MY arugula ALWAYS tries to flower before other veggies. Typically I don't even let it get there--I always harvest it as cut-and-come-again. As soon as the leaves are 3-4 inches long, I grab the whole plant in a bunch and cut it off 1 inch above the soil. In 1-2 weeks (depending on how warm it is), you'll have brand new 3-4 inch long leaves, which will give your other salad greens time to catch up. Personally, I eat arugula alone, plain right out of the garden or lightly sauteed, if you're looking for a way to eat the first cutting before your other salad greens catch up. Don't let it flower though, or it gets tough and too spicy.

This is my favorite salad with tomatoes and cucumbers: TURKISH SHEPHERD'S SALAD 3 large tomatoes 2 medium size cucumbers 2 medium size Green Peppers 1 large red onion 1/2 bunch Parsley 7- 8 sprigs fresh mint 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 teaspoon salt (or less to taste) Sumac powder * (This is not a marinated-type salad and is best when all the ingredients are chopped and mixed close to serving time.) Wash the vegetables; peel and halve cucumbers, removing seeds; remove stems and seeds of the green peppers, and remove the surplus parts of onion, parsley and the mint. Chop the onions, green peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers into cubes about 1 cm. In size (between 1/4 and 1/2 inch.). Finely chop the mint and parsley. Add lemon juice and salt to olive oil, whisk well and pour over the salad immediately before serving. Sprinkle lightly with sumac powder. *Note: if you don't have sumac powder, increase the lemon juice to 2 Tbs. * - Sumac powder is the ground berry of a Mediterranean evergreen and is widely used in the Middle East; the bright, red berries have an intense, sour, fruitiness. Sumac's potent flavor easily cuts through strongly flavored, rich meats. Sumac may be used in place of lemon or vinegar in any dish, particularly those of Middle Eastern origin. Use sumac over rice, on salads, or on fatty meats and kebabs. Here's another one with those two ingredients: I'm not sure why this is called Irish, other than the sauce is a pretty emerald green color. I usually don't marinate the tomatoes, just pour it on before serving. The sauce is even better served with cold poached salmon. IRISH TOMATO SALAD (4 to 8 servings) 1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut in chunks 1 small green pepper, seeded and chopped 6 scallions and tops, cut in 1" pieces 6 Tbs. fresh parsley leaves 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1/4 cup lemon juice 1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste 4 large tomatoes, thinly sliced red leaf lettuce Mix together cucumber, green pepper, scallions, parsley and mint in blender for several seconds. Add vegetable oil, beginning with a few tablespoons and using up to 1/2 cup, as preferred. Add lemon juice and salt. Blend for several seconds. Pour mixture over tomato slices and let stand 1-2 hours. Arrange over red leaf lettuce and serve. Source: The Central Market Cookbook

I grew LGS last fall and am also growing it this spring, and I really like it. It's a tangy, tart tomato with enough sweetness and other flavor components to make it worthwhile. Very juicy; you wouldn't want to bite into a whole one wearing a white shirt. Fruit rarely cracks in the slightest and tends to be rather uniform. Plant height max 3 ft, should be caged or staked to support fruit. Prolific -- one plant usually produces anywhere from 30 to 50 fruits for me easily. (click to enlarge)

Hi NC, Today's (8-22-2017) update: Counted over 20 fruits set so far, from pea size to egg size -- setting a lot more fruit now, than before. Probably because it's mid-Summer, and thus setting faster than in the cooler Spring. Many dozens of blossoms that look ready to set lots more. Removed a couple of brown leaf branches --- no disease that I could see, just old age (planted 3-27, so it's been outside for nearly 150 days now). Tony ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- p.s. comparing the super healthy Lime Green Salad to the highly disease resistant Margo VFFT Hybrid behind it (which is dying from Septoria). Margo --- big producer of nearly tasteless perfectly round red tomatoes --- I'll be pulling it out in a few days.