Maybe the weather has been on my side (salad), but the main reason I built my over bearing shade-generating trellis seems to be fulfilled: it's late January and I'm harvesting salad greens!
The shade isn't enough as it is remarkable how much shade you need to 'protect' greens from burning or bolting. While I cannot insulate them from humidity -- underneath the structure, under the New Guinea Bean/Cucuzzi, Chokoes and sundry climbers aloft, I'm growing and harvesting chicory, matsuma and arugula (rocket).
Lunchtime -- my salad time -- is thrilling. Culinary chomping.
Growing salad vegetables -- green leafy things -- is the absolute main reason why you need to have a garden. Tragically, in the sub tropics just at the time of year when you want to munch more on foliage, your plants will usually fail to thrive or sabotage your culinary plans by seeding.
Working against that imposition of Mother Nature has been my quest. Promoting unnatural green habits has been my marker...
I'm also generating dandelions but they aren't shaded and pay the price. Their leaves burn when they aren't wilting in the Summer sun.
Pity as I do like a good dandelion leaf. My salading is a weedful mix and texture and taste are exotic. In comparison to my preferred greens your main stream cos lettuce is tasteless.
Elsewhere -- out there under the Summer sun -- I'm growing and harvesting capsicums to good effect. They are a bit dry as I have had a lot of trouble keeping water up to them and it has been dry.
The crows are sampling my tomatoes before I can get to them but my garden is egg plant self sufficient.
I haven't as yet needed to fall back on my reserve greens for salading: sweet potato or chocko leaves, Ceylon spinach (yuk!) and water spinach. They aren't my favorites. I don't hold to the adage that just because you can grow it you have to eat it.
