You grow girl!

[wiltingamaranth]

So, since today's weather was abosultely beautiful, I finally took it upon myself to go to the local nursery and started my own little herb garden. I'm now raising oregano, basil, peppermint, and sage, in addition to some African daisies and Bleeding Hearts plants. My place already smells better

Comments

[futurejane]

make sure the pots have good drainage. if there's not rocks in the bottom, be sure there's at least a few holes so that the water doesn't build up and make sludge.

when they get big and bushy, trim the parts that are growing on top of/too close to each other so it will get bigger and grow outwards.

herbs are hardy plants and can withstand a lot of cutting and damage, so enjoy eating of them. :) if you take really good care of them and don't eat off them much, they grow into enormous bushes. yay gardening!

[wiltingamaranth]

I was sure to get traditional terra cotta pots with the holes in the bottom because that was one things I remember hearing somewhere before.

[quatre_vingts]

I've just picked up a couple of plants myself--they'll live in pots until the middle of next month, when I can transplant them into my mom's backyard. It sounds wacky, but apparently menstrual blood does wonders. If you use a menstrual cup, just empty it into the water before watering them. Or, if you use cloth pads, soak them in plain water before washing, then use that water for your indoor garden. It makes sense, all the nutrients in blood nourishing the plants. I'm trying this out on my basil and strawberries this week.

[wiltingamaranth]

Wow. That's a first I've heard. It makes perfect sense though. I may try that with a pad.

[saucy_coconut]

I've heard that and keep meaning to do it. But I do love my diva cup, it's the best thing to ever happen to me! I used to feel so angry that I was forced to be wasteful and tied to evil tampon companies just because I was a woman.

Awesome icon, btw.

[jameslentz]

The contents of my wife's menstrual cup have made quite a few of our window garden plants happy.

Urine, diluted one part to ten parts water, is also a good occasional nitrogen soil amendment.

To the OP: Pluck the leaves on your herbs often, especially the basil. It encourages growth and helps keep it from bolting. Turning the pots regularly is important, too; otherwise they get "leggy," more stem than leaf.

I'd recommend adding some parsley; it's very easy to grow indoors, tastes great in just about anything, and quite prolific.

[stephenhatesyou]

i'm not sure how long your african daisies will last, but the bleeding hearts have to overwinter, i believe. keep them outside all year.

and keep pinching the herbs to keep them full...make sure there are new leaves right below what you take off, so the plants get bushier.

[saucy_coconut]

My plants aren't quite indoors, but my landlady won't allow us to plant in the yard, so we have giant pots on our deck!

All I have to say is that basil will take over like no tomorrow!! It becomes a lifeforce to be reckoned with, make sure it has plenty of space and doesn't share with other plants. It killed off our rosemary, cilantro and parsley, but our Thai Chili plant survived next to the basil.

It's awesome to harvest an obscene amount of basil, especially when I think about how much I would pay for it at the co-op, haha!

This will be my second year growing plants on my own. I will have basil, thai chilis, lots of tomatoes, and green bell peppers.