Basil = yummy!

Basil

Basil is mostly used for cooking and eating. It has a unique flavor that goes well with tomatoes and pastas. 

There are many different types of basil, even a purple one! Each different one has a different flavor and look to it. 

So lets jump nose first into this plant.

So vibrant !!!!  

All you have to do to get the smell is touch it, Crazy good smell. These little babies were started 3 weeks ago. 

Some how all of them came up. I did not plan for that to happen, but thats ok we eat a lot of  it anyway.  So I trans planted them right in front of my tomatoes!

Its a very simple plant, I tossed in a bunch of seeds and sprinkled soil on top. I kept the soil moist by watering at night and let it dry during the day. It was that easy!  

This type of basil is sweet basil incase you were wondering. 

Other helpful ways to keep basil healthy are - make sure you have well draining soil and a good amout of sun light.  Water regularly unless its so pose to rain then let nature do it for you.  To cut down on watering, mulch around the plants. I used horse poo thats been composted, works great. 

What other useful tips can I find, lets see --  if you want lots of leaves on the plant keep pinching the flowers off when they appear. That helps keep the plant well rounded and it will keep making new leaves. Basil is a good companion plant too keep bad bugs off other plants like tomatoes.  Something I didn't know, harvest the leaves late in the day as possible its less stressful for the plant. You can harvest leaves through out the summer once the plant is a good size. 

There are many ways to keep the basil, I like drying but freezing seems to be the best way to keep the flavor. Here are some ideas. 

- freezing them in oil like olive oil so you can throw into a dish when cooking.
- you can make vinegar dressing with basil
- you can use basil in drinks with straw berries !


references - really good ones check them out!!!!

http://www.almanac.com/plant/basil

http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/basil-growing-guide

http://www.thekitchn.com/pitcher-perfect-supereasy-stra-151952

http://www.thejoykitchen.com/ingredients-techniques/basil-harvesting-storing-and-preserving

http://www.diylife.com/2008/07/04/avant-yard-20-basil-harvesting-and-storage-tips/

Catnip (cat crack)

Catnip   

Catnip wich I lovingly call " cat crack " is one of the easiest plant I've ever grown. It has many uses and the butterflies, bees, and even humming birds love it. Also cats, well and this human. 

The plant it self has cute little light purple flowers on it and the leaves are bright green.

I started my plants indoors in march then trans planted them in june.

This plant likes full sun. Now when reading up on herbs and it says full sun what they mean is full morning sun or full afternoon sun. For herbs you don't want both you'll fry them. Thats has been my personal experience. 

Catnip is part of the mint family. It gets about 3 feet tall and 3 feet wide when it spreads. It can be invasive when it self seeds and it has runner roots. OOOOOhhhh it's drought resistant and not picky about what type of soil its in. If you want it in your garden it helps keep the bad bugs away. 

Catnip is a perennial so it will come back and can be grown from zones 3-9. If you want the plant to look more like a bush you need to pinch down the stems before the flowers begin. Check out my references for more info on pruning. 

Cats and the catnip plant- if you or neighbors have cats you might want to put fencing up around the plant. Cats tend to love this plant to death by rolling on it.

To collect the leaves you need to wait until the flowers are just coming out, which usually happens early summer. Pinch off leaves after the morning dew has dried or midday.  I use a dryer to dry my herbs.

Im collecting for tea and my mothers cats. 

 But you can also cut the stems at the base and hang them upside down to dry in a well ventilated area.

Fun things to do!!! 
Make catnip tea to help you sleep or relax. 
Put cut up leaves in salads, also in soups, and stews. I've only used it as a tea.
Make cat toys with the leaves in them. 
Make bug repellent out of it.

references 

http://www.livingspace360.com/index.php/how-to-grow-catnip-catnip-flower-bud-catnip-and-cats-ctanip-companion-plant-medicinal-herb-18942/

http://wellnessmama.com/4525/catnip-herb-profile/

http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_catnip.htm

http://www.doityourself.com/stry/5-catnip-plant-care-tips#b

New Home / New Garden = BIG MESS........

Southern Maryland

  So we moved in June and I had to half my indoor plants. Found a lady on Craigslist who was looking for some and I was able to keep the baby plants which are much smaller for the move. Sad but I'll be able to grow them back to there full size quickly.

Right, Southern MD.

- Hot, 
-longer planting season, 
-didn't move till june, 
-late start on gardening for me, Shit.

******** So to start this off Im going to show the plants you remember from earlier blogs and show you what I've done here. The new plants that are introduced I'll do specific blogs on in the near future.

This guy of course made it my Jade, but one of my dogs did decide to take a branch off. He like to prune for me.

My baby Rose Mary has gotten much bigger and repotted!

The lemon tree i started from seed, well i started two and kept the smallest one. It loves this warm humid place, as you can see.

My lovely husband made two raised beds for me. This is the first and larger one, it has hot and bell peppers in it. As well as some bee balm. 

Second one has borage and other herb that are coming up slowly. Lettuce to the left is not doing so well due to the rain coming down hard on it. We've got to put up a gutter on the shed that this raised bed is up against.

Closer view. Borage and lettuce.

side view

Weird little bug.

On my honey suckle vine.

 Had to move it to a better spot that this in the pic. It wasn't doing very well, not enough sun. It started getting powdery mildew on its leaves.

The Mess

So this area is huge like 20 rows and I'm the only one using it. My land lady used one row beside mine, so two rows are being used out of 20ish. Its a bad idea. I won't be using it next year. Its a bit to much. But I started it in june before we moved when I visited, to get the plants in the ground. I started the seedlings in march not knowing where we were moving and I was board.

Unfortunately this was the only place I could get them planted quickly so they wouldn't die. But at least I'll be able to collect seed for next year and its still fun to watch them grow. Also I'll get lots of tomatoes out of it. Also its tick infested. 

So whats in there you ask?

sunflower 

nasturtium 

tomatos 

hot pepper

borage

borage

beans

All of that equals companion planting. This usually works for me but with so much area around it not being maintained and it being tick infested, it was just a bad area for me to choose. Lesson learned. Seeds will be collected and a new smaller area is being prepared now, for next year.

Next years area! Smaller, closers to the house = Ya! Soil needs some work so thats what I'll be working on. Every area you will see from here on out was covered in english ivy, and when i say covered I mean COVERED! Lots of work has been done. The devil made english ivy. Any way- Right now i have tomatoes that are staked as you can see. Also theres.....

In case you were wondering.

A smaller version of black eye suzys.

 The staked tomatoes.

This is my Faire garden in progress (area was also covered in english ivy hell, i have to insist on telling you. The shit is hell in a vine.)

 Front view. More pots of chocolate mint, lemon balm and basile. I have petunias, four o clock, morning glories and the rose bush.

Russian Sage

More petunias I moved the comfy the the place where I have the tomatoes staked, so it would have more space.

Another area next to the cottage. Coneflower, bee balm, cat nip, lemon balm, bleeding hart, tyme that need to be moved and zinnias, sage also need to be moved.

Bleeding heart

Zinnias

Well I hope you liked this post not as informative but its a catch up. I will keep posting more regularly after this!! 

Chocolate Lovers Plant

Chocolate Mint

The chocolate mint here I bought from a nursery when it was very young. It got huge during the summer in its pot, so when i brought it in for winter I cut it down. The leaves I dried for tea!

  Its the best tea, aroma (like a york peppermint paddy) and taste surpass all other teas. For valentines day it is my go to drink. Who doesn't want a warm chocolate mintalisous drink.

All right back to the plant!

  

  This plant is for anyone, easy to grow and grows in zones 3-11. It can grow in full to light shade. With full light do make sure if you get harsh light in the afternoon try to put it in a place where it will get a brake from the afternoon sun.  From personal experience with different types of mint I've grown, they can grow in any type of soil. If keeping this plant in your garden beware, its very invasive, it has stems above and blow the ground that seem to crawl.  When the conditions are perfect, the plant will show you its light pink flowers. Water regularly to keep the soil moist. If harvesting the leaves do it before it flowers, or pinch off the flowers so more leaves continue to grow. My advice is to keep this plant in a pot. When i say its invasive I mean it will go hulk on you garden with the  runners roots spreading new plants anywhere theres soil. 

So in a pot care -

  Keep moist but don't water log the plant. The more sun the fuller the flavor. When the plant is getting to big your going to have to trim it down. Or you can re pot it and pull apart the the new plants that have sprouted. Extremely easy and fun plant to grow indoors. 

  Besides tea this plant is a great friend in the kitchen! It goes well with ice cream, hot chocolate, pastry cream, brownies, mojitos,  smoothies, cookies and lots more!

This website has lots of ways to use chocolate mint-

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/herbs/msg051259214982.html?5

-references- 

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/56869/#b

This site also has a chocolate themed garden reference !

http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/herbs/mint/growing-chocolate-mint-herb.htm

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/the-dos-donts-of-growing-mint-147458

Pest that like mint and lots of info

http://www.bhg.com/gardening/vegetable/herbs/grow-mint-plants/

Rosemary

Rosemary

   The  flowers from the rosemary come in shades of blue, purple, to a nice pink. Mine as you can see are light purple. What a fragrant plant and adds a lovely green or silver (depending on the type you have) to the interior of your home. As most cooking friendly people know this plant is a must for flavor! This website tells you how and what parts of the plant you can use.

http://madeleineg.hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Use-Rosemary-In-Your-Cooking

  I grew all three of mine from cuts off a old plant that my mother in law has (huge plant its incredible ), you can also take bottom leaves from other plants and put them directly in to the soil to grow new plants.

Indoor care for the lovely rosemary-
  The plant thrives in pots but must have a sunny area to grow. It needs well draining soil and dose not tolerate water-logging, the roots will rot. Let the plant dry out before the next watering. I look for the leaves to start curling before I water. If it starts to get a bit big for the pot don't be afraid to trim it back. Indoor rosemary dose also need to be fertilized regularly.

      Great website for more info on indoor rosemary care-
 http://houseplants.about.com/od/More_Plant_Profiles/p/Growing-Rosemary-Indoors.htm

Extra knowledge 

  Very drought hardy plant and some types can grow up to 5-6-7 feet tall outside. Some grow straight up and some are used for ground cover. Something else i did not know is that rosemary is pest resistant (bugs, deer, and rabbits). If you want to grow outside it needs a climate where the ground dose not freeze to many times a year. Some harder verities will tolerate a little freezing.

This website tell you the different types of rosemary-

http://www.usna.usda.gov/Gardens/faqs/RightRosemary.htmlBe care full some types are not resistant to frost!

Creative things-
- cooking with it
- make a balm
- can make a rosemary oil
- make a rinse for you hair
- use it for a natural bug spray
- the sent is a great stress reliever

Different types of rosemary and what type is best for you!
http://www.sunset.com/garden/flowers-plants/right-rosemary-for-you-00400000023371/page3.html

- References -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosemary

http://wellnessmama.com/5193/herb-profile-rosemary/