Speaking of baby vegetables, we mean a special type of cultivation involving harvesting at an early stage of development Baby vegetables fashion came from the south of Europe, first it went to Western countries, now also reaches Poland.It is worth noting that the name baby is also given to ready-made mixtures of seeds intended for sowing in the ground or in a pot.The market offers, for example, a baby leaf salad, i.e. a salad made of whole, not shredded leaves, and baby carrots, i.e. carrots several centimeters long, offered as snacks to be eaten raw.
All fast-growing lettuces with delicate light green leaves are suitable for spring cultivation. For later sowing, choose varieties with darker leaves, and above all, those that do not break into the flower stem.Batavia, derived from iceberg lettuce, is very popular. Chard, spinach and beetroot leaves can also be added to salads. A great culinary attraction has recently been lamb's lettuce, especially the varieties with red leaves.
The real discovery, however, is Asian cabbage in unusual forms, flavors and colors. They are sown by flushes from early spring to late summer.If the leaves near the root are broken during harvesting, the plants will again produce side shoots and produce a crop.Mustard oils contained in the leaves strengthen the body's defenses and have an antibacterial effect. They contain a lot of vitamins A, B, C and minerals. The renewal of the sowing ensures that the leaves are always fresh and tasty. The rate of vegetation depends on the variety and season. It is best to sow when the first seedlings have released their first cotyledons.
Own sowing lettuce
We start sowing baby leaf lettuces from the end of February, sowing seeds on pallets or in multi-pots (three seeds in one chamber).After the seeds have germinated, the cultivation is interrupted, leaving one seedling with the strongest.When the temperature of the substrate rises to 10 ° C, you can start sowing. Sow spinach, chard and buckwheat in rows. Radicchio, chicory, romaine lettuce and dandelion can be sown in a sowing broadcast, but only if the soil is well weeded.
Pick the first leaves when the lettuce is a few centimeters high.At the same time, we break the seedlings 5-8 cm apart. The main harvest takes place 2-3 weeks later.The simplest recipe for a young lettuce salad comes from Italy: rinse the leaves, drain them, then put them into a large bowl, season to taste with vinegar and s alt, and sprinkle generously with olive oil. Store the whole heads in a refrigerator at 4-7 ° C.
