Why is mache called corn salad

To ensure germination, soil temperatures should be at least 50 degrees, but not higher than 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Keep soil moist until germination, which takes seven to 12 days. As seedlings sprout, thin them out to 3- to 6-inch spacing.

Growing plants should be watered weekly. You can prolong the season by succession planting every two weeks throughout spring. To plant a fall crop, cool the soil a bit by watering it well and then covering it with a board for a few days before sowing.

If you plant in the fall, you might want to mulch the plants after the ground has frozen. Simply keep the plants watered and weed-free. When grown early in the spring, full sun exposure will help warm the soil and get the plants up and growing. As the days get warmer, the plants will appreciate partial shade, especially in the afternoon.

It does need good drainage and tends to grow more leaves in a soil that is rich in compost or other organic matter. It prefers a soil pH that ranges from slightly acidic to neutral 6. Water regularly in the early morning hours.

If the plant is exposed to full sun, water more frequently. However, for seeds to germinate, it needs soil temperatures between 50 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. If soil is warmer than this, the seeds will go dormant. As with many leafy greens, the plant will begin to flower and set seed bolt as the summer weather grows warm. The plant grows equally well in humid and dry air conditions, provided it gets the right soil moisture. Because the growing season for mache is so short, no fertilizer is necessary.

Not bad for an ex-weed. The leaves are dark green and tender. There should be no sign of yellowing or aging. The plant makes an excellent green manure and soil conditioner, particularly if turned under after harvest.

The plant is so hardy that it can even be harvested frozen. That means it can be grown in the earliest part of the season before other greens would whither in the chill, bringing a fresh blast of green to the early spring table.

But it will continue to flourish until temperatures reach the 80s. In fact, left to bolt, it will self-seed and volunteer annually. Corn salad isn't a particularly refined name for a salad green, but the plant has other names that broaden its appeal. It's been called lamb's lettuce about as long as it's been called corn salad -that is, since the late s-and in the late s English speakers applied a tried-and-true technique for building a food's cachet: they started using its French name.

It's corn salad with a Continental nom de plume. See more words from the same year. Accessed 14 Nov. Nglish: Translation of corn salad for Spanish Speakers.

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! Log in Sign Up. Save Word. Definition of corn salad. Did you know? First Known Use of corn salad , in the meaning defined above.