The Recipe for a Square Metre Salad in 8 Weeks

Repeat the recipe below every 4 weeks if you have the space and you will enjoy healthy salads for months and months.  I will report on this plot I planted today every week to let you know what needs to be done to keep it healthy and vigorous.

Ingredients:

1 bag of Cow Manure or aged Compost,

1 generous handful of Blood and Bone,

1 handful of all purpose Veggie Fertiliser,

Sugar Cane mulch, and

Water.

4 seedlings from a punnet of Lettuce,

1 packet of Rocket seed,

1 punnet of Coriander seedlings,

1 packet of Watercress seed,

1 packet of Radish seed,

1 packet of English Spinach seed,

1 seedling of Basil,

1 packet of Beetroot seed,

20 seedlings of Spring Onions, and

1 packet of Mini Carrots seed.

  

Soil Preperation Method:

Spread over your chosen plot the manure, blood and bone and all purpose fertiliser.  Dig it into the soil to a depth of around 30cm.  Grab a rake and level the plot and ensure the surface has fine soil for you to sow into.  If you have some aged compost available you might choose to substitute the Cow Manure.

Spread a thin layer of Sugar Cane Mulch and lightly water to settle the dust.   On one edge of the plot spread aside the mulch and expose the soil to make four holes about the size of a cup, 25cm apart.  Repeat on the other edge of the plot.   Next is the rows. Make four evenly spaced rows just like the picture below.   This will create four metres in total of rows for sowing.  With a small trowel or even a stick make a furrow 5-10mm deep in each row.    

Preparation is now almost complete, except for the labels to mark your rows.  If you have them, write out labels and stick them into the dirt in the rows at the desired distances apart.

Planting Method:

Plant in four Lettuce seedlings into the holes you made on one of the sides, then on the other side plant the Basil.  In the remaining three spots, sow your Rocket.  Be generous and put 10 seeds in each spot about 5-10mm deep.  Lightly cover the seeds with soil.

In the rows mark out the distances desired for the remaining seeds and seedlings.  This is what I chose to do. Coriander 50cm, Watercress 50, Radish 75, Beetroot 25, Spring Onions 50, English Spinach 50cm and Mini Carrots 1m.  Sow them twice as thick as what they say on the packet.  I’ll tell you why when they all germinate over the coming days.  Cover lightly with soil and water the whole plot well with a low pressure nozzle on your hose or a watering can.

You can if needed substitute seedlings for seed or visa-versa. I could not find any Coriander seedlings so I planted seed and I was also lucky enough to have Spring onions seedlings available that I could transplant.

Feel free to adjust the mix of what you plant according to your personal taste.  You will not use all of your seed so store them in a cool dry place in a container for future use. 

It is very important to keep the whole plot moist so that they germinate evenly.  Water daily if needed and also feel free to spread some snail bait around if you have them around.  They are very hungry at the moment and will clean up the whole lot of your seedlings in one night if you don’t watch the buggers!

In 8 weeks you will Enjoy!   Maybe even earlier if you are lucky!

Weekly progress reports

Week one progress report

Week two progress report

Week three progress report