Winter purslane, otherwise known as claytonia, is a new crop for me, so I had no idea what to expect in terms of either coverage or taste.
When I first sowed it towards the end of the summer, it was a magnet for slugs/snails, so I expected not to get a crop. However, one batch survived the mollusc attentions and yesterday, having decided to remove the cloche which had been protecting the kale next to it, came the great reveal.
In other words, I tried the claytonia leaves for the first time and can report that they are possibly nicer than lettuce. There aren’t enough of them for a vast number of meals but I now know more about planting them next year.
Miner’s lettuce, as claytonia/ winter purslane is also know, might be considered a weed in some parts of the world. In any case, its flowers are already evident on the plants in my garden, possibly because the climatic conditions in Northern England are on the warm side in comparison with its native environment.
Growing out of chaos 
I would of never thought it to be weed 🙂 too vibrant to be one heh
Merry Christmas 🙂
Yes, very vibrant! Merry Christmas, Andy 😊
^.^/
Purslane grew wild in our yard in Maine although I don’t know if it was the same variety and yes, most people consider it a weed that will quickly take over. I do like to add it to salads when I’ve seen it on salad bars during our travels in Europe.
It might be a different variety but I am new to such plants, so only know that summer and winter purslane are completely different from each other. Anyway, good to know other people eat it in Europe.
I love that you are always trying something new. I’ve never had much luck growing any lettuce. It either bolts from the warm temps or succumbs to the heat in other ways. I bet any fresh green from one’s garden would be tasty.
Lettuce doesn’t like heat, does it? Maybe you could try growing it at this time of year – the lettuce I’ve got outside now is doing just fine. I’m surprised that it and other things are still growing in view of the short days (only 8 hours of daylight at the moment) but clearly that is not holding them back (too much).
I’ve thought about planting lettuce in my Earthboxes on the front deck. It gets so busy this time of year that I spend less and less time in the garden, other than raking and yanking a few weeds. I’ll give it some thought.
Yes, it seems a worthwhile experiment!