Saturday, April 6, 2013

Sustainable Saturday - Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme (and Lettuce, Too)

Today was sunny in upstate New York - a welcome, warming sun that made you want to go out and do something in the soil.  Heeding the call of the soil, people flocked to the open garden centers. 

I don't know if this song reminds me of spring, but it certainly reminds me of four herbs.

The local Home Depot was having a "Black Friday in April" sale.  We normally don't like to get plants there, but the price was right for this spring-starved gardener.
It's way too soon to plant tomatoes outdoors here without special protection, but I decided to try a patio tomato, which I will grow in a pot.  I bought a plant for $2.00 and immediately transplanted it into a larger pot.  It is basking in the sun right now but I'll have to take it in tonight for for a lot of nights to come.
Parsley - straight Italian, which we prefer over the curly type - went into another pot.


We didn't have to purchase sage.  Our sage plant is in our front yard herb garden (that's where most of the sunshine goes - our back yard is somewhat shady except for the patio area) and is not looking good.  It might recover by May.  I think it missed the usual snow cover.
Rosemary?  I helped a woman who recently moved here from Arizona pick a rosemary plant out, and had to deliver the bad news that rosemary does not survive our cold winters.  We pot ours up for the winter.   It's outdoors today, but it will have to be brought in tonight, too.
Thyme?  It's in the front yard, too.  Looks like a lot of our thyme winter killed so I cropped the plant into a thin strip of green.

So what else did we do today, besides prepare some pots for spring?


Lettuce went into our Earth Box, protected (we hope) from our local groundhogs.

Meanwhile, all over our back yard, garlic sprouts.  Because of the lack of full sun, we never get decent bulbs but the plants are nice to have.

Dreams of spring time and hope - hope that it doesn't get down into the low 20's again tonight.

Spring will come in its own time to Johnson City, New York.

Are you still waiting for spring?

8 comments:

  1. I miss Spring. We're entering Autumn at the moment and I have no idea what plants can be grown during this season.

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    1. It depends on how cold it gets where you live. Here in the United States, in areas that only get mild frosts or no frosts at all, those resients do quite a bit of autumn and winter gardening of crops such as brassicas and lettuces. However, that's not the case where I live, where it can get to minus 17 Celsius or even lower in the winter.

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  2. I love this blog, I am frustrated beyond belief at the freezing weather we are still enduring here in dear old blighty. I long to start my seeds off and repot my sage and thyme :)

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  3. I love that song - thanks for sharing. It's getting cooler here now that we are in Autumn. I have Rosemary growing in my garden.

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  4. I enjoyed looking at your plants and herbs. I love them. I'm pleased to tell you that our rosemary bush--over 5 years old--has survived in the patio garden every winter, covered in snow or frost. This year was the coldest in 100 years in London too.

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  5. Thank you for the insight to gardening in Upstate NY. Very different to Far North Queensland Australia.

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  6. The only herb perennial I have is chives. Your Thyme looks amazing. I have made pesto from the garlic shoots - not bad - very mild. Love you pictures & your lettuce!!

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  7. Loevly post.
    Love time in the garden, love growing things, it truly is one of the most wonderful things in life X

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