Post by pepperhead212 on Mar 15, 2018 13:38:50 GMT -5
What herbs are you growing this season? Anything new, or any new varieties of old herbs?
I thought of this a couple of nights ago when planting some basil seeds inside, for two new varieties: Gecofure, which is a variety that looks like a genovese type, but is bred for container gardening, which is why I tried it, as I grow basil inside, in the off season, and in the junior Earthboxes around my deck in the summer, and I am always looking for smaller, bushy types. Thai Magic is a newer variety of Thai basil, which I am trying, hoping that it will be slower to bolt than the traditional Siam Queen; though the flowers on the latter are also edible, and very good, it slows down the growth, unless I constantly trim them. I will admit, however, an advantage to the trimming is the wonderful aroma left on my hands! I will also be growing my usual Siam queen and Serrata, though I keep looking for improvements.
I also planted some parsley in my hydroponics pots, as it takes a long time to come up, and those stay moist on top forever - no worry about watering it constantly! One curly parsley from Renées, that I have grown for several years, since it doesn't get rootbound in a pot, as all of the flat leaf parsleys I have tried have done, and I prefer to grow them on my deck, instead of going to the garden every time I want some parsley! But I got some flat leaf variety this season from seedman.com, which is supposed to be for pot growing, so I'm trying it. I also planted some peppermint seeds from them - very minute seeds, almost like dust, yet at least one has already germinated! This, and some culantro (I am hoping to be able to grow this, so I can forget about cilantro!), I simply pressed into the surface of the coir, and the constant moistness made them germinate, both before the parsley. I'll also plant a few Red Epazote seeds there, in mid April or so, to get a plant ready for growing on the deck - I'll definitely only need one, considering how huge it got last season! The Rau Ram and Green Perilla did great outside last season, and I just got a pack of them from the Asian market and rooted them in early May. The rau ram got huge in the EB, but the perilla did better in the ground.
I'll also be growing a bunch of dill, for the swallowtails, which last year I just went around and planted in spots where something else had been pulled!
DSCF0341 by pepperhead212, on Flickr
And I just ordered my rosemary from Richter's - only the Hardy Hill; I was having second thoughts about the Arp, as it had a slightly different flavor when I grew it years ago, not bad, but not quite the same as regular rosemary. Turns out, it was sold out, so that was a signal that I was right about putting off ordering it! I also ordered a few other items, since there is a min. of 6 for a plant order - Silver Thyme, Syrian Oregano, Holt's Mammoth Sage (mine died in that super cold winter several years ago, and the sage I have now just isn't the same, and the locals don't have this any more), and some Variegated Marjoram (another loss to that winter, in the same bed!).
The chives and garlic chives will have to be covered, due to ALM, though I am going to have to take a chance with my garlic, as there is no way to get that cover on the row this season. This will be a true test to see if it is really in my area.
And, of course, I'll always have my mint.
DSCF0060-1 by pepperhead212, on Flickr
I thought of this a couple of nights ago when planting some basil seeds inside, for two new varieties: Gecofure, which is a variety that looks like a genovese type, but is bred for container gardening, which is why I tried it, as I grow basil inside, in the off season, and in the junior Earthboxes around my deck in the summer, and I am always looking for smaller, bushy types. Thai Magic is a newer variety of Thai basil, which I am trying, hoping that it will be slower to bolt than the traditional Siam Queen; though the flowers on the latter are also edible, and very good, it slows down the growth, unless I constantly trim them. I will admit, however, an advantage to the trimming is the wonderful aroma left on my hands! I will also be growing my usual Siam queen and Serrata, though I keep looking for improvements.
I also planted some parsley in my hydroponics pots, as it takes a long time to come up, and those stay moist on top forever - no worry about watering it constantly! One curly parsley from Renées, that I have grown for several years, since it doesn't get rootbound in a pot, as all of the flat leaf parsleys I have tried have done, and I prefer to grow them on my deck, instead of going to the garden every time I want some parsley! But I got some flat leaf variety this season from seedman.com, which is supposed to be for pot growing, so I'm trying it. I also planted some peppermint seeds from them - very minute seeds, almost like dust, yet at least one has already germinated! This, and some culantro (I am hoping to be able to grow this, so I can forget about cilantro!), I simply pressed into the surface of the coir, and the constant moistness made them germinate, both before the parsley. I'll also plant a few Red Epazote seeds there, in mid April or so, to get a plant ready for growing on the deck - I'll definitely only need one, considering how huge it got last season! The Rau Ram and Green Perilla did great outside last season, and I just got a pack of them from the Asian market and rooted them in early May. The rau ram got huge in the EB, but the perilla did better in the ground.
I'll also be growing a bunch of dill, for the swallowtails, which last year I just went around and planted in spots where something else had been pulled!
DSCF0341 by pepperhead212, on Flickr
And I just ordered my rosemary from Richter's - only the Hardy Hill; I was having second thoughts about the Arp, as it had a slightly different flavor when I grew it years ago, not bad, but not quite the same as regular rosemary. Turns out, it was sold out, so that was a signal that I was right about putting off ordering it! I also ordered a few other items, since there is a min. of 6 for a plant order - Silver Thyme, Syrian Oregano, Holt's Mammoth Sage (mine died in that super cold winter several years ago, and the sage I have now just isn't the same, and the locals don't have this any more), and some Variegated Marjoram (another loss to that winter, in the same bed!).
The chives and garlic chives will have to be covered, due to ALM, though I am going to have to take a chance with my garlic, as there is no way to get that cover on the row this season. This will be a true test to see if it is really in my area.
And, of course, I'll always have my mint.
DSCF0060-1 by pepperhead212, on Flickr