Crystal Madrilejos

Out of all the things I wanted in the garden, lettuces were right near the top of the list, which went: potatoes, lettuces, corn. See, I told you it was near the top. And I’m happy to report that our little leafy greens are flourishing. They’re to the point where I think we totally overdid it. Note for next year: A full row of arugula is way too much. I think we were arugula-deprived heading into spring so we overcompensated, and then some. But, there are worse things than having too much arugula, like having no arugula.

All the varieties we planted (Swiss Chard, Green Oakleaf, Lolla Rossa, arugula, Red Romaine, Tango, Gold Rush, spinach, kale and some all-inclusive mesclun mix) are up and producing wonderfully. There’s nothing like picking fresh, fragrant salad greens minutes before a meal.

Below is a picture of our first salad bounty. These are just the thinnings.

It’s nutty to look at the above pictures because they were taken a little while ago and the lettuces are so much fuller now:

-a.