Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Holiday Arugula?

The nights have been quite chilly lately, even though the short days have been warming regularly into the high 60F degree range, even hitting 70F occasionally. The ground must still have some warmth, as my arugula has started to emerge from the recently prepared garden bed with tiny green shoots emerging quite uniformly from the soil in a tidy row. I planted just two weeks ago, taking out a disused bed of Santa Barbara Daisies, digging in some homemade compost, and trenching some seed starter soil into a few shallow rows, where I tucked the seeds in.

I planted a few other wintertime foods, including beets, (I used a cultivar that is primarily used for its greens,) as well as cillantro and two short rows of edible pod peas. Not a peep yet from those rows; but I have faith that the peas will emerge, judging from my sucess last year in Oregon's icy winter.

Cilantro fresh from the garden is a wonderful way to dress winter soups, salads, and homemade Mexican foods. Even in San Luis Obispo's moderate climate, the summertime sun seems to send it to seed almost as soon as it gains its first few leaves. But growing it over the winter provides an extravagance of the pungent leaves; and when it finally does bolt, we will let the seed pods mature, finally collecting the coriander for further kitchen use. In the past, we have even dedicated a pepper grinder to exclusive use for the purpose of grinding the flavorful, almost orange-like floral spice of coriander over eggs, curries, tuna, and other dishes. In my opinion, this is one spice that you must grow; I've never been as satisfied with purchased corriander as with my own home grown produce.

Perhaps I will have some fresh, spicy arugula greens in time for a Christmas salad?

No comments: