Page 67 - South Mississippi Living - March, 2026

• Radishes: These are fast-growing root vegetables that
can be harvested in as little as 35 days. Radishes are good companion plants for lettuce because they help to break up the soil.
• Kale: Tender baby kale leaves are perfect for salads. Kale is very simple to grow and is full of nutrients. Ruffled Redbor and Starbor are two types that grown well in Mississippi.
• Herbs: Dill, cilantro, basil, and chives can be planted for an added flavor boost for your lovely salad greens. These are fun and easy to grow.
Gardening Notes
leaving the inner leaves to continue growing for a “cut-and- come-again” method of harvest. If harvesting kale, it’s easy to pull the leaves from the hard stem and midribs by simply tearing them.
Points to Remember
Use clean tools. Use clean shears or scissors to prevent the spread of disease and avoid damaging the plant when harvesting.
Leave the center alone. Always leave the inner, younger leaves and the central growing point untouched, as this is where new growth will come from.
Harvest in moderation. Do not cut more than one-third of the plant at a time.
Harvest regularly. You can harvest your veggies and herbs every one to two weeks, depending on how quickly the plants grow.
Clean your harvest. After you cut the leaves, place them in a salad spinner colander, and fill the bowl with water gently agitating greens to release dirt. Then, drain the greens in the colander and spin until dry.
Support regrowth. Don’t forget to go back and water the cut plant immediately after harvesting to help it recover and promote new growth in your salad table.
Fertilize. Fertilize every few weeks with compost tea or an organic fertilize to promote growth.
Gaye Winter, Ph.D., teaches English at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and is currently serving as President of the Biloxi Garden Club. Reach her at gaye.winter@mgccc.edu.
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Water and fertilize: Keep the potting mix consistently moist, as salad greens are thirsty plants. Water more frequently as temperatures rise. You might want to apply a gentle organic fertilizer after the seedlings emerge.
Sun and shade: Most salad greens prefer shaded growing spots during the hottest months of the season.
Practice succession planting: To ensure a continuous harvest throughout the spring, sow new seeds every one to two weeks during March and April. This prevents all your plants from maturing at once.
When we grow any type of leafy greens it is important to do succession planting. That means we plant every two weeks so that we can have a perpetual harvest through the entire season. We have the option to harvest baby greens while we allow a few of the plants to grow to full size.
Harvesting Your Bounty
As the plants mature, use scissors to snip the outer leaves,
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