What are your favorite salad greens - and why?

[AeroKnipp]

What are your favorite salad greens - and why? Taste? Texture? Look? Easy to grow?

[bab43]

Arugula - taste.

The first arugula I tried was from the AG and I didn't like it the first time.  Then I couldn't have a sandwich without it.  My daughter was the same way.

[AeroKnipp]

Arugula - taste.

Hmm ... I wonder if I dare ...

My husband will eat lettuce, spinach, and Swiss chard. I am "casting the net" looking for more healthy greens.

[bab43]

I didn't realize that's why you were asking!  My husband doesn't care for it so much.

Maybe bok choy is a better suggestion.  I believe some of the members have grown it.

[Amy185]

Awww, I wouldn't know   My salad green kit just got tossed 2 days ago   Oh well!!!  Hmmm I've never tried arugula though, I do have a great recipe for it with potatoes and walnuts in a creamy raspberry vinaigrette, Maybe I'll get some from the store to try before I grow it huh?

[AeroKnipp]

Maybe bok choy is a better suggestion.

Wouldn't that be rather large for an AG? Maybe a mini bok choy variety? Sounds intriguing!

[bab43]

Haven't grown it myself.    I did a search from the home page and it does seem like members have grown it.  A mini one makes sense to me. 

[Melissa in Michigan]

I just wanted to share that today, I tasted some celery ("cutting celery", the herb) for the first time, and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!!!!    It is still totally tiny, as I just started this plant not too long ago, but I just HAD to taste a tiny piece, and it is really wonderful!!!  

I started some of these little "specialty" herbs, mostly to add to salads, and like Marianne stated with arugula,  I imagine that this celery is going to have much of the same effect on me!!!  It's like Basil!  Once you've enjoyed fresh basil, life just isn't life without it!    I have some sort of fresh basil growing AT ALL TIMES, 365 days a year!!!    

To answer your question above, I like growing romaine lettuce!  I like the "crispness" of it!  I also like growing it to share with my two parrots!  Because of it's crispness, they seem to like holding it in their little hands (feet!) while they are enjoying eating it!  

[AeroKnipp]

I also like growing it to share with my two parrots!

Hmmmm - an added bonus. If I grow something my husband doesn't like, I can give it to my birds (scarlet macaw, blue and gold macaw, umbrella cockatoo) ...

I got a bad romaine seed kit and haven't started up the replacement yet. Three of the pods grew, but they bolted quite quickly. However, we (meaning my husband and I) did like the little bit of romaine we harvested.

[mitchb2]

I just planted some arugula for the first time.  Looking forward to it.

[kforrest]

I have always wanted to try more of a mini head lettuce vs the loose leaf lettuces.

I know there is one variety of iceberg that grows mini heads about the size of a baseball.

I'm now doing another few pods of "Little Gem" which is supposed to be like a mini romaine but looks leafy to me!

Maybe they need to get more mature to "head up" at all.....

[Melissa in Michigan]

I just had to share that I could no longer resist swiping a little taste from one of my little Arugula plants that I just recently planted...  and, OH MY!!!!!!!!!!!  I AM ALREADY ADDICTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   

I have never had Arugula before!  If you haven't grown it before, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND it!!!  It has almost a "nutty" taste!!!   

[bab43]

I haven't grow arugula since my first AG garden - I miss it. 

[Melissa in Michigan]

I haven't grow arugula since my first AG garden - I miss it. 

I have "attempted" it in an AG three times, to no avail!     I think I must have killed it with the nutrients, every time...  It would just dry out, and then be "overtaken" by the growth of everything around it...  I always had to just pull it out of there...  But, I am growing some in dirt right now, next to my AG, and it seems to be really taking off!     I have it in a little planter, though.  I imagine that I may have to transplant it, eventually, but, maybe not, if I KEEP NIBBLING AT IT!!!!!    

[bab43]

It likes low nutrient levels.  The arugula and the baby greens recovered from nutrient burn when I waited an extra week to add nutrients and then started adding them one at a time.  The lettuce growing around it was fine. 

[Melissa in Michigan]

It likes low nutrient levels.  The arugula and the baby greens recovered from nutrient burn when I waited an extra week to add nutrients and then started adding them one at a time.  The lettuce growing around it was fine. 

Thank you so much for this advice!  I have read a lot of your wonderfully wise posts about this, as I just started another lettuce garden with my own seeds, and I have held back on the nutrients!  Everything seems to be growing beautifully, so far!     I have some left over AG nutrients that I am using for this, but I may end up switching over to the liquid GH nutrients, depending on how it progresses. 

[bab43]

Melissa, in the gardens I've grown I've found the AG tablets work perfectly for herbs, in other gardens I seem to get some burn especially in the early days unless I cut back.  How have you found them for your herb gardens?

[Melissa in Michigan]

I have had pretty good success with the AG nutrients in the herb gardens, except for the couple of attempts of herb gardens in my AG3s.  I have broken the tablets in half, or even in thirds, and that seems to do the trick,  in the AG3s.  I am new to the Space Saver units, so I am basically just "experimenting" with them right now.  But, so far, so good!    

[bab43]

You're right, I've never grown herbs in the AG3s, didn't think about that.  The flowers did fine but tended to have browning leaves which is why I'm trying the GH nutrients in those machines.  So far it's going well.  The Space Saver seems like a nice machine, not that I'm buying any more....

[AeroKnipp]

not that I'm buying any more....

Right ... you expect us to believe that.