Leafy GreensLevel 2 MGV Training, 2013
By Sharon MorriseyConsumer Horticulture Agent
Milwaukee County UW‐Extension
Leafy Greens
Swiss chard
Head lettuceSpinach
Leaf lettuce
Mesclun Many others
Leafy Greens:Lettuce (family: Asteraceae)
• 60 – 70 degrees• Spring & fall• Tolerates light frosts• Grows quickly (50 – 60 days)
• Hundreds of varieties available
• Heat causes• Bitterness• Flowerstalk formation
• called “bolting”
• Types:• Loose leaf• Cos or romaine• Butterhead• Crisphead
• Green leaf• Blk. Seeded Simpson• Simpson Elite (bolt resistant)
• Deer tongue (heirloom)• Oak leaf (slow to bolt)• Salad Bowl
• Red leaf• Lollo Rosso (bolt resist.)• Red Sails (very heat tolerant)
• Red Salad Bowl
• Cos or Romaine• Parris Island• Baby cos• Little Gem
• Butterhead• Buttercrunch (heat resist.) AAS Winner
• Tom Thumb
Boston
‘Buttercrunch’
‘Tom Thumb’
• Crisphead (Iceberg types)• Ithaca• Montello• Summertime –
• heat tolerant
‘Iceberg’ – 1894; new class
• Cultivation– Direct seed or transplant
• Leaf lettuce– Direct seeding is fine– Thin to 12” between plants to harvest individual leaves or whole plants
– Do not thin for “cut and come again” harvesting
• Head lettuce– Start indoors 4 weeks early– Plant 12 – 16” apart– Cut head at base
– Harvesting• Leaf lettuce
– harvest individual leaves– whole plants – cut or pull (“dirty”)– “cut and come again”
• Head lettuce– Cut head at base
– Keep cool after harvest– Store in refrigerator
• Cool and humid• Don’t wash• Ventilated plastic bags• Keeps a couple weeks
Leafy Greens:Spinach (family: Chenopodiaceae)
• Grow in spring or fall– In a cold frame
• February• Broadcast seed over flat
– Direct sow very early spring• Till/work soil in fall• Sow over frozen ground in
March• Sow as soon as soil can be
worked
– Heat causes “bolting” and bitterness
– Late summer – August• Sow for fall crop
– Late fall• Sow in late October• Mulch to overwinter• Growth begins in early spring as
soon as soil warms enough
• Cultivation– Direct seed or transplant
• Thin to 1 – 2” apart to harvest entire plant
• Sow weekly to prolong harvest• Or thin to 4 – 6” and harvest oldest leaves as plants grow
• Varieties:– Crinkled (savoyed)
• Bloomsdale Longstanding (AAS Winner)
• Melody (AAS Winner)• Tyee• Big Ruffles
– Smooth• Correnta
‘Bloomsdale Longstanding’
• Alternatives:– New Zealand spinach
• (Tetragonia expansa)• Heat tolerant; frost sensitive
• Harvest all summer (?)• Tastes different• Sow 12” apart and harvest leaves as they mature
– Climbing spinach (Malabar spinach, Ceylon spinach, Summer spinach)
• (Basella alba)• Thick, crunchy but creamy textured leaves all summer
• Sow 12” apart and harvest leaves as they mature
• High in soluble fiber; can thicken soups and stews
Red vine climbing spinach
– Basella alba ‘Red Stem’ – Or Basella rubra
• Gets bitter when fruiting• Keep well watered to prevent fruiting
• Reseeds heavily
Leafy Greens:Swiss Chard (family:)
• Thick leaf stalks with large leaf blade– Stalks and mid‐ribs:
• white, red, pink, yellow• chop like celery, steam
– Leaves: • green, bronze, purple• cook like spinach
Leafy Greens:Swiss Chard
(family: Chenopodiaceae)
• Varieties:– Bright Lights– Ruby Red– Fordhook Giant
• Cultivation– Sow directly as soon as the soil can be worked in the spring
• Tolerates light frosts and cold temperatures
– Grows all season –spring, summer, fall, early winter (with protection)
• Harvest outer leaves all season– Break off at base– Just as good large or small
• Store cool & humid (not wet)
Leafy Greens:Swiss Chard (family:)
• Mesclun– Definition: mixed leafy greens
• Packaged mixtures• Mix your own
– Sow in blocks and harvest by “cut and come again”.
– Sow successive plantings if time allows.
Leafy Greens:Miscellaneous Others
– Summer mixtures• “Japanese Mixed Greens”
– Mustards, tatsoi, amaranth
• Mix your own– Beets, mustards, chard, turnips, slow‐to‐bolt lettuce
Leafy Greens:Swiss Chard (family:)
• Arugula=rocket=roquette– Cole crop– Distinctly lobed leaves– Fast growing– Sow “blocks”; “cut and come again”
– Pungent; spicy; nutty; peppery
Leafy Greens:Miscellaneous Others
Leafy Greens:Swiss Chard (family:)
• Mache=Corn salad– Extremely cold tolerant; sow very early or in late fall
– Rosettes of velvety, dark green leaves
– Delicate, flowery texture and flavor
Leafy Greens:Miscellaneous Others
Leafy Greens:Swiss Chard (family:)
• Cress– Upland and Garden easier than watercress
– Cole crop
• Endive and Escarole– Aster family– Types of chicory
• Radicchio– Aster family– Type of chicory
Leafy Greens:Miscellaneous Others
• Asian greens– Many are actually in the mustard family
• Mizuna• Tatsoi
– Tong ho, Shungiku(Chrysanthemum coronarium)– The flavor is complex, aromatic,
and intensely bitter.
Leafy Greens:Miscellaneous Others
• Chinese Cabbage– Pak choi (bok choy)– Pe tsai
• Oriental Greens– (B. rapa subsp. nipposinica)
– Leafy greens or flower buds
• mizuna
“Cole” Crops:Chinese Cabbage
(family: Brassicaceae)
• Forms:– Pak Choi (= Bak Choy)
• (Brassica rapa subsp. chinensis)
• ‐nonheading, loose, upright like Swiss chard
• More likely to bolt
–Pe tsai• (B. rapa subsp. pekinensis)
• heading type like Cos lettuce
– Michihili type – tall, cylindrical, upright
– Napa type – shorter, broader
Cultivation• Spring seedings don’t
work– Gets hot too soon– Start seedlings in
individual pots 4‐5 weeks before transplanting
– Transplant 2 – 3 weeks before ff while still young
• Will vernalize/ bolt if freeze or a week of 50 degree nights
• Sow directly for fall crops– Or start indoors in mid‐
July to transplant in late August
• Pests:– Flea beetles– Slugs
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