Yan writes: In this passage – Of course… not all writers look like writers. One writer in particular, Fitzgerald noted, didn't look anything like a writer. If a technological revolution had not upended the film industry during his salad years, this writer might have had an enduring career and lived happily ever after with the swimming pool, the wives and the mistresses he once had (Fitzgerald vs. Hollywood, New York Times, February 10, 2008) – what does "salad years" mean?
My comments: Thanks, Yan, for asking a great question. "Salad years" here means heyday. "During his salad years" refers to the time when his was most productive, when he was in his prime as a writer or, to use a writer's cliché, "at the height of his creative powers".
Originally, though, "salad years" means a time of youth and innocence, inexperience. It's a variation from the term "salad days", which was coined by none other than William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616). This, from Merriam-Webster online:
In Antony and Cleopatra, Cleopatra praises Marc Antony's valor and demands that her serving woman do the same. When the servant instead praises her former consort, Caesar, Cleopatra threatens her – until the woman notes that she is only echoing Cleopatra's own effusive past praise of Caesar. Cleopatra's reply marks the first English use of "salad days":
"My salad days,
When I was green in judgment, cold in blood,
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