Week three of the plants to grow for a winter crop.
Campanula poscharskyana is a lovely carpeting harebell that is commonly grown in the cracks in walls. About 10 - 25cm tall, this is a rampantly spreading plant also makes a good ground-cover. The leaves, although small, are a very nice mild salad and can be eaten all year round.
Campanula versicolor. This is one of the most beautiful harebells we are growing. It is about 1.2 metres tall and flowers in late summer. The plant keeps a basal rosette of leaves all winter and, although only growing slowly, it can be harvested in moderation all through the winter. The leaves have a delicious sweet flavour and are one of the more popular salad leaves. Slugs love them as well!
Cardamine hirsuta. Hairy bittercress is a common garden weed. The leaves have a hot cress-like flavour and, once you have the plant in your garden, it will normally self-sow. The leaves are available all year round.
Cichorium intybus. Chicory is a fairly well-known salad plant. Although a perennial, it is best to sow the seed annually in late spring or early summer for winter leaves. Older plants tend to die down in the winter or to only produce a very small basal rosette. It is important to choose the correct cultivars - 'Sugar Loaf' is one of the favourites. The leaves have a somewhat bitter taste that many people enjoy, they can be blanched to make them milder but this will be at the expense of many vitamins and minerals.
Horticultural.
