What you can learnA long-running herb rotation with transplanting, seed-placement troubleshooting, staking, pruning, accidental light damage, repeated harvests, and planned renewal.
The Thyme is doing well. I have not trimmed any of it. I am also using toothpicks taped together as a stake to keep it from falling over. The Oregano is slower then I remember but maybe it does not like one or more of the other herbs . I trimmed the Greek Basil as it was so bushy the leaves were so wet under other leaves. Now it is breathing some and the Rosemary was trimmed as well.
Had to end my Greek Basil and I am so upset. Last night I used some for my Chicken Parm and I did not realize until an hour ago that after I plucked what I needed I put the lamp hood down and it was touching the basil which was higher then the Rosemary. The Thyme was not touched as it was bending outward. It was soooo good.I WILL replant this. So tomorrow Iwill put a pod of this and one of Napoletano Basil as I am running low in the freezer. I used it last night in my marinara sauce. I used both the fresh Greek and frozen Napoletano.
Did the light really damage it? We used to freak when it would happen with the CFL bulbs because the plants would singe to a crisp, but I haven’t had trouble with the LED’s
Thyme that I started on 1/7 was terminated today. I harvested it all and now have a nice sized container filled to the brim with it in the freezer. So I am going to plant some Cilantro. Just trying to figure out if I want Santo or Calypso I have no clue the difference LOLDid you know that Cilantro is part of the Carrot family? Well according to what I read on Park Seed it is. Also Santo is supposed to be industry standard. So to be different I will plant Calypso.
I think I may do an overhaul of this garden. Currently I have two Napoletano Basils growing, one oregano, one cilantro and two Genovese Basils.I am not liking the way the Napoletano is growing. It is short and stubby but with HUGE leaves. I have cut all the large ones off to see if it will grow taller. So I may start a new one by a different vendor. Th Oregano is starting to go to seed a bit too early but that is my fault for letting the water warm up and not keeping ice cubes in it. Therefore I will at some point harvest all the leaves and start fresh with this as well. I do not lind as much as it does grow fast and I get a lot from it. The genovese is just starting so no change with that or the cilantro. All in all, I will decide this week and then do a dump, rinse and refill on the bowl. Clean it up and out. Then put the few pods in it and plant some fresh as well. At that point I will close this thread and start a fresh one.This is one reason I love herb gardens. Most grow quick and you get a lot from them and can start over and over and not wait too long for them to produce.
Day 86
UPDATE#6
Grower update
Update #6
🔧Actions taken
🪴TrainingBuilt a temporary toothpick stake to hold the thyme upright.
✂️PruningTrimmed the rosemary and Dwarf Greek basil.
The Thyme is doing good. I had to make a make shift stake taping toothpicks together so it would not fall over. Oregano is taking it's sweet azzzz time. The Rosemary and Greek Dwarf Basil had been trimmed up and are full.
Day 75
UPDATE#5
Grower update
Update #5
🔧Actions taken
🌱PlantingReported replacing the failed oregano pod with a new one.
Ok, so the Oregano (planted 1/7/18) was not doing anything, so on the 17th I planted a new Oregano Pod. This morning I am seeing green. So one of two things happened. 1) the seeds were too far in and died off or 2) the seeds were old. There is Thyme in the back picture.
I was at the AG FB Happy hour the other day and they mentioned if you have tiny tiny seeds that you do not want then to fall too far down in the pod because light is hard to get there, they get too wet I think as well. So they suggest placing them near the top.So what I did was wet the pod in the cage. Then using a fine tip tweezer (used just for seeds) I place then on the pod in the hole near the top. And I had the Oregano grow in just a few days.
My forever changing Kitchen Herb GardenI removed the Genovese this morning. I rearranged the Rosemary (which took forever to germinate and grow 9/23/17) to the back right corner. The Dwarf Greek Basil (12/23/17) has been moved to the front right corner. Added on 1/7/18:Greek Oregano (Park)4 seedsSponge: ParkEnglish Thyme (Park)4 SeedsSponge: ParkEnglish Thyme is the back left corner and the Oregano is in the front left corner.
Thanks! It was a bear to germinate. Talk about patience. You do not know how many times I wanted to can this one. Thankfully I did not. I have picked at it quite a bit and have some leaves in the freezer. I have used it a few times in meals as well.
My Thyme is coming up although slow which is fine. My Oregano on the other hand is not. I will give it another week and if nothing then I will replant with fresh pack of seeds. Maybe the ones I have are old.
No matter what I do I can't get Rosemary to grow. I planted some seeds in soil. 1 Dinky sprout came up and then died.I have tried the Kit Rosemary..no joy.So today I tried putting them in a few sponges in a clear pill container and sat it under the hood on one of my pepper projects. If I can get these to germinate and get some roots, I will pot them, but I am not hopeful. It is just 1 recalcitrant seed that I can't grow! And I use a lot of store bought Rosemary!More than any other herb.I put some of the seeds down inside the holes and some sitting on top.Time will tell. I am determined to overcome this!
I was researching why I couldn't find chocolate or orange mint seeds today and found them on a list of "herbs you should never start from seed" which also included rosemary.For the mint plants they are hybrids that won't grow true from seed, in the case of rosemary, they cited the low germination rate and then many die young because they take so long to grow.
That’s just so nuts about the rosemary. Makes me appreciate more the little plant I purchase at the nursery every few years for outside planting. (They get so woody and big eventually so I replace it).
admirable patience Stop! Do you know how many times I have removed that from the Harvest to ditch it only to say nah leave it grow. Just last night I wondered if I should keep it. But I am, for now
Just pinched back my Basil and Cilantro. Cut a few Rosemary leaves off too.Also planted a pod with 3 seeds of the Dwarf Greek Basil. Can't wait to see how this tastes.
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I liked the stronger taste of the Greek Basil. I have some rosemary I am trying to germinate...you and Dawn assure it can be done with a bit of time and patience..
Out of the three Greek Basil seeds I planted one germinated and is growing. It is kinda slow for basil. I will be terminating the current cilantro this week and replanting a new one. I will also plant some Oregano as I need to beef up my stash. Rosemary is doing well as is the basil.
My Rosemary is growing ever so slowly. I figure by Spring it may be ready to be picked LOL The Genovese is growing slower but I think it is because it is cooler in the house, as for the Cilantro, I nipped a lot at it yesterday for the Salsa (and used some of my frozen stash.
I am not OCD by any means but I try to keep them clean. One because I like the cleanliness and two, I do not want Proxy eating any hting that falls, especially if a pepper buds falls off,
I ended the other Harvest and transplanted the Cilantro, Rosemary and Thyme here. As of today I also started a Genovese Basil.Machine: HarvestSponges: ParkPods: Cilantro (Park), Thyme (Burpee), Rosemary (Burpee) and Genovese (Swallowtail)Nutes: 8mlI just finished harvesting a ton of Thyme. Next week I will end this one. I also plucked a few Cilantro stems. Once I remove the thyme I may plant another Cilantro.Please excuse the cardboard in the background, I forgot to throw it away.
I harvested all the Thyme. Boy did that take a lot of time to do LOL. removing each of those tiny leaves. But now I have a huge container in the freezer waiting to be used for Thanksgiving dinner.The Rosemary is doing well. The Cilantro is going wild and all 4 seeds of the Genovese are growing. I am waiting to prune it down to one, just not time yet to do.I think I am going to plant another Cilantro later today as I need to stock my freezer as well as have fresh on hand.