The vegetable garden is a playground in constant evolution and beware of anyone who shows a lack of anticipation. Because if you want to enjoy salads with a nice cheese board or a homemade quiche this autumn, now is the time to start sowing. Be careful, choosing the right types of salads is essential. Find out which varieties you can plant in July and August.
Bet on a rotation of varieties
In general, the crop rotation is highly recommended in organic farming† It consists in never replanting a plant in the same place two years in a row. The reason is simple: firstly, it prevents soil depletion, but also limits the spread of diseases or insect pests. Two phenomena that you should be especially aware of if you are not using fertilizers to increase your yield, or pesticides to eliminate small animals…
little tip For beautiful salads, consider planting your new varieties after a crop of fava beans, peas or beans that have naturally enriched your soil with nitrogen.
What types of plants in the summer?
curly endive
If curly chicory can be found on all gardeners’ stalls in autumn, it is possible to harvest well in advance, from July or August. This is because sowing takes place in the nursery from mid-May to mid-July. The seedlings are transplanted after three weeks at 30 cm intervals. After three months, beautiful lettuce varieties with a yellow heart and serrated leaves can be harvested and tasted.
Breeds : the ‘Nice from Louviers’ stands out for its low bitterness, the‘Fine gardener’ has the particularity of growing quickly and ‘Big apple only’ has good resistance to screwing.
Escaroles
Escarole is sown from April to August, after the frost period. Just like with curly chicory, place your plants about thirty centimeters apart. The escaroles appreciate a fresh and soft soil and need a lot of water. Two weeks before harvest, to prevent the leaves from becoming too bitter, carry out the “blanching” phase by placing a bell jar or jar on your salads to limit the development of chlorophyll.
Varieties: ‘Grosse bouclée’ is prized for its crunchy heart and the varieties of ‘Cornet de Bordeaux’ and ‘Cornet d’Anjou’ are praised for their resistance to cold.
Lettuce
In contrast to chicory seeds, lettuce seeds go above 20°C when they are dormant. So choose a cool and moist period to sow your seeds and prevent your plants from sowing and becoming inedible. For lettuce, opt for sowing in the open ground. The first shoots should appear after a big week. After 4 to 5 weeks, when the plants have four or five leaves, thin the line so that there is only one plant per 10 to 12 inches.
Varieties: Romaine lettuce ‘Querido’ is very resistant to diseases and aphids. The romaine lettuce ‘Blonde Maraichère’ seduces with its large elongated head and crispy leaves.
chewed up
Lamb’s lettuce is sown from mid-July to late October. The culture is undemanding and adapts to any type of soil, making it a particularly pleasant plant to grow. In soft soil, sow the seeds broadly or in rows. For row cultivation, count about 20 cm between each seed. Cover them with a thin layer of soil and tamp the soil. Water and mulch the seedling regularly to keep the soil fresh.
Varieties: lamb’s lettuce ‘with large seeds’ is one of the most common and lamb’s lettuce “Coquille de Louviers” that can be harvested easily until the end of winter, even in very cold regions.
Did you like this article? Also discover the list of sowing, transplanting and planting for the month of July.