best - Steve
I want to grow more lettuce types this year, migjt try more spinach as well. Do u grow rocket?
We grow salad rocket over winter and sometimes in spring for a quick crop, we don't grow wild rocket
@@SteveRichards oh o see. My gf loves rocket, im not a big fan of it. Was thinking of maybe giving it a go though
Do you and Debbie go in for dressing your salads? Looking for ideas.
Debbie sometimes has salad cream. I eat salads with my fingers, so a dressing would be messy, I prefer to just mix my flavours, I'm particularly partial to grapes wrapped in salad leaves : All the best - Steve
We use this on most salads: 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp oregano, 1 clove garlic minced, black pepper.
Where to get the seeds are they available in Germany?
There's a link in the description that includes details of all of the seed packets that I have, not sure about Germany I'm afraid : All the best - Steve