Page 66 - South Mississippi Living - March, 2026

HOME & GARDEN
Salad
Tables
story by Gaye Winter
Planting a salad table in March in the Deep South will ensure fresh salad greens, vegetables, and herbs in April. You can
plant a salad table in a location that gets sun and some shade depending on the greens and herbs you are going to plant. Some salad tables also have casters and can be moved around for effective sun and shade.
A salad table can be a large table with soil in it as well as a shallow container designed for growing leafy vegetables and herbs in small spaces like a condo balcony or an apartment patio. The weather in March can still be cool, which is ideal for most salad crops, but make sure that the last frost is over.
Advantages of a Salad Table
• Mobility: If your table has casters, this will allow you to move the table around for sun and shady locations for more harvest.
• Drainage: Salad tables have excellent drainage as most are built with mesh bottoms.
• Convenience: Planting and harvesting can be easier as the table’s height eliminates the need for bending.
• Pest and weed control: The elevated, container-based design minimizes weeding. It also protects your plants from pests like snails and even rabbits because of its height.
How to Build a Salad Table
Build the table. You can construct a shallow wooden frame or buy one at your nursery or online. Find the type that fits your needs with the correct depth and mesh, and again, works well for drainage.
Fill with potting mix. Use a high-quality, lightweight “soil- less” potting mix. Heavier garden soil is not recommended for salad tables. A soil-less potting mix contains no soil but instead uses materials like peat, coco coir, perlite, and vermiculite, etc. to provide aeration, water retention, and structural support for roots.
Choosing your Plants
Selecting cool-weather leafy greens and herbs for your April harvest is easy. Some good choices include:
• Green Leaf & Red Leaf: These grow as loose bunches
rather than heads. They can be harvested by the outer leaves as needed for a longer harvest. Seeds take from 2-10 days to germinate.
• Arugula: It originates from the Mediterranean and belongs to the mustard family. Known for its peppery flavor and rapid growth, you can plant every 14 days for succession planting.
• Spinach: This is a classic cool-weather green that thrives in spring. There are many options when selecting spinach determined by their leaf type like Savoy or Smooth. Plant every 14 days for succession planting. Seeds take from 5-9 days to germinate.
• Romaine: This is a lettuce that grows in heads. The baby leaves of romaine can be harvested. Plant every 14 days for succession planting. Seeds take from 7-10 days to germinate.
66 | March 2026
www.smliving.net | SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living