This week I've already started harvesting Arugula. Last year after harvesting sweet potatoes, I planted some Arugula to go with my Everglades Tomatoes and Cuban Oregano in the front yard. As it turned out I had a Saturday Morning Breakfast with a good friend. And one day I decide to make a veggie omelette with all my goodies. It was really a spontaneous experience with my Exodus 90 Anchor from Church. He was taking classes every Saturday in Tampa so would be driving right past me in the morning. As he was walking up one morning I started explaining the big mess in my front yard, pointing out the plants we could sample. He said “oh I love Arugula,” so I gave him a leaf right then and started harvesting more for breakfast.
Yes, I had to walk around the corner as an organic omelette with Arugula, also needs some of the Organic Cuban Oregano, the little Everglades Tomatoes, and I also found some Rosemary and Basil out there too. It was really the Arugula that was new, and now I saved the seeds to plant after sorting the soils from the potatoes. It was really great to eat, and I let it flower and go to seed and ended up getting thousands of seeds. So this year, as soon as I had my first bed set with the new potato soil, I got out my seeds I saved from last year.
Yes, two or three rows of Arugula in the front already. Here at the right is a picture of the garden bed at Church 4H Club, where I added some Arugula there too. You can see the big leaves of Basil there in the center too. Those came from Father Curtis's garden last year . . . they were sprouting up all over his yard, so I moved them over here.
There are other little green sprouts in this bed too. Those were the first planting that the 4H Students at the Church did. I added the rest over the holidays, when I dropped by to water what has been planted so far. Interesting enough the Arugula shown here at church was all fried in the sunshine. These beds at the church get full sun all day. The plants in the my frontyard garden only get direct sun for part of the day.
Then I started some in the back yard too, shown here below along the fence next to the papaya after I filled those beds with potato soil too. This video shows how I harvest the leaves to be sure the plants stay healthy and producing. Ideally, we pick the bottom leaves before they fall into the dirt. Last year when the plants were seeding they were already four feet tall. So collecting these seeds are replanting in the same places means I’m getting stronger and healthier plants that get acclimated to the soils and climate.
Here in my backyard it's maybe twice as much sunshine, but not all direct, and certainly not all day. So on Sunday when I got home from Church I was starving. I've been fasting from dinner until after the Eucharist in morning mass. So when I got home I thought to make my omelette, as I have all the beautiful Arugula growing here in the backyard that I need to thin out. I know I just dumped a bunch of seeds there, and it's a solid clump of leaves I need to eat. Yes as I said the harvesting is this video above. . . now the second video below is making my morning omelettes. . . YUM!
