Sources for Salad

If you want to create your own mesclun selection, a good place to start is by purchasing--locally or from a seed catalogue--four or five varieties of leaf lettuce such as Oak Leaf, Black-Seeded Simpson, Lollo Rosa, Marvel of Four Seasons and Red Sails, and for summer, Buttercrunch, Little Gem and Summer Bib. Add to these arugula (rocket), chervil and radicchio.

Then choose the greens that appeal to you from those listed below. The list describes generally how they taste. Most are cool-weather plants. The exceptions are noted.

* Amaranth: There are numerous leaf amaranths and they range in color from magenta to yellow to green. They grow in warm weather and will produce for a long season.

* Arugula (rocket, roquette): Arugula is very easy to grow. Its leaves are gray-green and deeply cut, and when young they are mild, nutty, with a slight radish flavor, but as the plant matures they get quite peppery.

* Chervil: This classic component of mesclun is an herb, not a true salad green. It has ferny delicate leaves with a slight anise/parsley taste.

* Endive: Both curly and broad-leaf endives are beautiful and zesty in a mesclun mix. There are a number of varieties. The major distinctions are the serrations and the tenderness of the leaves. The fine-leaf curly one called frisee is the most distinctive and tender.

* Kale: There are numerous types of kale: the large blue-gray, curly-leaved types; ornamental red and white ones sometimes called salad savoy; Ragged Jack with frilly, notched, light-purple leaves. Use kales for their rich, sweet, broccoli/cabbage flavor and the salad savoy for color.

* Lettuce: Lettuce can be green or red. Most varieties grow best in cool weather, although there are a few bred for warm weather. The four main categories are loose-leaf, butterhead, crisphead and romaine. Loose-leaf types do not form heads and are some of the easiest to grow. Butterheads, or bibb types, form soft, buttery loose heads. Crispheads are the iceberg or supermarket type. Romaines are crisp, dark green, and the heads and leaves are elongated. Romaines have more robust and sweeter flavors. Choose many types and mix them in with mesclun for visual appeal.

* Mache (corn salad, lamb’s lettuce): Mache has small dark-green leaves with a mild nutty flavor.

* Mustard: There are numerous varieties of mustard, both American and Oriental types. The leaves can be green or red, smooth or ruffled. Some varieties are fairly mild. Others such as Japanese Red Mustard are very tangy. All have a mustard flavor.

* Nasturtium: Nasturtiums have round leaves with a watercress flavor. Use them sparingly in mesclun mixes.

* Orach (Atriplex hortensis): Orach can have red, yellow or green leaves, two to three inches long. They are mild-tasting, sweet and tender green.

* Radicchio (chicory): There are dozens of types of radicchios. Some have long and thin leaves, others are rounded or curly. Radicchio is usually green but can be red as well. Radicchio has a slightly bitter taste when young and a very bitter taste when mature and grown in hot weather.

* Sorrel: Sorrel is a perennial plant that will grow in the shade. It will produce all summer. Use the leaves sparingly in a mix. They have a lemony, grassy flavor.

Sources of Seeds for Mesclun Greens

Nichols Garden Nursery, 1190 N. Pacific Highway, Albany, Ore. 97321

Shepherd’s Garden Seeds, 30 Irene St., Torrington, Conn. 06790

The Cook’s Garden, Box 65, Londonderry, Vt. 05148; catalogue $1.

The Gourmet Gardener, 4000 W. 126th St., Leawood, Kan. 66209