Cultiver la Salade à Annecy (Haute-Savoie)

Here is a fiche on how to grow salads in Annecy!

Conditions of Growth
Salads prefer a rich, medium-draining soil, and lots of sunlight or a moderate amount of shade. They thrive in temperatures that are neither too hot nor too cold. The ideal soil pH is around 6.8 to 7.

Planting
Seeds should be sown from May to July for summer salads, and from March to September for winter salads. For the latter, it is recommended to use varieties such as 'Winter Wonder', 'Winter of Verrières' or 'Rougette de Montpellier'.

For planting, prepare the soil by weeding and then enriching it with compost. Use a rake to create some shallow drills (around 1cm deep) in which to sow the seeds, leaving around 25cm between each drill. Cover the seeds lightly with soil, using a rake again, and then water them thoroughly. For winter salads, it is advisable to protect the seeds – and later the young plants – from frost using a voile or tunnel.

For established plants, the best time for planting is in the spring, after the last frosts have occurred. Use a spade to create holes that are around 40cm apart, in which to place your plants. Make sure the crown of the plant is at soil level, and then firmly pat the soil around the roots. Water the plants thoroughly after planting.

Salads can also be grown indoors, in pots or window boxes, using good quality potting soil.

Care
Keep the soil around your salads moist, but not waterlogged, and ensure that the drainage is adequate. Fertilise the soil every couple of weeks with natural fertiliser. Avoid drying out, especially in summer. To prevent the growth of weeds, regularly hoe the area around the plants. Watch out for slugs and snails, which love to eat young salad plants, and use natural repellents such as wood ash or beer traps to keep them at bay.

Harvesting and Storage
The time between planting and harvesting varies according to the season and variety: from around 3 to 5 weeks for fast-growing summer salads, and up to 4 months for winter salads.

For the latter, begin harvesting in late autumn, picking the outer leaves first and leaving the central crown to continue growing. You can store salads for up to a week in the fridge, but they can also be conserved for much longer – up to a month – if you wash and dry them thoroughly, and then store them in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. You can also freeze salads, but they will lose their crunch and are best used for cooking.

If you harvest your salads carefully, allowing the roots to remain intact, they will grow again, producing a further harvest in around 2-3 weeks.