52 week salad challenge - January

I had plans for this month's post for the 52 week salad challenge set by Michelle at Veg Plotting. Since the beginning of January I've been picking lots of lovely salads from the polytunnel - giant red mustard, chards, beetroot leaves, spinach, lettuces, rocket, winter purslane, sorrel and land cress. There's always a bag of salad in the fridge and I've been feeling pretty pleased with my polytunnel and its plants.

Admittedly we have been having a mild winter. Inside the polytunnel it's been springlike and warm and the plants have been growing on happily. It all seemed much too easy.

Inspired by VP and the other salad challengers I thought that for the first post I'd see what I could find in my garden. Things were delayed by busy-ness, power cuts and a fault with my broadband so I set aside today to have a hunt for edibles in the garden. Then I hit a snag...

Perhaps a couple of leaves from the tough and trusty cavelo nero? Hmm. Perhaps I'll go back into the polytunnel...

It was a bit gloomy inside, because of all the snow on the outside, but the plants are happy enough. Picking a colander full from this bed (and the rest on the other side of the polytunnel - I really did plant lots) is as easy as opening the fridge.

I don't feel like a proper 52 week salad challenger, in fact I feel a bit of a fraud. Others are scouring their gardens for all sorts of cleverly found wild goodies. I'm just reaping the benefit of accidentally planning, last year, for a challenge I didn't know I was going to do this. I must try harder! Perhaps when the snow thaws...