herbs and tomatoes

Finally have a few large tomatoes to pick- I get them early and let finish ripening on the windowsill (otherwise the squirrels eat holes out of them). Some are oddly shaped this year! 

There is also an oddity in one of my basil pots. A seed came up looking the same as all the rest, but grew tiny leaves. They have the same flavor (maybe a little sharper) just small for some reason.

As for the other herbs, well some have failed me. Dill is pretty much done- gone to flower and now dying off. That's usual. But my pot of summer savory on the deck, only has two surviving plants out of the six or eight I stuck in there. The pot of dill never did well either, and the parsley is only a few small leaves, really struggling. These did so much better when in planters on the deck railing.

Chives, thyme, basil and mint are doing well. Tarragon is sprawling in the herb bed (this French type doesn't seem to grow upright like the Russian one did I had before), sculpit is putting out its balloon flowers, and green onions continue growing. I hope to eat more of those soon.

notes on planting

Didn't take any pictures. From their seedling trays I potted up basil, summer savory, parsley and hyssop. The summer savory, only my saved seed grew. None of the older, bought seed. Also the sage never germinated. I guess those seeds are finally too old, too. Planted out into the garden bunching green onions (only three, into bed 5 w/the herbs) and one very tiny asparagus plant. It is skinnier than a toothpick and only 2" tall but already looking ferny. Into bed 1. The second tray of asparagus has three more tiny spears coming up- I had no idea they would be so small. Especially as the seed looked good sized- reminded me of onion seed. 

On the smaller sideyard I planted out what looked very like obedient plant- in fact I put it next to those obedient plants alongside the joe pye. But then looked up its tag later on: symphotrichum. It's not obedient plant, it's an aster. Well, I'll see how it looks and maybe move it again next spring. 

On the larger sideyard I put out those plants that came up in and alongside bed 7 which I think are from a flower mix- but not the ones which I suspect are ragweed. Have been finding more and more of those all over the garden. More likely they are ragweed than something I once planted on purpose.

cold

Last night a serious freeze. All the more tender plants came inside again- 

tomatoes fill the cage

sharing space with some of the new things I haven't figured out where to plant yet- the asters, lobelia, blue-eyed grass and rattlesnake-master

In the smaller cage on the bench, seedling trays where summer savory

and hyssop- so very tiny!- have just come up. Basil also began to sprout

Outside I had already put in the ground some obedient plants, and they were very droopy so put cloches over- it helped them perk up immediately as you can see the next morning

and then I also covered them one more night to save from the freeze and they did fine

one more sowing

Probably the last one of the year. Pole beans straight into pots in the greenhouse. Summer savory, basil and hyssop in starter trays on top of the fridge. Sage just pressed onto the top of seed starter mix, lidded with plastic and set by a window.

Outside, I dug up the smaller of my two lovage plants to take to swap next week- one plant is really far more than I need, and the bigger one sure is thriving. In its place I put the two smaller dill plants that were still in their little pots. (So now there's two in the garden and two in a large pot on the deck). Come fall I might dig up the larger lovage entirely, move it to be more centered in the bed. Right now it kind of crowds the edge.

small herbs

I have potted up and planted most of the herbs. They are pathetic. I was wrong about those summer savories in the planter box. I don't think they grew from prior rootstock, but from self-sown seed. Found a number of savories down in the garden beds, where I certainly didn't plant any last year! They just grew so much better, at the right time (mine started way too late).

Now into a pot (and trimmed, which parts we ate on fish)

I was cleaning up the garden beds (don't want weeds taking over and scattering their own seed everywhere) and dug up/moved half a dozen summer savory plants and four dill. Left this one where it was. It's over a foot in height, whereas the few dill I started from seed, are barely an inch. 

I think the younger plants are really struggling in the heat. A third have died.

As for the other herbs- my sage never germinated. So I guess that seed from mother's garden is finally too old! But I got some sage cuttings from another gardener. They had been left out on her driveway (for no-contact pickup) all night, so I'm not sure if will recover. I have two large pieces with woody stems, and several smaller ones with tender young stems that I pulled off the larger. Dipped all in rooting hormone and crossed my fingers. They look super sad right now.

 It's nice to see in that bed, the winter savory recovering! (Maybe I should cut it back hard every spring) 

Sculpit is really taking over the space, I had to trim it back (need to eat it more!) You can see tarragon just behind the sculpit to the right- I'm glad that one's growing again because just finished using up all the dried tarragon from last season.

Lavender is also sprawling all over needs a serious trim (after the bloom time) and sorrel starting shooting up flowering stalks that I've been cutting off. 

My garlic chives are doing okay, but the green onions I started got nipped by cold one night, or withered in heat one day. Hasn't been the greatest year yet. Most of the parsley died- I have one seedling left in the pot I moved them to

Of all the thyme, just two small plants alive. Also potted up now.

The fenugreek all died, but two more of the seeds sprouted in the tray (I hadn't dumped the starting soil yet) so I hope those will make it. Fenugreek is one I always seem to plant too early and then struggle with.

But the basil is doing great! 

Of all those that grew, three lived and that's enough for me.

So the herbs I have: winter savory, summer savory, tarragon, sculpit, dill, basil, sorrel, a small amount of thyme, one parsley plant and maybe sage- if it recovers at all. And the bay leaf tree! Also chocolate and ginger mints, and the established pot of chives. Not too bad, but I hope also for fenugreek and wish to plant rosemary yet again.

so very late

but I did finally pot up my herb seedlings. Even though they will probably go into their larger pots and/or the ground in just a week or two, they needed nutrients from regular soil. So small still! Basil

Dill 

Summer savory 

Thyme

Actually got a few fenugreek- two more sprouted in the seedling tray

The parsley, 

garlic chives and green onions aren't quite big enough to prick out yet 

It seems like the cardinal climbers leapt overnight- this was a few days ago when I potted them up

And now: is it my imagination, or are they slightly larger already

Here's a more visible difference in size: summery savory seedlings just before I took them out of their tray

compared to a few of the same plant, that grew back from roots in the planter box on the deck! I didn't know this herb could survive the winter, but these two did just that (only two out of the dozen I had growing last year, so not much but still)

seedlings update

I think my seeds have all sprouted, that are going to. Didn't get any green onions from the older packet, but I have some that grew from ones I got at swap a few years ago. Only one half my summer savory tray germinated- the newer seed. So time to throw out the older packet of those as well.

Garlic chives- these are new to me! a gift from my older sister (we traded seeds last year)

My one fenugreek seedling keeled over and died, and I'm debating about starting more. All the rest are doing fine- dill, thyme and parsley (just emerged a day ago). No sign of sage yet, but if I remember correct those always take a while to get going. Basil I planted six or eight seeds, and only got three. So maybe that packet is getting old too, might have to sow twice as much as what I want next time.

The cardinal climber seedlings are looking grand. I just get a kick out of their angular shapes. These were fairly dusky and puplish when emerged, but I've learned that some plants do that to protect tender new leaves from strength of the sun. They're already greener now than in this photo.

I think it was the right choice, that I only did a few herbs this year. I've been pretty good lately with my regular activities (housework) but the carrying in/out of the house every day this week of seedlings plus my boston fern, potted geraniums in the basement, all the coleus cuttings and one stevia plant, has me tired and beat at the end of each day. When it dropped to just above freezing a few nights earlier this week, I preemptively brought in the bay laurel, figs and chives too. That was tiresome.

Can't quite handle three times as many young plants with all their particular needs right now.

a few more

 seedlings are up! Dill and summer savory.

garden update

But again, without pictures. I have not been out there enough- almost six weeks of very minimal garden work and it's all overgrown, shabby, full of bugs. Whitefly, aphids, leaf hoppers, striped beetles galore. At least I'm pleased to see the birds, skinks, spiders and dragonflies frequently- I'm sure they're eating some pests! Haven't spotted a preying mantis yet, but I was pleased a week ago to see a snake in the grass- and even more so today when trimming some grass away from the garden edges, I found two baby snakes! They were no thicker than a pencil, in fact at first glance I mistook them for a worm- but not as shiny, very dark, and when I looked close I could see the minute perfect scales, the shape of the head. I really wanted to gently catch one and take inside to briefly show my family members- but the first one quickly darted into a gap under a brick, and the second one I found disappeared when I stepped aside to pick up dry leaf and a container. Oh well.

We have been eating beets, collards, swiss and leaf beet chard, blue kale, turnips, amaranth greens, turnip-rutabagas, the occasional tomato, plenty of herbs. I have not yet tried pulling any carrots, though some look ready enough and they could stand thinning. No green beans or cowpeas yet, though the plants are growing. Last week I cut summer savory to dry for winter- it was prolific again this year. My fenugreek grew lovely tall and I kept it by the door to enjoy its scent, but now it is dead (insects?). My figs are doing alright. The other day I pulled the largest turnip-rutabaga- it was 2.5 pounds! Made enough "baked turnip whip" dish it fed my family for four days (the kids get tired of it but my husband likes it a lot). I was surprised but glad that in spite of its large size, this turnip-rutabaga still had tender flesh, and I cooked the leaves like most greens, they were good too.

Today I finally pulled the garlics. None had very large bulbs, though altogether it more than quadrupled the amount of cloves I started with. They are curing on a mesh chair seat under the deck in breezy shade, will show a picture after I've rubbed off the dirt next week. The hardnecks seemed to do better than the softnecks, so probably I will grow just those next year, though I haven't tried the flavor yet. That bed is mostly empty now except for the leeks- I lost a few but still have enough.

Also the tomato bed is a mess. I wasn't out there doing garden work for so long, the plants started to fall over because I hadn't tied them up to the stakes again, and they fell and dragged the supports over too. Haven't yet made the effort to go straighten it all up yet. Difficult to get out much because the heat hits hard once it's past 10am.

I did tidy up some of the yard today in preparation for my husband to mow- he doesn't always know where the edges of perennial or garden beds are because it got so messy. So I trimmed edges by hand, picked up sticks fallen from the wind, laid down a few as boundary markers. Dismayed to find the deer have eaten all my hostas again (I didn't get out to scatter irish spring soap, dang it) plus the solomon's seal and disappointingly my newest azaleas which we had bought from friends of my husband (they have a very extensive azalea garden it was a so lovely to visit and I was so happy to have these striking azaleas- one the salmon-colored flowers are shaped a lot like daylilies). The deer also knocked over some of the protective wire fencing I'd circled new baby trees with- I lost three redbuds and the persimmon. Glad they didn't get the pawpaw yet, and the spicebushes are okay too.

The pretty mixed-parentage japanese maple is doing fine on the sideyard, even though the fencing doesn't extend high enough to prevent deer from nibbling the branches, they haven't touched it. My tithonias over there are kinda pathetic, not very large yet, but I hope they grow enough to give some blooms. Milkweed has sprung back better than ever, but I see no caterpillars (though on the carrots, dill and rue I've found plenty of swallowtail caterpillars, and the other day saw a swallowtail butterfly in the yard!)

Also happy to see goldfinches visiting to check out my echinacea patch again. The echinacea plants look better than ever this year, I'd like to hope it's because I removed (by hand) the mealy bugs two years in a row.

The wren, cardinals and catbirds frequently come up on the deck, and I think I saw a fledgling last week too. I am sad the hummingbird has not come back again. My black-and-blue salvia isn't as large this year and not flowering yet; the cardinal climber vine is growing up its supports but hasn't flowered yet either. 

What else to say? I need very much to get out and clean up the other sideyard where joe pye weed is gloriously battling with gladiolas for space, falling all over the lambs-ears and the swamp milkweed is getting choked out by grass, dandelions and sprawling vinca. Just haven't felt the energy yet. It was enough to do a bit of cleanup and weeding today, see the state of things. 

more plants out, and 4th sowing

A few days ago I planted out parsley, dill and chervil. Parsley into planter boxes on the deck railing, chervil into deck pots, half the dill in deck pots and the rest in a garden bed, alongside the arugula (which has gone bitter now) and chard.

Last year was not a good one for summer savory, but this year looks promising! So many little seedlings I am probably going to double them up in pots, and discard the smallest.

Only eight tithonia seeds sprouted, but I got a whole thirty marigolds. Which is fewer than normal, and just enough to handle. I went ahead and potted them all up.

Moved basils to pots too- these are the purple aromatto.

More stuff got pricked out of seedling trays and potted today: blue sage (fewer than I'd like- only six)

Clary sage- saved from seeds on plants I bought at the nursery last year, then planted out just too late for the flowers to be enjoyed in the yard. But now I'll have plenty!

Mishap: my two fenugreek seedlings died one day when it got too hot in the mini greenhouse. I sowed borage in the empty tray, but then a far-too-tiny seedling sprouted the very next day. I think this is one of the fenugreek that hadn't sprouted the first time around.

A while back I sowed two large trays with over a dozen seeds from a cedar shrub (small tree?) that grew in my mother's yard. I'd harvested those seeds 12 years ago, wasn't sure any would sprout. Stratified them in cold, between a layer of damp sand in fridge for month and a half. Only one came up, so I am really trying to be careful with it!

Also potted one culinary sage- I'd sowed five or six seed but only got one. My sage out in the garden hasn't shown signs of growth. Also no sign of green onions yet this spring, I sowed a tray of that too. And two trays of celosia, to put out in the mailbox spot where nothing is growing yet.

last beets, herbs

Pulled the last few golden beets from the garden.

Finally cut some herbs to hang and dry. 

I don't have enough parsley or thyme to do this, and the summer savory suddenly died, but there's a decent bunch of sage. 

What's really done well this year is the tarragon. So I cut several bunches of that. 

Also one small bundle of lavender. To make sachets. 

Cut back the sorrel in the garden, because it was overwhelming the sage and winter savory nearby. 

Still eating some sculpit, but the salad burnet didn't did well here. In fact I forgot it was there, and never ate any of it. 

My digital camera is having issues- I have lots of photos on it but can't move them to the computer. So this will be a journal without pictures for a while. Which isn't nearly as fun.

Edit add 9/18- Found my husband has a little usb device that can plug the SD memory card from my camera straight into computer. So I retrieved all my photos and am updating the posts now!