Salad Burnet

Sow seed in spring, or start a clump by division

Sow salad burnet seed directly in spring into average garden soil in full sun, or split a piece off an established clump instead. Fall sowing works equally well if you would rather set it out at the end of the season. Salad burnet comes readily from either seed or division, and a spring sowing gives the plant a full season to build the deep root that later carries it through dry spells.

Divide the clump every three or four years

Every third or fourth spring, lift the clump and split it into pieces, keeping the roots as intact as you can, then replant the divisions. Skip this in the years between. An old clump loses vigor as its crown crowds itself. Dividing on a three to four year cycle restores it and gives you free plants.

Pinch off the flower heads as they form

As soon as the red pom-pom flower heads appear on their stalks, snip them off at the base of the stalk. Keep after it through the flowering period rather than doing it once. Cutting the flowers off pushes the plant back into leaf instead of seed, which is the part you eat, and it stops the seed from ever ripening. Left to flower, salad burnet reseeds freely and turns weedy in a garden bed.

Pick the tender new leaves, and keep picking

Take the young, soft foliage from the center of the clump and leave the old outer leaves alone. Use it fresh, since the cucumber flavor does not survive drying. Growth starts early in spring and the plant stays green and usable into winter, so keep harvesting whenever new leaves are coming. Only the tender new foliage is worth eating. Older leaves turn tough and bitter, and regular picking keeps the plant producing the young growth you want.