Indoor Organic Herb Garden
Problem: need for herbs during winter
Another major problem this “winter” is the temps have been a balmy 70 degrees all January.
Solution: Indoor Herb Garden!
I brought them inside despite the crazy warm temps, thinking we would have a freeze months ago, but no. The photo below was just for pretty factor the day I brought the first few inside, just before Thanksgiving. They are now growing on a north facing windowsill (with no direct sun).
Herbs add flavor to all kinds of foods and drinks, and as a bonus are known for their medicinal properties. The parsley below was delicious in this chimichurri steak recipe.
Parsley is not the most flavorful herb, but adds a unique and understated flavor when combined with other ingredients.
I am working on a post about the Garlic and Onions I planted in the raised beds. We use so much of both that I knew I must grow some this year. I am experimenting with winter gardening for the first time in the raised beds. We are fortunate to have many warm months to garden here in Georgia. However, I hope we get a little winter here soon.
Summer Herb & Veggie Harvest
Just a few quick photos of the summer harvest from mid July. The organic raised beds are growing & producing nicely, & I’ve only picked off three tomato hornworms-minimal damage!
Lavender
I will post more details about the garden later. I also have a post in the works about the beautiful gardens at President Andrew Jackson’s home, The Hermitage, which is located in Nashville, TN. I was fortunate to go view the gardens there a few weeks ago.
Seed Starting 2016!!!
Start with mini greenhouse, peat pellets, and water …
Wait a day or two before planting for the pods to lose a little moisture (leave the top off for evaporation). Agitate the soil, and bust open the tops of the pods. This gives the seeds more room, and looser growing medium.
Plant veggie and herb seeds! Or flowers, if you like. I started this batch of seeds in mid-to-late February. Most of them were leftover from last year. Some I harvested from last year’s plants-like the green beans. I also bought more seeds (& a couple tomato plants I couldn’t resist) from Cofer’s Home and Garden Showplace- my favorite garden center ever. More about that later.
I also started a second round of seeds a few weeks later. Some are the same as the first batch-like greens beans and tomatoes. I am experimenting with staggered planting times, so I can harvest throughout the long growing season here in Georgia.
Below are pics of the second round of seeds I planted.
They are just getting started in these pics from mid March. Many of the plants are now in the raised garden bed. *Fingers crossed for no late frost.* My next post will be about the repair, filling, and planting of my raised herb & veggie garden bed. The project was completed a few weeks ago with help from my sweet husband, and my friend Peggy, who was in town for a visit to Gibbs Gardens! I will also post some great pics of the Daffodil Festival at Gibbs in the next week or so.
Transplanted Daffodil Bulbs
I dug up a closely crowded cluster of daffodil bulbs in the fall of 2014. After letting them dry out in the garage over the winter, I planted them in my “bulb bed” in the backyard which already contains Dutch Iris and Iris, in the early spring of 2015. They grew last year, but no blooms as expected.
2021-You can also plant them in the fall when you did them up. In fact, that is the way I do it now. Didn’t need to store them.
This year, blooms! Somewhat early, due in part to the warmer than average weather, and lots of rain. The heads are so heavy on this variety, they seem to have a hard time standing up straight.
The American Daffodil Society has a fantastic website and DaffSeek is an amazing identification tool. There are at least 25,000 different registered hybrids of daffodil! The photo below is a much smaller variety that is in desperate need of dividing. I will dig up some of the bulbs this fall and transplant them to other sites in the yard next year.
Growing Catnip from Seed
- Cats Love Catnip!
Catnip, like Rosemary- and many other herbaceous plants- is a member of the mint family and has some special effects on cat’s brains.
This article from Scientific American.com discusses the chemical composition of the plant, and its well known properties.
I grew the catnip plant above from seed, and it came back for the last several years. This year it was scraggly & had some strange aphids, but I managed to harvest & dry some for the kitties.
I let this last sad, spindly stalk go to bloom, hoping it would make seeds for next year. I collected a dried seed stalk, and now there is a brown stub of a plant left, with a single green leaf left.
- Aphids Love Catnip!?
You can see in the picture above some tiny aphid? creatures-not sure what they are. If anyone knows please respond to this post, I am curious what type of creature they are. They have furry butts & appear to be bizarre weirdos. They are on the stem below the blooms. The top of the plant is bent over sideways.
- People Love Catnip!
Catnip is useful to humans- similar to other herbs, and is used in tea. This links to an article by a MNN writer which details, (in step number 5), the properties and chemicals involved in the human/catnip process.
Side Note on growing from seed- the following quote from botanical.com may argue against growing this plant from seed:
There is an old saying about this plant:
If you set it, the cats will eat it,
If you sow it, the cats don’t know it.
Hmm…I love old wives’ tales and folklore. There is often some scientific proof that the folk remedy or medicinal use is correct. Please respond anyone who has input on this topic. I would love to hear any reader’s thoughts on this.
Daffodils of Spring Past
Okay, so these daffodils bloomed in mid March. I took pics, but didn’t get a chance to post them until now. A lot has happened since then, most notably kidney stones! Which, btw are really terrible. Stay hydrated out there this summer!
I was sidelined for a bit, but am now back focused on my writing and gardening. Again, better late than never, so the next few posts will be catching up what has happened in my yard and garden the last couple months. There are several different varieties of daffodil represented here. There are so many different types, and I love them all.
I will also be posting the rest of my writing pieces here over the next few days, and completing my Folk Literacy portfolio. Check out my writing in my Environmental Writing portfolio on the header. It contains an interesting mix of a few of my pieces that are all related to nature or the environment, but differ in genre of writing.
Raised Garden Bed!
Finally, I have a simple, organic garden bed for veggies and herbs. I am late planting and posting mostly due to enormous amounts of rain. It was to originally be 3 ft. x 8 ft., but I easily modified it to 3 ft. x 4.5 ft. Next year, I will go full size. I started with untreated lumber and simple wood stakes. I filled 1/3 with my native clay soil and some leaf mulch.
I added 1/3 Organic mulch as conditioner and 1/3 Mushroom compost to complete the mix.
Lots of shovel turning and sore arms later and I get well-drained, dark, rich soil for edible plants.
This bed contains: Rosemary, Peppermint, Lavender, Sweet & Lemon-Lime Basil, Catnip, Thyme, Oregano, Dill, Cucumbers, Peppers, & Tomato– Early Girl, Yellow Pear, and Roma varieties. I grew most of the plants from seed, but picked up a few plants like Dill and Cucumber when mine died from too much rain. I hope this small garden will produce enough to make a few jars of homemade canned goods. I planted the bed about a month ago and everything is filling in nicely. Will post updated pics soon.
Fragrant Freesia
Another thoughtful gift from my sister-in-law, M., these orange Freesia blooms are bright & lovely.
I was hoping to have more blooms this year, but I think the bulbs need more sun or nutrients, or both. I received new bulbs last Christmas and will plant those this fall in the backyard bulb bed along with the Daffodil bulbs I recently dug from the crowded clump under the Hickory tree in the front yard.
Lavender
This English Lavender ‘Lady’ was started from seed about 5 years ago. It needs replanting in a larger container soon to encourage more flowers next year.
Lavender is a herbaceous perennial and mint family member. Inhaling the lovely fragrance has been proven to relax, calm, and soothe. Both the tiny purple blooms and fragrant leaves dry nicely.