Hello!
This page is basically a diary about my herbs

The summer of 1998 I found some Parsley plants at Walmart for ten cents each. For that price I couldn't leave them there! Some were pretty scraggily but I sure wasn't going to be out anything if they didn't survive! I brought the plants home, repotted them & set them in the window. All winter they supplied me with fresh parsley for cooking.

I had always been interested in herbs but had never tried growing them. The parsley plants boosted my confidence enough to give it a shot. I bought a book (A Creative Step-By-Step Guide to Growing Herbs) and found there were many more things to do with herbs than I'd ever thought of! The book is great but I need a little more "basic" information on getting started. I decided to "wing it" and see what happens. I purchased a over the sink shelf for my south window in preperation.

On April 17, 99 I bought a herb kit that contained: Extra Curled Dwarf Parsley, Summer Savory, Common Chives, Sweet Marjoram, Sweet Basil and Dill. I also bought seed packets of: True Lavender, Lady Lavender and Spearmint. I followed the directions on the kit/seed packages and filled several small pots. I put plant stakes by each of the seeds, as being a novice I knew I would never be able to tell them apart when they did start growing! I gave them a good watering and surrounded each pot with seran wrap to help hold the moisture in. I then placed them in the southern window.

According to the seed packets most of the seeds take from 7-14 or 14-21 days to germinate. I believe they all like full sun except for the True Lavender which prefers partial sun/shade.

Update: I was quite surprised when on 4-20-99 I had tiny sprouts of lady lavender, summer savory & sweet marjoram coming up. On 4-21-99 the sweet basil & chives had started sprouting. Since I had only planted the seeds on 4-17-99 this seemed kind of unreal to me, but I was VERY happy! *S*

Update: As of 4-24-99 the only seeds that haven't sprouted yet are true lavender, spearmint & parsley. All the others have grown at least one inch.

Update: As of 5-5-99 all of the herbs are growing although the true lavender & spearmint are coming up very sparce & slow. Many of the others have grown to 2-3 inches high.

Update: 5-17-99 The herbs are doing great & the sweet basil & dill are 5 & 6 inches high. I'm hoping to move some outside soon.

Update: 5-23-99 I planted some of the herbs in pots outside today (dill, summer savory, sweet marjoram, & sweet basil). Last night I also purchased a Curley parsley plant & two spearmint plants which I put in pots outside. I'm hoping I didn't move them outdoors to soon!

Update: 6-13-99 The plants I moved outside are all doing great with the exception of the summer savory. I'd apparently moved that one to soon & it withered down to nothing. About 3 weeks ago I went to my parents & got some of their chives, garlic chives & catnip. I planted half in the ground & half in pots. They are all doing well & survived the move.

Update: 7-10-99 I can't believe it's been a month since I updated this page. Suffice to say instead of working on this page I have been working outside instead! I have picked up several new types of plants, Mother of Thyme, Sorrel, Oregano, Lavender & Rosemary. I am using the Mother of Thyme as a groundcover around my water garden/bird area. So far I haven't found much information on Sorrel. Many herb books do not list it. From what I know it is a perennial herb that likes full sun & moist well-drained soil. It has tart leaves which are used in cole slaw, salads, soup, & sauces for fish. I have been using quite a few of the herbs while cooking. My next step is to start drying them. I read somewhere that a good space-saving way to do this is to use shirt (gift) boxes. The boxes are lined with paper & the herbs are spread out in the box. The box is labeled with the name of the herb & then is kept in a dry well-aired place until the herbs are dry. They are then crushed & placed in dark, labeled jars. An interesting tip I read this month is that for some reason birds aren't fond of violets & lavender. So you may not want to plant them near your feeders or birdbath, as these flowers are reported to discourage birds from coming near.

Update: July 29,99 On 7-24-99 I took cuttings from my parsley, thyme & spearmint plants. I washed them throughly & have them hanging upside down to dry. So far they are drying well. I did find some info on sorrel in a Sunset book called, "Herbs, An Illustrated Guide".

Update: Aug 28,99 Lately I've been taking cuttings from my herbs and starting new plants. The mint (being a very strong bullish herb) did teriffic. I was able to get new plants by placing a cutting in water for awhile (it didn't root though), by putting the cutting directly in soil, and by digging out a section of the existing plant where some new shoots were coming up.

Update: October 6, 1999 I moved a lot of my herbs indoors approx 3 weeks ago. It was getting quite cold at night & I was afraid I would loose them. So far all the plants I brought in are doing well. I put up a hanging basket in the south window (above my sink) that works great in holding the smaller pots. It works great as the basket is made out of rustic-looking wire so any excess water just drips down into the sink. I've been misting the herbs daily also so having it above the sink makes clean-up a breeze. I've found some more interesting herb books - it is so amazing how much info is out there!! *S* I bought a tea ball & enjoyed sipping a cup of spearmint tea using the leaves off my plant. I am hoping to try making some herb vinegar. I would love to try the herb oil & think I would use that more but I'm afraid to due to the dangers I have been hearing about oils that are "spiced up" at home. If anyone knows of where to find recipes that use herbed vinegars please let me know.

Update: November 7, 1999. I purchased some herbs a couple weeks ago and I got them repotted this weekend. Some of the herbs were: Sweet Woodruff, Lemon-scented geranium, Lemon Verbena, Rosemary, Peppermint and Chives. I am definately running out of room in my kitchen! At the moment I have 48 pots in my small kitchen with the pot ranging in size from 6 to 24 inches. Most of the plants are the herbs I've mentioned above. All the others are the normal run-of-the-mill houseplants. Surprisingly I haven't lost any of the plants I brought indoors this fall.

Update: March 22, 2000 Most of the herbs I brought indoors have survived my abuse. ;~) I am anxiously awaiting the day I can move my herbs outdoors again. I'm quite surprised how much the rosemary plants grew over the last few months.

Update: April 2000 I spent a lot of time this month planting various seeds in pots outside & working on small flower beds. Some of the seeds I planted include: two types of lavender, sweet basil, parsley & basil.

Update: May 2000 I purchased some new herbs at a greenhouse this month including: chocolate mint, wooly thyme, German chamomile & blue stocking monarda. So far they are doing well but the chamomile & monarda are looking a little droopy.

Update: June 2000 I moved the chamomile & monarda outside this month and they are really perking up. The lavender, sweet basil & parsley I planted in April are doing well. The parsley is really taking off.

Update: August 2000 I've been harvesting catnip this month. I hang the catnip upside down in the garage til dry. I also rub fresh catnip leaves on m cats toys to revive the scent. The herbs I use the most for cooking are parsley & chives.

Update: Sept 15, 2000 We had snow today!! Just tiny flakes swirling around & they melted before they hit the ground but it was enough to get me moving! I spent the next few days moving the herbs I have in containers in the house, repotting herbs and giving them a trim. My kitchen once again looks like a jungle! *S* The mondara & chamomile really took off after I moved them outside in June, so I am kind of worried they may suffer again indoors.

If anyone has any tips, hints, or suggestions please feel free to email me. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Even if it's to tell me "you did (such & such) wrong!" or "You should have done (this) instead!"

I appreciate you taking the time to check this page out & would love to hear your comments.

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