I enjoyed my first garden salad of the season tonight, and it was delicious!  There is nothing like fresh greens from the garden.   The lettuce is moist and tasty.   The spinach is juicy and hearty.   Dill adds a crisp flavor, while the bitter endive gives nutrients.   (That's the only reason I can think of for including this sour herb in the mesclun mix.)

This fresh garden salad made the perfect first course for my evening meal. It was also a wonderful way to top off a day of speaking engagements which included an appearance at chicago's inagural Garden in a City show. I spoke about Garden Gadgets.  

City in a Garden was the perfect show for urban gardeners.   Exciting designs with quality plants and materials were on display.   The rooftop and courtyard sections were fresh and innovative.   The vendors were friendly, especially the folks at Ups A Daisy and Awesome Auger.   But the best exhibit was the wine tasting.   Chris hooked us up with choice Hungarian reds and Spatleses.

First picking of Bloomsdale spinach, Bibb lettuce, oak leaf lettuce, endive, and dill

Back to the salad....The sald season only lasts through spring.   By early summer the lettuce, spinach, and others will begin to flower and turn bitter.   Plus as my grandfather James says, "the worms will eat them up."   Meaning that warm weather brings a host of insects that relish their tender leaves.  

Before then, I will eat plenty of salads with a host of my favorite fixings, including: salmon, golden raisins, cranberries, pickled banana peppers, red peppers, croutons, and carrots.   We should finish our greens right around the time they are ready to bolt and our okra seedlings are ready to start growing.  

Shaping seed rows on March 26 th

Ready for thinning & the salad bowl May 15 th