What this guild does
This guild combines fast-growing salad greens with companion plants that provide pest protection and extend the harvest season. The diversity of plants creates a beautiful, edible landscape while the different maturity rates ensure continuous harvests throughout the growing season.
Plants in this guild
Partner 1
Lettuce
Partner 2
Spinach
Partner 3
Radishes
Partner 4
Chives
Partner 5
Calendula
Partner 6
Arugula
Layout and spacing
Pattern
Interplanted rows or broadcast seeding
Spacing
Vary by crop - lettuce 6 inches, radishes 2 inches
Size
4x4 foot bed provides salads for 2-4 people
Benefits
- Quick harvests in 30-60 days
- Natural pest deterrence
- Succession planting opportunities
- Suitable for small spaces
- Cool weather tolerance
Maintenance
- Succession plant every 2 weeks
- Provide shade cloth in summer
- Keep soil consistently moist
- Harvest outer leaves for cut-and-come-again
- Interplant quick-growing radishes as row markers
Harvest notes
- Harvest lettuce leaves when 4-6 inches
- Pick spinach before bolting
- Pull radishes within days of maturity
- Calendula flowers are edible
Questions people ask
What is an easy vegetable guild for beginners?
A salad guild is one of the easiest vegetable guilds because lettuce, spinach, radishes, herbs, and edible flowers mature quickly and fit in a small raised bed.
Can salad guilds grow in summer?
They perform best in cool weather. In warm months, use shade cloth, harvest early, or switch the bed to heat-loving crops.