#herb garden
Misadventures in Gardening
Herbie the Impulse Buy!
During a late night market run on December 23rd, 2021, I saw this herb trio in the produce section. They’ve got rosemary, sage, and thyme; that’s three plants for the price of one!
Before and after unwrapping!
Closeup!
On Christmas eve, I came to the conclusion that Herbie needs a bigger jar… Decided to use some water beads so that they aren’t sitting on their roots as much.
Here’s closeups of the roots and the water level.
Looking forward to expanding my misadventures into cooking experiments!
I picked up this special edition of a Better Homes & Gardens magazine all about gardening, harvesting, and using herbs. I’ve been wanting an herb garden in my apartment for so long, so hopefully by next month I’ll actually be able to start one!
Plant Witchcraft: A Beginner’s Guide to Growing
Easiest plants to grow in witchcraft (in order from easiest to hardest)!
Chives - can grow in limited light and space, very easily propagate (regrow)
Mint- very hardy, requires shade and some light, start from seeds
Cilantro - fast growing, can be planted indoors, does not transplant easily
Basil - can grow in small spaces, require sun, start from seeds
Parsley - easy to grow, low maintenance and limited lights, though hard to germinate
Oregano (wild marjoram) - very hardy, easy to grow in winter, requires full sun
Sage - large, hardy, start from cuttings, requires full sun
Thyme- requires full sun, hardy, easy to propagate from seeds or cuttings
Aloe Vera - easy to overwater, low maintenance, slow growing, little water, full sun
Chamomile- low maintenance, little water, full sun with some shade, easy to overwater
Dill- start as seeds, small, easy to grow indoors, hard to overwater, requires full sun
Rosemary- though very large, easy to grow indoors and easy to overwater
Bay laurel - requires well-draining soil, full sun, water often, grows large, slow growing
Lavender- hard to grow indoors, requires little water, best in dry conditions, start from seeds
Roses - requires full sun, seasonal, grows only outside, requires fertilizer, best grown from transplants
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Drinking The Farmer’s Market: Homemade Organic Liquor Infusions For Exceptional Summer Cocktails #herbchat
Left to right: mint, lemon basil, peach, rosemary, ginger, thyme, lemongrass, strawberry, and grapefruit. Completely submerge the fruits in vodka (or liquor of your choice), wait a week or two, strain, and Voilà!
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Become a Biodynamic Gardener, and grow your own. Learn about “the buddy system” and “companion plantings” as well as composting and crop rotation. Certain plants benefit by growing near other plants: tall crops can provide a canopy for shorter crops; leeks will repel carrot flies; include flowering herbs and perennials to attract beneficial insects.
Illustration: Genevieve Simms
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Herb Garden Design with Essential Fruits and Vegetables
Before planning an edible garden, think about the purpose of the garden first. These four window boxes were designed so that the client can easily open her windows and make a selection, or water everything from the convenience of her kitchen. We chose all my client’s favorite herbs and edible flowers: garlic chives, marigolds, parsley, several varieties of basil, creeping thyme, cilantro, and even a couple of strawberry plants.
Some herbs are also “perennials” and will last year round, while others (like basil) are seasonal. Group seasonal items together so that they are easily replaced with something else once their growing season is complete.
When replacing plants, don’t forget to replenish the soil, especially if you are planting in window boxes or containers. Valuable nutrients pass through containers quickly, so fresh soil amendments will ensure that the new plants get off to a great start.
Theme gardens are popular right now. Consider grouping herbs and vegetables together in a raised bed for cooking purposes. If you love Asian cooking, you might want to grow lemongrass, Thai basil, Vietnamese coriander, Chinese eggplant, and dwarf pepper plants (like ‘Baby Belle’). A great way to introduce children to the concept of gardening is to grow something they will also consume. Create a “Lemonade Garden” with all the plants you might use to make fresh lemonade: pineapple mint, orange mint, basil, cucumbers, and lemongrass. Plant a Meyer lemon tree, dwarf blueberry bushes, and strawberries in containers to complete the Lemonade Garden. Don’t forget to make ice cubes with the blueberries and strawberries for the lemonade.
Get creative. Did you know you can regrow many herbs and vegetables from your own garden, or re-root favorite edibles from the farmers market (celery and mint, for example)? Mother Earth Living provides a great how-to, HERE. Many of these can be started indoors on a sunny window ledge, and then transplanted outside after all danger of frost has passed.
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So we’re gonna have fresh herbs this summer!!!
Common Name: Greek oregano
Scientific Name: Origanum vulgare hirtum
Where I Saw It: This is part of my herb garden in front of my house.
Can I Eat It? Yes. It has a sort of spicy flavor and is used for seasoning in a lot of Mediterranean dishes.
Native Range: Western and southwestern Eurasia, the Mediterranean.
How It Behaves in New York: This plant comes back perennially and has been spreading slowly in my garden. The internet tells me that oregano, as part of the mint family, has a tendency to become invasive, but I haven’t noticed that with this plant.
Reasons to Like It: Smells good! Tastes good! Makes local pollinators happy! Attracts bugs that are good for the garden!
Reasons to Dislike It: None that I can find, though if it does start becoming invasive then that would be a problem.
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happy mother’s day to all mothers and mother figures alike! although not glittery, here are a few things which represent my own mother:
|The Empress| “The Empress is full of creative energy. She stands for all the female qualities in motion.“ |Mint| my favorite in our herb garden when i was growing up. we ate the leaves, used them in teas, and rubbed them in our palms to cure stuffy noses. |Chicago Peace Roses| it started out small in our yard and my mum was convinced it wouldn’t grow in the heat. every day i would ask it to grow for her when i watered it. one day, it finally did and it’s been flourishing in the yard ever since. |Bay Leaves| we wrote wishes on bay leaves during hard times and burned them together. i’ll never forget how quickly she ran to the cabinet and grabbed a decorative candle off the table the first time we did it. |Aquamarine| my mother is a 4th generation Piscean woman, making me the 5th Pisces in line on my maternal side. we share a very deep bond that sometimes seems to transcend this world.
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Got some garden work done this week!
The violas, strawberries, and parsley all survived the winter and look pretty damn good.
The chamomile re-seeded itself EVERYWHERE, so a lot of time was spent either pulling, composting, or transplanting it. I let one of last year’s kale plants flower (mild winter = kale kept growing, is only now bolting) so hopefully I’ll have some seeds soon.
Planted early crops of romaine lettuce, butter lettuce, and spinach earlier in the year. The past few weeks they’ve been growing like champs and are ENORMOUS and delicious.
This week I transplanted seedlings to the main garden and container garden. Main has beefsteak tomatoes, vine cucumbers, and bell peppers. Containers have cherry tomatoes, bush cucumbers, and various herbs/greens.
New this year are onions and carrots!
Pressed for space and can’t put in any raised beds because the landlord will kick up a stink? Why not try container gardening using window boxes! This is my bff’s set up at her rental and it’s working a treat!
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Ōkōchi Sansō, the home and gardens of actor Denjirō Ōkōchi, Kyoto, Japan. Copyrights Val Moliere, Oct 2018
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