Growing Salad leaves on your Allotment

Salad leaves are among the fastest, easiest, and most rewarding crops you can grow. They suit beginners, thrive in containers or the ground, and can be harvested repeatedly using cut-and-come-again methods. With succession sowing, you can pick fresh leaves from early spring through late autumn — and even overwinter some varieties.

This guide covers different salad leaf types, how to grow them from seed or plugs, when to plant, spacing, watering and feeding, pests and diseases, containers vs ground growing, and proven ways to boost yields.

🌱 1. Types of Salad Leaves You Can Grow

🥬 Lettuce (Loose-leaf & Hearting)

• Fast growing

• Ideal for cut-and-come-again

• Includes loose-leaf, butterhead, romaine, and iceberg

🌿 Mixed Salad Leaves

• Mesclun mixes (lettuce, rocket, mizuna, mustard)

• Continuous harvests

• Excellent for small spaces

🌶️ Rocket (Arugula)

• Peppery flavour

• Very fast growing

• Can bolt in heat

🥗 Spinach & Leafy Spinach

• Cool-season crop

• Nutritious leaves

• Prefers spring and autumn

🌱 Asian Greens

• Mizuna, pak choi, mustard greens

• Quick, productive

• Best in cooler weather

🌰 2. Ways to Grow Salad Leaves

From Seed (Most Common)

Pros

• Cheapest option

• Huge variety choice

• Ideal for succession sowing

Cons

• Needs regular sowing and thinning

Plug Plants

Pros

• Faster results

• Less thinning

• Useful for gaps and late sowings

Cons

• More expensive

• Limited variety choice

👉 Both work well — consistent moisture is more important than how you start.

🗓️ 3. When to Sow & Plant Salad Leaves

From Seed

• Outdoors: March–September

• Indoors / under cover: February–October

• Overwintering varieties: August–September

Plug Plants

• Plant out: April–September

Salad leaves prefer cool to mild conditions and struggle in extreme heat.

🌾 4. How to Grow Salad Leaves in the Ground

Soil Requirements

• Moisture-retentive but free-draining soil

• Light, fertile soil

• Not freshly manured

Salads grow best in rich but gentle soil.

Spacing

Loose-leaf & cut-and-come-again

• Sow thinly in rows or blocks

• Thin to 5–10cm

Hearting lettuces

• 25–30cm apart

Crowding causes:

• small leaves

• disease

• bolting

🪴 5. Growing Salad Leaves in Containers

Perfect for:

• patios and balconies

• small plots

• quick access picking

Container Guidelines

• Depth: 15–20cm minimum

• Multi-purpose or veg compost

• Sow little and often

Containers dry quickly — check moisture daily in summer.

💧 6. Watering Salad Leaves 

Salad leaves are shallow-rooted and dry out quickly.

Best Practice

• Water lightly but frequently

• Keep soil consistently moist

• Water in the morning

Dry stress causes:

• bitter leaves

• bolting

• poor regrowth

Mulch lightly to conserve moisture.

🌿 7. Feeding Salad Leaves

Salad leaves are light feeders.

Feeding Rules

• Compost before sowing is usually enough

• Optional light liquid feed after first cut

• Avoid high-nitrogen feeds

Too much feed = soft, disease-prone leaves.

🐛 8. Common Pests & Diseases

Slugs & Snails

• Major threat to seedlings

Control

• Protect young plants early

• Use barriers and good airflow

Aphids

• Cluster on soft growth

Control

• Remove by hand or water spray

• Encourage predators

Bolting (Not a Disease)

Causes

• Heat

• Drought

• Stress

Prevention

• Regular watering

• Shade in heat

• Harvest young

✂️ 9. Harvesting Salad Leaves (For Best Yields)

Cut-and-Come-Again

• Cut leaves 2–3cm above soil

• Harvest every 1–2 weeks

• Plants regrow several times

Hearting Lettuces

• Harvest whole plant when ready

Regular harvesting:

• improves flavour

• delays bolting

• increases total yield

🌾 10. Improving Salad Leaf Yields

What really works:

• Succession sowing every 2–3 weeks

• Shade in hot weather

• Consistent watering

• Harvesting little and often

Salads reward attention, not feeding.

⚡ Quick Salad Leaf Growing Tips

• Grow small amounts often

• Mix varieties to spread risk

• Use shade netting in heatwaves

• Sow bolt-resistant varieties in summer

Photo by Chandan Chaurasia on Unsplash