During the dead of winter, I grit my teeth and buy lettuce and herbs at the grocery store. I only do it out of desperation, when I really, really need salad fixin's, and we've nearly exhausted our store of pickled and frozen garden veggies. While we can sometimes get decent salad greens at our weekend markets, the herb situation is dire. When you're spoiled by having a kitchen herb garden, you know you can grab just what you need for that particular dish. Out of season, however, it's all about bunch triage. I try to have enough of three key herbs on hand -- parsley, rosemary, and sage -- but since I have to commit to a ridiculous quantity at purchase, the odds are that they will turn mushy and moldy before I have a chance to use them, and the specific one I need that day is always farthest along to total decomposition.
So. It's no wonder that I go a bit crazy once it's warm enough to put in the herb garden, and also no wonder why Mr. Mulch has to forcibly restrain me from snatching his lettuces prematurely.
Newly transplanted lettuce, off limits for the time being...
Chives provide the first hint that salvation is near. I don't even wait for them to be an inch high before I ruthlessly snare them as our first harvest to sprinkle on a baked potato or two. Chives are closely followed by the appearance of tarragon, another hardy perennial (oregano returns, too, but that comes a bit later). But Rosemary and Parsley have to wait until the arrival of herbs at our local nursery and then... there's no holding me back.
Parsley, Rosemary, Thyme, Dill, and Coriander seedlings, the happy result of letting last year's crop go a bit too long. Also, there's no such thing as planting too much Parsley. Now, grow!!!
Unfortunately, there's probably one more grocery cycle to get through before these are big enough to harvest. Although I'm not big on patience -- maybe I could take a tiny snip here, and they wouldn't notice...?
But the herbs are spared an early assault by the lettuces which have leapfrogged ahead of them. Between a few of the looseleaf varieties and the radicchio that overwintered to grow anew this season, we finally have just what we need for our first of the season 100% garden salad.
Look who's all grown up and ready for judicious harvesting!
Sayonara to those overpriced plastic boxes of dubious cleanliness; salad days are back in Waccabuc!
