Sowing in hot weather

[martMember]

Hi Charles,

Question, it is still hot in my neck of the woods. I do however want to sow some salad leaves. Normal salad I pu in big trays and germinate in a darker and cooler spot and some come up. How do I go about planting cut and come again? Would covering it with light fleese and keeping it very wet help germination? I could wait but sometimes weather at this time of the year suddenly changes and then my salad will not be established enough come the lack of sun days……

Thanks,

Mart

[charlesModerator]

 Mart, thanks for this, to think we worry about rain…
Lettuce is the main difficulty with germination in hot weather as it can lie dormant. But NOW is season for sowing endive and chicory (with you at least, almost too late here) and also brassica salads which germinate happily in warm soil or compost. So it really should not be a problem! Any of rocket, mizuna, mustards, pak choi, tatsoi, leaf radish, kale and so on, also other salads such as spinach, chard and coriander.

You are right that there is no time to lose and I am sowing my tunnel brassica salads this week, or next at the absolute latest.

[martMember]

Thanks Charles, no worries escaroles are under way as is rocket and some chinese friends. Half of my first batch burned but some survived and yesterday I sowed a new load. I have a Escarole cuore pieno, do you know how similar is to Bubikopf, tempting to buy last one, I like the name, can’t find it here however and already have 7 types of chicory, yes I like the stuff. In your book (p214.)you mention Lisbon and Ishikura in one sentence, do you use the same time to sow those? On my packet sowing dates for Lisbon Hardy is 2 to 3 months earlier, in the past I have had more succes with Ishikura and Kaigaro. Normal Lisbon was a fail, might be bad seeds.
We have waterbombers in the air today again, leftover tomatoes get roasted on the plants, well saves energy, no oven needed.

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