This weekend is Mother's Day weekend, and we will have lots of salad bowls to choose from. Moms have been admiring them for a month now- and would love to have one of their own!
We have two sizes. The 18" bowl is our standard and is easy to care for with plenty of room for all the lettuces and other goodies. The 15" bowl is much easier to carry!
Salad bowls are a way to have homegrown salads with a mini-garden on the deck or patio. They
are filled with lettuces and other cool-weather greens that have been
hardened off and are ready to keep outside. Usually you will harvest a
salad a week, or more, by picking off the outside large leaves, and
leaving at least half the plant. Most of the greens will be done by the first of July when it's too hot for them to survive.
Care of your salad bowl: Keep in a cool
spot if possible. They love sun when it's cool, but it helps to move
them into the shade when the weather is hot. They can survive temps down to 10ยบ.
A half day of sun will keep them growing well and full shade is OK when it turns hot. Water
your salad bowl well with deep soakings. Fertilize with an organic
liquid fertilizer.
After your bowl is finished you can plant some hot weather plants in it
and then use it the bowl again for a few years. If you have chives in
the bowl replant these to the garden and they will live for many years. The bowl is reusable and will last for a few years if you empty it for the winter.
Plants in the bowl:
Lettuce- just water well and pick the big leaves
Mustard- pick often, it gets big and the leaves get too hot after a whileArugula or Cilantro pick often, these go to flower quickly, and cutting often will prolong their life
Onions- Purple Bunching Onions. These are scallions. You can
use the greens or wait a while and pull up the whole little scallion
one by one or all at once.
Baby Carrots- harvest later in the summer
Baby Bok Choy- harvest in late May or early June before it starts to flower
