Grow These 4 Salad-friendly Greens

Try one of these greens – or mix and match – to create a delicious, 100-per cent organic salad

Forget about store-bought salad – create a healthy green medley from your very own garden

How can we get through the winter without buying salad greens? We asked ourselves this question, and here’s why: Homegrown salad greens are healthier, offering 100 percent-organic, fresh-picked goodness.

And with all the worries about food poisoning in packaged lettuce and other store-bought salad fixings, we like to know where our food comes from. Plus, in addition to saving us money, it’s empowering to have healthy food for the grabbing in your own backyard 365 days a year.

Four Salad-friendly Greens

Kale: Here’s a myth-buster: you don’t need lettuce for a scrumptious salad. Simply use the “chiffonade” method to slice kale – of any type, from Russian to Lacinato to Portuguese – for a light yet luscious salad experience. Here’s how to chiffonade, as described by author Sharon Hanna in her bestselling book, The Book of Kale: The Easy-to-Grow Superfood, with 80+ Recipes:

“Roll a few leaves at a time tightly together, the way tobacco leaves are rolled into a cigar. After rolling the leaves, a sharp knife is used to slice the roll into thin sections as you would slice a baguette, straight or on the diagonal. When unrolled, the chiffonade method yields thin pieces that cook quickly or are perfect for salads.”

Swiss Chard: Whether it’s red, rainbow, gold or ‘Neon Glow’, chard is gorgeous in the garden. It’s also super productive and pretty on the plate summer through fall through winter until spring, when it will bolt and signal to you that it’s the season to plant a fresh new patch.

Italian Heirloom Lettuce: Quick to grow, bolt-resistant and abundant, ‘Garden Ferns’ Italian lettuce gets a big thumbs-up from my family. We’ve been growing it inside as a quick microgreen and outside all year long for delectable texture and flavour.

Senposai: With a mild and sweet flavour, these Asian greens provide huge, flat leaves that are quick to rinse and tender in salads. We also use them as wrap shells, Udon-soup greens, and simple snacks all on their own.

Added to these four fabulous greens, we keep parsley and green onions growing right outside our back door – and what more does one really need when it comes to enjoying a sumptuous salad no matter what season it may be?