As my friends may have noticed, I don't have plants in the house. I've killed so many flowers and what-nots that I gave up indoor plants ages ago. I better not go into what happened with bonsai. I think it's partly because I see many flowers too much fuss for nothing
but to grow something you can eat - definately worth the trouble. So, I've always wanted my own kitchen garden. To be able to grow exactly the type of beetroots I want! To have my herbs fresh from the garden!
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| Assistant gardener watching out for birds |
So far I've been living in a flat, most often not having even a balcony but now I got a veranda. Here comes the herb potter! The veranda is partially paved with stone tiles and covered with a wooden floor, so I begun practising with potted herbs and salad. After all, I think it's safer to practise with small scale cultivation than let me loose on a real garden.
At the moment, my best success appears to be salad. I bought some
mizuna and wild rucola salads, used them for food and planted the rest. I must say mizuna proved to be hardy: I had it in the fridge for a week and it still sprung to a new flourish. I planted mizuna and rucola in the middle, and plain salad (from seed) around it. Finally I can get my fresh salad from the garden. It's always fresh and doesn't rot in the fridge as those ones bought from the shop sometimes do.
The rest in the big pots are cylindrical beet root and
multi-coloured chard. Chard started out fine (from seed) and I am truly looking forward to using it for food. It can, for instance, be used instead of wine leaves in
dolmades. Unfortunately I didn't plant enough beetroots, some of the seeds didn't germinate. A shame really, l love the sweet juiciness of cylindrical beetroot. Once you have tasted them, you don't want to go back to the watery round ones!
I've tried starting herbs from seeds with varying level of success. Chives, cilantro and
melissa officinalis are thriving, or at least alive. Sage started strong but didn't survive re-potting. The one in the picture is from a plant bought from the grocery and potted. I have found potting plants from the supermarket most efficient, no fuss with seeds, germination or re-potting. Parsley is quite hardy, the first thyme and chives I got are still alive. When you are buying supermarket plants pay attention to roots. Roots need to be white, not black and brown. Cut the herb down (but leave some leaves to it for photosyntesis) and hey presto! You got a potted herb.
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| My thin-skinned drunkard basking in the sun. But only for a moment! |
Basil is a wonderful plant to have in your kitchen. Love the scent, and how easy it is to pinch a leaf or two to salads, sauces and marinades. It's a fussy plant though. It needs plenty of water, very moderate amount of sun and no draft at all. It's also a bit problematic from the perspective of shopping and potting. You can pot it the first time but adding more basil in the same pot or repotting just tends to kill it.
Here are a few links for more expert advise:
Have a nice week everyone!
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