Mixed salad leaves are one of OrganicLea’s signature products. Salad leaves are a perfect crop for our community farm because they’re at their best when grown close to where they are eaten. They are all freshly picked, by hand, before being bagged for sale via the box scheme, the Farm Stall, and a few local shops and restaurants.
A huge variety of delicious leaves
Of all the edible crops, salad leaves make the most sense to be grown in the city. Quality and nutritional value deteriorate rapidly once picked, so they are best consumed ultra-fresh if possible. As well as freshness, the range of leaves on offer to the gardener cannot be rivalled by the supermarkets, and this diversity benefits soil health and wildlife. Salad can be successfully grown all year round, in a wide range of environments, including containers and partial shade. And a little salad lifts any meal on a number of levels!
We grow over 150 different leaves and edible flowers for our mixed bags. The exact combination of leaves changes at different times of the year. So you’ll find summer blends and hardy winter greens, along with some favourites that grow all year round.
The following is just a small selection of what you can expect to find in a bag of salad leaves at different times of the year:
Spring and summer
- Lettuce (Lactuca sativa)
Salad Bowl has a lobed-shape leaf. It’s crisp, mild and slightly bitter. - Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus)
Juicy, round and peppery leaves, either green or green and white. - Red Orache (Atriplex hortensis)
Purple-scarlet ace-of-spades shape leaf with a mild salty spinach flavour. - Salad Burnet (Sanguisorba minor)
Small mid to dark green leaves. The flavour has hints of cucumber. - Summer Purslane (Portulaca oleracea)
Small oval silver-jade leaves on a pink stem. Juicy and mildly citric.
Winter
- Endive (Cichorium endivia)
A mild chicory/strong lettuce flavour. - Iceplant (Sedum spectible)
These oval silver-grey shape leaves are juicy. - Mizuna (Brassica rapa var. nipposinica)
Pale green leaves with a mild Chinese cabbage flavour. - Salad Rocket (Eruca sativa)
The lobed, mid-green leaves are tangy in flavour. - Watercress (Nasturtium officinale)
These deep green, small round leaves taste peppery.
Year-round favourites
- Bronze Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)
Long, feathery, dark brown-black leaves with a sweet aniseed flavour. - Chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla)
Mild-tasting green leaves with white, yellow, or red midribs and veins. - Leaf Celery (Apium graveolens)
Crunchy and with a strong celery flavour. - Pea Shoots (Pisum sativum)
The small, rounded pale green leaves are crunchy with a mild pea flavour. - Sorrel, broad-leaved (Rumex acetosa)
These lance-shape, pale green leaves are zesty and lemony.