» Small Salladings

Small Salladings

Eighteenth-century English gardening books identified a class of salad greens called “Small Salladings.” The were greens separate from lettuces. John Ambercrombie, the author of a gardening book that remained in print in multiple editons for one-hundred years — from the late eighteenth through the late nineteentg century — tossed many brassicas into this group, including radish, which we now think of as only a root crop. The plants he mentiones — cresses, mustard, radish, and rape — are all fast germinators. Whether this was central to his idea of small salladings is unclear — his et cetera is a vague “and other small sallad seeds.”

John Ambercrombie’s text follows:

Sow cresses, mustard, radish, rape and other small sallad seeds often.Where a constant supply of these small herbs are rquired young, there shold be some seed of each sort put into the ground, once every six or seven days.

Observe, if the weather proves hot and dry, it is proper to sow these seeds now on a somewhat shady border. Draw shallow drills, and sow the seeds therin very thick, and cover them lightly with earh. In dry weather give them a moderate watering every other day.

John Ambercrombie, Every man his own gardener, 11th edition: London, 1787. p. 236

John Ambercrombi’s book, “Every man his own gardener,” included a gardeners’ calendar that was organized by the month. The entry just cited was for the month of May. The plants were grown close together, and cropped for use in salads, and presumably also for garnishes. The schedule, planting every six or seven days, is typical of the aggressive approach English gardeners in this period took towards producing salad. This schedule was maintained throughout the warm months. Aromatic herbs, such as mint and chervil were also used in the context of salads. In hot weather these seeds should be planted in the shade of other plants — Ambercrombie’s “shady border.” They would work between tomato plants, if the tomatoes were pruned to start a foot or two above the dirt. In my own garden I fit these “small salladings” in where I can more or less on an ad hoc basis.

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Home Hearth Cooking Bread Bread Ovens Homemade Alcohol Wild Mushrooms Heritage Turkeys Unrelated to Food Traditional Foodways Kitchen Gardening Culinary History Samburu Eggs How to Contact Me Blog	Small Salladings Eighteenth-century English gardening books identified a class of salad greens called “Small Salladings.” The were greens separate from lettuces. John Ambercrombie, the author of a gardening book that remained in print in multiple editons for one-hundred years — from the late eighteenth through the late nineteentg century — tossed many brassicas into this group, including radish, which we now think of as only a root crop. The plants he mentiones — cresses, mustard, radish, and rape — are all fast germinators. Whether this was central to his idea of small salladings is unclear — his et cetera is a vague “and other small sallad seeds.” John Ambercrombie’s text follows: Sow cresses, mustard, radish, rape and other small sallad seeds often.Where a constant supply of these small herbs are rquired young, there shold be some seed of each sort put into the ground, once every six or seven days. Observe, if the weather proves hot and dry, it is proper to sow these seeds now on a somewhat shady border. Draw shallow drills, and sow the seeds therin very thick, and cover them lightly with earh. In dry weather give them a moderate watering every other day. John Ambercrombie, Every man his own gardener, 11th edition: London, 1787. p. 236 John Ambercrombi’s book, “Every man his own gardener,” included a gardeners’ calendar that was organized by the month. The entry just cited was for the month of May. The plants were grown close together, and cropped for use in salads, and presumably also for garnishes. The schedule, planting every six or seven days, is typical of the aggressive approach English gardeners in this period took towards producing salad. This schedule was maintained throughout the warm months. Aromatic herbs, such as mint and chervil were also used in the context of salads. In hot weather these seeds should be planted in the shade of other plants — Ambercrombie’s “shady border.” They would work between tomato plants, if the tomatoes were pruned to start a foot or two above the dirt. In my own garden I fit these “small salladings” in where I can more or less on an ad hoc basis.