Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 5, 1995                   TAG: 9504060004
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ADRIENNE COOK THE WASHINGTON POST
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

SALAD GARDEN IS EASY TO GROW AND YIELDS A VARIETY OF DELIGHTS

Consisting almost entirely of annual leafy greens, including a selection of herbs, the salad garden starts up quickly in the spring, languishes somewhat in the heat of the summer and revives in the fall for a spectacular finish to the garden season. It is almost entirely sown from seed, incorporates varieties that are foolproof sprouters, requires minimal maintenance and produces a substantial amount of good eating in a compact space.

If planned well, it is a place of unpretentious beauty. The salad garden is, in all, an ideal project for the beginning gardener, an imaginative solution for the small plot and a source of continuing delight to the gourmet.

To this end, the salad garden discussed here consists primarily of ``soft'' salads: Greens, herbs, flowers. These, after all, form the base of a fresh green salad; the rest is optional.

Selection of varieties should be based on one's palate as well as how easy they are to grow. Most home-grown salad greens eaten soon after harvesting are sweeter and more flavorful than supermarket produce.

Among the easiest and most rewarding in terms of yield and flavor are:

Leaf lettuces. These are lettuces that do not form a tight head, like icebergs. Seeds germinate readily, and heads need to be 6 to 12 inches apart to form the large globes typically seen in a supermarket. Thus, seedlings should be thinned to that spacing as they grow; these very young plants are a delicate and flavorful addition to a salad of mixed greens. There are dozens of varieties of leafy salads. A few of the best-known and utterly fool-proof are Black-Seeded Simpson (mid-sized green), Grand Rapids (large green), Red Oak Leaf (large red) and Green Oak Leaf (large green), Red Lollo (mid-sized) and Burpee's Gourmet Blend (mid-sized, mixed colors).

Butterheads. Boston lettuce is a butterhead, but it is difficult to grow around here. Easier choices include Little Gem (mid-sized, green), Tom Thumb (miniature, green), Buttercrunch (large, green) and Juliette (mid-sized, variegated). Radicchio, a sort of cross between butterhead lettuce and cabbage, is a sought-after ingredient in gourmet salads and is simple to cultivate. Look for plants in garden centers or sow from seed; Verona is an easy variety.

Spinach. It should be picked very young, before leaves become too stiff or crisp. Young spinach is tender and sweet, delicious raw. Excellent, easy varieties are Melody and Vienna.

Mesclun. Although all salad greens can be cut or pulled when young, some individual and blended varieties were developed specifically for cutting and coming back. Mesclun, a European-style mixture of some dozen young greens with flower petals and herbs, is the classic example; mesclun salads now are common in supermarkets but should be considered for the salad garden because they are at their best when eaten immediately after harvest. On seed racks, look for all ``salad bowl'' types and, of course, herbs and edible flowers.

Herbs. The easiest and most appropriate in green-salad combinations are basil, dill, parsley, cilantro and, for the adventurous and more-experienced gardeners, fennel. All start readily from seed. Among basils, in addition to the widely available Common or Sweet Basil, there is Lettuce Leaf, which sports large, lettuce-shaped leaves ideal in salads.

Flowers. There are plenty of edible flowers, but the most satisfying in terms of ease of cultivation, taste and beauty in both salads and in the garden are nasturtium, viola and calendula. Nasturtium and viola start readily from seed; calendula is an easy-to-grow perennial that should be purchased as a young plant.