How to grow mache (corn salad)
Valerianella locusta · Caprifoliaceae · Vegetable
Mache (Corn Salad) is a cool-season vegetable in the Caprifoliaceae family, almost always sown straight into the ground where it will grow. It wants full sun, though it tolerates a little afternoon shade in hot regions and steady, even moisture. From sowing to first pick is about 45–60 days. It is one of the toughest crops here, standing through hard frost and often improving for it.
Grower’s note: The hardiest salad green there is - sow from late summer through fall and it stands under snow for winter cutting. It will not germinate in warm soil, so it is not a spring crop in most regions. Harvest whole little rosettes.
Sowing
Sow about 0.25″ deep, into soil between 40–68°F — germination is quickest near 55°F. It is slow and often erratic to germinate (7–21 days). It does not transplant well, so sow it in its final position rather than starting it in pots.
Spacing & layout
Give each plant about 3″ along the row with roughly 6″ between rows. On a square-foot grid that is 16 per square foot. Allow at least 6″ of loose, workable soil for the roots. It grows well in containers at least 6″ deep.
Fitting it to your season
As a cool-season crop, mache (corn salad) does its best growing in the mild weather of spring and fall and tends to bolt or turn bitter in summer heat. A second sowing in late summer, timed to mature as the weather cools, is usually the better crop of the year — and light frost only sweetens it.
Quick facts
When to plant mache (corn salad)
Companions
No strong companions recorded.
No strong antagonists recorded.
Common problems
Pests: slugs.
Diseases & disorders: downy mildew.
Figures are typical home-garden ranges from Cooperative Extension planting guides, cross-checked against multiple state sources. Your variety and conditions will vary.