Salad gardens are one of my favorite types of gardens to grow. To me, there are few things more rewarding in gardening than having a consistent supply of fresh greens for as many salads as I’d like to have. And while I don’t eat salads daily, I love being able to harvest a big bowl of salad greens the morning before family or friends come over on a weekend to celebrate a birthday or just get together and grill.
But salad greens, like leaf lettuce, spinach, and head lettuce, are lovers of cool spring and fall weather. They tend to bolt (flower and become bitter) when it gets very hot. With weeks of temps in the 90s already this year, we might be in for a hot summer. How can you protect your salad garden from the heat?
- Be smart with where you plant your salad greens in the first place. Do you have a spot that’s pretty sunny in the spring and fall, but gets more shade in the summer? Do you have a spot that catches a lot of morning light, but is shaded by the hottest part of the afternoon? By all means, plant your salad greens there! If you can shield your salad garden from the brutal summer sun, particularly in the hottest part of the day, you’ll have a much easier time. My salad greens catch the first rays of the day, but are shaded by early afternoon. It’s the best I can do to prevent them from dealing with the heat and sun at the same time.
- Water regularly. This might mean every day when temps are in the 90s and twice a day if it’s 100F and above. If your salad greens are growing in a pot or a grow bag, you’ll have to water even more often because moisture will evaporate out the sides of the container, not just the top. Make sure that you’re not drowning your plants (we can easily love them to death, after all), but that the soil they’re growing in is consistently moist. Salad greens will use up more water during hot spells to try to beat back the heat.
- Create some shade. If your salad greens are planted in full sun, look for ways to provide some shade on hot days. Heat and sun will be pretty deadly. It’s easy if your salad greens are in pots: move the pots into the shade! If you have trouble moving the pots, put them on a dolly so you can easily roll them between the sun and the shade. If you’re growing in a raised or in-ground bed, consider adding shade cloth above your plants to knock out some of the sun’s rays.
- Keep planting salad greens! Part of a successful garden is continually refreshing what you’re growing. So when a spinach plant bolts, rip it out and put a heat-tolerant spinach seed there. In a few weeks, you’ll have spinach again. Remember to keep planting throughout the summer so you can keep harvesting.
Remember that gardening is a lot of trial and error, and you’ll learn more the more you try! Hopefully these tips help you keep your salad garden going strong all summer and into the fall.
