Salad Table

My husband built me a salad table for Christmas.  It is essentially a shallow planting box (4 inch depth) on legs that could theoretically be moved to different areas of the yard -- a warm sunny location in the winter and early spring, a shady location in the heat of the summer.  It is specifically for growing shallow rooted salad greens, like lettuce, radishes, pak choi, etc., giving them the optimal conditions they need and letting them run their course through the spring and summer, while freeing up space in the garden proper for the summer vegetables, like tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and cukes.

I purchased a "garden quilt" (row cover fabric) from Gardener's Supply that is supposed to protect down to 25 degrees.  So with this in mind, I went on and planted the salad table a good 4 or 5 weeks earlier than I would dream of planting in the open garden.  Although we have very pleasant, moderate temperatures in February and March, our last frost date isn't until April 15, and we actually get our biggest snow (ok, don't laugh -- I'm talking 1 to 6 inches, but still . . .) and ice storms in February and even March.  Even without snow or ice, our temps can be in the 70's one day and plunge down below freezing the next.  So it takes a while for the soil in the garden proper to warm sufficiently to germinate and sustain seedlings.

We placed the salad table on the south side of the house, by our big kitchen window.  I have the seeds planted and tucked in under their blankie (which, garden cat Ophelia thinks makes a nice little bed for her, too :-( -- I may have to rig up some anti-kitty pokey things).  It gives her a nice view of the bird feeders, as well as comings and goings in the kitchen and on the street.  Our other cat, Belle, prefers the view from the window sill inside.

I believe the garden quilt can serve as a shade cloth also when things really heat up.  I am finding that shade cloth is an important key to growing salad greens through the summer here in the Memphis area.

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