Dirt Day One

At last I think today is the perfect day to start an inaugural crop in my new garden. The frustration of finishing the build of that garden just as growing season was over has finally come to an end.

It has been warm here for a few days and at last we have gone more than a week without rain. The temps should be in the seventies for a few days and then only down to the sixties as highs so it should be fine to grow some mesclun and arugula.

I used my Japanese hoe, which is a tool with a hoe side and a claw side that is about eighteen inches long. Perfect for loosening up the winter soil. I sprinkled some seeds across my rich earth in one raised bed and then gently crumbled dirt on top to just lightly cover the tiny specimens.

I didn’t want to heavily water the bed so I filled a new spray bottle with water and misted the area where I had sown the seed. It is nothing to look at today, but hopefully in five or six days we can see some tiny sprouts and then by Easter there will be edible greens growing in the raised bed.

I am going to plant these same crops again in three weeks so I have a continuing supply for lunch. If you have never tried to grow arugula you should try. It is the easiest plant and there is nothing more tasty than fresh arugula from the garden with a drop of good olive oil and good squeeze of lemon, a few big shavings of fresh Parmesan and twists from the pepper mill. Really I could live on that. Only a month to go.