Leafy Salad Vegetables: Lettuce, Celery, Gress, Endive, Escarole, Chicory by Bruce Johnstone

The principal leafy salad vegetables in Asia Minor and the eastern Medi- covered in this chapter, especially terranean region. Used as a food plant lettuce, are among the most widely for some 2,500 years, it was a favor- grown vegetables by home gardeners ite of Persian kings in the sixth cen- throughout the United States. Most of tury B.C. and later as a food plant by them—but not celery and chicory— the Romans. In the late 15th century, are easy and fast to grow, and with it first was brought to the New World the exception of celery are among the by Columbus. relatively few vegetables that tolerate Lettuce seed is rather small (25,000 moderate shade. seeds per ounce), germinates quickly They also are adapted to small (7 days) in cool (65"^-70° F) tempera- home gardens because each of them ture, and produces a crop compara- requires but little space for an aver- tively fast. Loose leaf lettuce types age size crop. Salad crops in general normally produce a crop in 40 to 50 also conform to the currently popular days while most heading varieties American taste for low calorie and require 60 to 80 days to mature. high vitamin content foods. The loose leaf varieties are more Besides the leafy salad crops cov- widely grown than heading types in ered in this chapter—lettuce, celery, home gardens because they are faster cress, endive, escarole and chicory— to mature, easier to grow, and some- a few other leafy vegetables covered what more shade tolerant. They also under different categories and in sep- have about three times as much vita- arate chapters also can be used min A and roughly six times as much advantageously as green leafy ingre- ascorbic acid or vitamin C as the dients in salad making. Among these equivalent amount of the heading va- are spinach. New Zealand spinach, rieties. Loose leaf varieties of lettuce chard and mustard, each adding a require less thinning and thrive under slightly different flavor, color and somewhat warmer and more adverse texture to various salads. conditions than the heading types. Other common salad vegetables Because lettuce basically is a cool such as tomatoes, cucumbers, onions weather crop, seed should be sown and radishes are covered in different direct in the garden in early spring chapters of this book and can be in order to mature before the summer located through the table of contents heat arrives to cause bolting and de- or the index. terioration of the foliage. (Bolting is premature flowering). Five feet of row Lettuce per adult in family is usually enough Known botanicaily as Lactuca for each planting. sativa of the Composite family, let- Successive plantings can be made tuce probably originated somewhere in midsummer for autumn crops. The seed should be scattered thinly, covered a quarter inch deep in rows Bruce Johnstone of Excelsior, Minn., retired as chief horticulturist at North- as close as 8 and up to 24 inches rup, King & Co. He co-authored Veg- apart, depending on space available. etable Gardening From the Ground Up, Thinning is not absolutely neces- a paperback book, in 1976, and Ameri- sary for loose leaf kinds but spacing ca's Most Beautiful Flowers in 1977. the plants 4 to 6 inches apart is com-

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a longer, cooler growing season, more careful thinning, and need full sun for best development. All lettuce types are heavy feeders and because of their limited root structure require ample and constant soil moisture. They need high nitrogen fertility in a moist soil and give best results if growth continues unchecked. monly recommended and results in Cos lettuce [Romaine] or celery let- larger, more easily harvested leaves. tuce has an elongated framework, Typical loose leaf varieties available smooth outer leaves, and a blanched are: Black Seeded Simpson, Grand inner head. The leaves are more brit- Rapids and Salad Bowl. tle than the other heading types, the Heading varieties are of tviro main midrib is heavier, and the flavor uni- types, crisphead and butterhead. quely sweet and mild. Cos types usu- Crisphead varieties are of thinner tex- ally take 65 to 70 days to mature and ture, are crisp, frequently have curled have the same basic planting and cul- and serrated edges, are harder and tural requirements as the other head- more durable in handling and storage. ing types. Most popular varieties are Most of the so called Iceberg types Paris White Cos and Paris Island Cos. available in stores are of this class. Where there are short, hot growing Other typical crisphead varieties: seasons as in much of our Northern, Ithaca, Great Lakes 118 and 659. Central and Midwest states, the head- In contrast, butterhead types are ing varieties are most successfully softer and more fragile in texture, grown by starting seed indoors in have thicker leaves and a smooth, very early spring, then getting the buttery substance. Butterhead types— transplants into the garden as soon as Bibb, Buttercrunch, White Boston— frost danger is past. In this way the have a distinct delicate flavor and plants can mature and form heads usually are more perishable than the crisphead varieties. Heading varieties have cultural re- Left, young gardener cfiecks Jettuce in quirements similar to the loosehead her garden in Hawaii. Right, Bibb Jet- types of lettuce except they require tuce being harvested.

148 before summer heat curtails growth sandy loam soils with good fertility and development. are ideal. These exacting conditions Harvest with a sharp knife as soon make celery growing by home gar- as looseleaf types are the size of your deners rather difficult, especially in hand. Heading varieties should be full much of the Midwest and inland and firm. If allowed to go to seed in Northern areas. In coastal regions or warm weather, leaves lose quality areas near large bodies of water, the and become bitter. usually longer and more temperate When cultivating or hoeing lettuce, growing conditions are more suitable take care to keep the blade shallow for celery culture. and not too close to the plants to Because celery is such a slow grow- avoid injuring the root system which ing, rather difficult crop to raise, it is sparse and close to the surface. should not ordinarily be chosen by Homegrown lettuce is relatively a beginning gardener in most areas. free of disease although leafhoppers It is successfully produced, however, can be a problem, mostly in spreading by many experienced gardeners in virus disease. Effective chemical con- favorable areas who take the time trols are available. and care necessary. Because of its many culinary uses from salads to Celery casseroles to attractive canapes, it Celery (Apium graveohns—family probably is well worth the effort. Umbelliferae) is native to marshy Celery seed must be started very areas from Scandinavia to Algeria early (usually indoors) 8 to 10 weeks and Egypt and eastward to the Cauca- before spring planting time unless sus and into Baluchistan and parts commercially grown transplants are of India. available. Germination is very slow, The two main classes of celery are usually 2 to 3 weeks, and can be has- the green and the golden, or self- tened slightly by presoaking the seed blanching. The green type with un- blanched stalks adds considerably to Celery display in a garden. the appearance and flavor of both salads and casseroles and is currently more popular on American tables. This type includes Giant Pascal, Fork- hook and Utah strains. For use as a canape of raw vegetables, some cooks still prefer the golden or self- blanching type with yellowish white stalks and usually a milder, blander favor. Popular golden varieties grown are Golden Plume, Cornell 19 and Michigan Golden. Celery seed is very small (60,000 per ounce) compared with other com- mon vegetables, very slow to germi- nate (15 to 21 days) and requires a long, cool growing season of 120 to 140 days to produce a crop. Celery needs a rich, moist soil and mild, equable growing conditions without sudden cold spells or dry periods to check its growth. Muck or

149 overnight before sowing in flats I/I6 loose head with partly blanched inner inch deep. Seed flats must be kept foHage. moist and covered at 60° to 70° F Endive is more tolerant of sum- temperature until the sprouts appear. mer heat and low soil moisture than At this stage, they should be un- most lettuce varieties, and is also covered immediately and moved to slower to grow and mature (usually direct sunUght and a slightly cooler 85 to 95 days). The curled varieties situation. Seedlings must be trans- can be cut and cropped, yet continue planted or thinned so that developing to produce new secondary edible plants are 1V2 to 2 inches apart and leaves. These curled varieties such as kept in full sunlight until frost-free Green Curled, Ruffec, and Deep Heart planting time. The young plants then have a slightly bitter flavor but are can be hardened off outdoors, and set very decorative and desirable in in the garden, spacing them 6 to 10 salads and for garnish. The broad- inches apart in rows 2 feet apart. leaved Batavian or escarole varieties For ordinary usage, figure on a are somewhat milder and add a dif- half-dozen plants per adult in family. ferent flavor and texture to salads. Harvest by cutting at base of stalk Seed is usually sown direct in the w^ith a sharp knife. The usual harvest garden in the early spring VA inch span is from the stage when the stalk deep in rows 2 to 3 feet apart, later is tw^o-thirds of full size until fully thinned to 6 or 8 inches between would be about a 5-10-10 ratio. plants. Four to five feet of row per Celery requires ample and continu- adult in family will suffice for aver- ous soil moisture and a high fertility. age table use. If soil is not rich, fertilizer should be For earlier harvest, seed may be used. The formula depends on the started in flats indoors 6 to 8 weeks individual soil type, but in most cases before planting time, then trans- would be about a 5-10-10 ratio. planted to the garden. Summer sow- Celery may be attacked by leaf- ing of seed will produce autumn crops eating worms and aphids (plant lice). which, maturing in cooler weather, You can control these insects with are apt to be somewhat milder in approved insecticides. Blight and mil- flavor and with less of the slight dew also may be problems; control bitterness characteristic of summer them with an appropriate fungicide. harvested crops. Loosely tying the outer leaves upright to exclude sun- Endive—^Escarole light tends to blanch the inner leaves, Endive (Cichorium endivia—fam- making them milder and reducing the ily Compositae) is native to regions bitter taste. of the eastern Mediterranean and was Harvest by cutting at base or care- grown and used by Greeks and Egyp- fully pulling entire plant when inner tians before the Christian era. Closely leaves are partly or wholly blanched. related to chicory, endive has small Outer leaves are apt to be bitter and seeds (27,000 per ounce) which ger- minate quickly (5 to 14 days) under usually are discarded. moist conditions and in varying tem- Endive seldom is bothered by in- peratures from 60° to 70° F. sects or disease problems. Sometimes, There are two principal types of in mild damp areas, slugs or snails endive; Curled or Curly—with loose, may appear and eat the foHage. Con- narrow, medium green fringed and trol them with special snail bait or curly leaves; and Batavian or escarole slug protectant. Dry ashes around with broader, thicker, smooth leaves plants usually repel both slugs and that have a white midrib forming a snails.

150 Cress A 10- to 15-foot row usually suf- Garden Cress or pepper grass fices for the average family. Cut with [Lepidium sativum] belongs to the a sharp knife as soon as leaves are Cruciferae family and although simi- formed. lar in flavor to water cress and up- land cress, it is far more popular and Chicory much easier to grow under ordinary Chicory (Cichorium intybus—fam- gardening conditions. Water Cress ily Compositae), also known as (Nasfuriium officinale] is a semi- French Endive or Witloof Chicory, aquatic plant requiring very cold is thought to be native to Europe and spring water conditions to grow well. Asia. Although some chicory is grown Upland Cress [Barbarea verna) toler- for the roots which are dried, ground ates a normal soil but is slower to and used as a coffee adulerant, we grow, somewhat bitter in taste, and will cover here the salad type and not commonly produced in U. S. culture in which the blanched leaves gardens. are the garden crop wanted. Garden Cress is both easy to grow Chicory is related closely to endive and extremely fast to form edible but usually produced in a far dif- leaves. The seeds are moderate in ferent manner. size (12,000 per ounce] and under The seeds are small (27,000 per moderate temperature of 65° to 70° ounce] and they germinate in 7 to germinate in 4 to 7 days. 14 days at temperatures between 68° Garden cress is probably the fastest to 85° R. seed to sprout of all garden vege- Seed ordinarily is spring sown a tables. The young seedlings also grow quarter inch deep in 15- to 18-inch rapidly and the very young immature rows and the seedlings thinned to leaves are tender, mildly pungent like eventually stand 4 to 5 inches apart. water cress, and they can be cropped It must not be planted too early or for table use when only a few inches premature flowering (bolting] will high—10 days to 2 weeks old. occur. Garden cress is used commonly as The parsnip-like roots are har- a quick growing indoor crop, often vested in the fall before freezing available in preseeded kits with a weather, washed, and trimmed of all medium of vermiculite, peat moss, leaves except the single central crown etc., and is intended to be grown in bud on top. The roots are then stored a sunny kitchen window to produce under cover in a cool frost-free room. edible leaves in 10 to 15 days. Grown These roots are stored and later this way indoors, cress can be avail- planted for winter production of the able and used all winter long by suc- cessive plantings. edible shoots by setting them slant- wise at a depth of 4 to 6 inches with Outdoor spring and summer garden culture is also easy enough but for crowns about even with the surface continued harvest one must make in a medium of sand, sawdust or a successive plantings every few weeks. similar porous medium at tempera- Hot summer weather causes garden tures of 50° to 60° F in a dark place. cress plants to bolt quickly and lose In 3 to 4 weeks the blanched heads quality, so early cropping is neces- or shoots appear and are ready to cut sary. and harvest. Successive winter plant- Sow the seed % inch deep in rows ings of the stored dormant roots a foot apart and harvest as soon as every 2 to 3 weeks can be made to seedlings are 3 to 4 inches high for produce edible shoots throughout the the best quality. winter.

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