Last week we were outside with Murph-dog when I happened to look down and notice the sore state of our herbs we potted last spring. They looked REAL pathetic. I have been pretty neglectful of these little plants, having left them outside for most of the winter so far, so I wasn't really shocked at how bad they looked. While not very surprised, it did make me a little sad. I decided to see if I could revive them. First, I brought in the chives, trimmed them down pretty short, cleaned out all the leaves and random debris, and gave them a good watering.
After a week, this is what we ended up with:
These little guys bounced back like champs! Seeing how quickly they grew back inspired me to see if I could revive the other herbs that were still pretty sad-looking. I re-potted the parsley and rosemary and brought them inside and put them in front of the window next to the chives. Here is what they look like now:
When I repotted the parsley, the soil was pretty much a frozen brick; however, there was some new growth so I thought there may be a chance. I cleaned them up real quick and added some more potting mix.
And here is the rosemary. Yes, I know it looks more like the dried kind you buy in the bottle than a live plant, but hopefully a little TLC is all it needs.
I was also pretty determined to do a better job at my indoor greenhouse than I did last year. Like I said, I'm pretty lazy at the gardening. I have a "set it and forget it" mentality with things like this that I know require more attention than a silly rotisserie chicken machine. Oops!
We stopped by Home Depot this morning and got two new Jiffy Greenhouses and a few other seed packets.
I also used some of the leftovers from last year's attempt, but when I went to plant the tomato and oregano seeds, those packets were empty. Back to Home Depot! How many times have we said that phrase...way too many, I assure you. Those will have to go in greenhouse #2.
Here's one greenhouse after I applied the correct amount of water to allow the peat pellets to expand.
Tiny little basil seeds.
Pepper seeds ready to be covered.
My jalapenos, bell peppers, and basil.
According to the packets it will take around 2 weeks for them to germinate and start growing into little baby plants.
I also picked up this magazine, Starting from Seed from the folks at Fine Gardening.
I can definitely use all the help I can get. I WILL have a fantastic garden this year!
A few things I learned so far:
- Not all plants need to be started inside in a greenhouse. Some of them (like cilantro and green onions) need to be started in the ground after the last frost. So here in Nashville that means sometime around April or May.
- Seeds need a humid environment to germinate.
- How cool is that eggshell container! What a clever idea!
- Starting plants from seeds is way more cost efficient than buying mature plants from the store. One packet of seeds can yield up to 20 or more plants for LESS than what it would cost to buy only one mature plant.
- I have a lot more to learn!
From here there are several things we need to do to get a garden ready. We have learned that fill dirt was used in our backyard, so other than "growing" things like glass and old car parts that like to come out of the dirt in our yard, we probably can't grow much else back there. We are probably going to have to plant our baby plants in a container garden rather than directly in the ground. While we were outside today we took measurements of our backyard space so we can plan out material costs and keep in budget. Stay tuned!
images provided by yours truly. :)
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