Gai Lan and Corn Salad

As mentioned in the previous post, I went on a bit of a sowing spree last week and so I need to catch up with some of the kinds of vegetables that I planted.

Gai Lan

The literal translation of Gai Lan is "mustard orchid" due to the subtle mustard flavour of the leaves. It is a member of the brassica family, also known as Chinese Broccoli and is a leaf vegetable featuring thick, flat, glossy blue-green leaves with thick stems and a small number of tiny, almost vestigial flower heads similar to those of broccoli.

Starting

These can be sown around mid-March for me, or around 3-4 weeks before the last frost date, or transplant seedlings when they are 3-4 weeks old. The seeds should no more than 1cm deep, and can be grown around 8" apart.

Growing

Gai Lan does not need as much fertilizer as its brassica brethren, broccoli, and it is important to water well in dry periods. For cool season harvest gai lan should be sown in the Summer or early Fall.

Harvesting

Stalks can be harvested with leaves and flower buds intact by cutting them at the ground level. For peak flavour, the plants should be harvested before the tiny flower buds open.

Corn Salad

I sowed this on the advice of one of my friends. Corn Salad is a salad green that comes under a mixture of names, for example Lamb's Lettuce or Mâche.

Starting

Seeds sprout best in cool, moist soil, which sounds exactly like the West Coast in mid-March, though it has been pretty warm here of late. These plants can be thinned to 2" so they are pretty good in terms of the amount of vegetables for the space allotted.

Growing

Corn salad grows in a low rosette with spatulate leaves up to 15.2 cm long.[3] It is a hardy plant that grows to zone 5, and in mild climates it is grown as a winter green. In warm conditions it tends to bolt to seed.

Harvesting

Like all salad greens, you can use scissors to cut everything that is about 1-2" from the ground when the plant is about 4" tall, or you can harvest leaves individually.