Corn Salad is a largely unknown leafy vegetable that has a long history in Europe, where it is know variously as mache, vit, fetticus, and so on. Harvest individual leaves or whole rosettes. These are small, but succulent and tasty. Corn salad is very nice on its own or mixed in with other salad greens. It is an excellent match for baby chard and arugula leaves. Below are some of our top tips on how to grow corn salad from seed.
Difficulty
Easy
Latin: Valerianella locusta
Family: Caprifoliaceae
Season & Zone
Season: Cool season
Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
Zone: May overwinter in Zones 5 and up. Otherwise grown as an annual.
Timing
Sow corn salad in early spring and again in September for fall and winter harvests. Ideal temperature: 5-18°C (45-65°F). Seeds sprout best in cool, moist soil. Seeds germinate in 7-21 days.
Starting
Sow 3 seeds per inch 1cm (½”) deep in rows 30cm (12″) apart. Thin to 5cm (2”) apart.
Growing
Grow in light, fertile soil with a pH range of 6.5-7.0. Corn salad grows best on fertilizer remaining in the bed after summer crops have been harvested, so it’s perfect for following any crop that ends in September, like bush beans or lettuce. Try filling a raised bed with corn salad for fall & winter harvests: Fifty feet of planted row will provide a big bowl of tender leaves harvested once a week.
Harvest
Delicately bunch small groups of leaves together and cut with a sharp knife 2-5cm (1-2″) above the soil, so the plants can grow back. Or sow very densely, and gradually thin the plants throughout winter, cutting them at the soil line. Corn salad leaves frequently come in contact with soil, so rinse them thoroughly.
Seed Information
In optimum conditions at least 75% of seeds will germinate. Usual seed life: 3 years. Per 100’ row: 3600 seeds, per acre: 257.4M seeds.