The February weather has been good and I’m having fun getting the veg patch ready for spring, using a spare hour here and there to start weeding beds, pull up old plants and so on.
I noticed that the bay tree has done some good growing and it’s now shading out even more of the raised bed that runs beside it. This is no bad thing, as I’m a big fan of planting salad leaves in this part of the garden. The shade is there most of the day – the plants get the morning sun and a bit of the evening sun, but not much during the middle of the day. This is perfect for salads, as it really helps to keep the soil nice and cool, and keeps the plants leafier for longer. Those lettuces and wild rocket plants that I’ve planted in full sun have always, always bolted much sooner.
So, if you have a bed that is in the shade for most of the day, think about using it to grow lettuces, wild rocket, mizuna and other salad leaves this summer. You might be pleasantly surprised by how well they grow.