Another fresh addition to the salad

[hendi_alex]

From the garden, salad ingredients now include varous lettuce and mesclun mix, arugula, spinach, radish, and for the first time today, sugar snaps. I love this time of the year with fresh salad greens and tossed salad nearly every day. The only thing missing now are the tomatoes and the cucumbers. Cucumbers are blooming and tomatoes are about two weeks away.

[kylie77]

Oh I'm so jeleous! Sounds lovely!

My cucumber plants are still looking quite sad, but... I did spot a flower today much to my complete shock! They're still inside at night anyway. So maybe they'll be ok after all! I sooooooooo can't wait till we have something fresh from the garden to eat!

[green~acres]

I cant agree with you more. A fresh salad from the garden is the best.Also, am looking forward to the tomatoes and cucumbers.We are getting lettuce, radishes and green onions. How do I know when the beets are ready?
Good eating. Julie

[hendi_alex]

I only tried beets once of twice several years ago. They didn't seem to like my sandy soil at the time. I think that they are like radishes, turnips, and other root crops in that they can be picked whenever the size suits you. Just brush back the soil a bit and keep an eye on the size of root development. If you let the beet get too large, or if they grow too slowly under stress the roots can get fibrous. Probably somewhere between one and two inches is probably best, depending upon your preference.

[applestar]

I've been letting lambs quarters grow up a bit before pulling them out or nipping them short to harvest them for salad Also have been eating sweet violet leaves and flowers, new dandelion leaves and buds, sprinking the yellow part of the flowers. Occasionally chickweed, henbit, and deadnettle. Ostrich Fern shoots. Tried garlic mustard but I don't care for them in salad -- makes good garlicky addition to pot herbs (par-boil then sautée) though, along with chickweed, henbit, deadnettle, and bigger dandelion leaves.

From the cultivated garden, lettuces, arugula, and radish are all I got so far. The spinach is about 1-1/2 in. and could be harvested as baby leaf, but I think I'll give them a few more days. Japanese wild parsley, peppermint, spearmint, "fuzzy mint that I don't know the name of" and lemon balm leaves from the herb garden. Pineapple sage from the Indoor Winter Garden.