Rosemary

This is one of the rosemary plants I have growing in my house this winter. It is getting rather rough looking like all my sun loving herbs do at this time of the year. Yes that is straw you are seeing in the foreground. Last summer when it was so hot and dry, I put some straw around it so it wouldn't dry out so fast. It was so tangled in there that I just left it when I brought it in. When I re-pot it this spring. The wide green leaves are from the lemon grass that is sitting beside it.

This plant actually comes from a start from my mom's rosemary hedge. I didn't know that rosemary could grow into a hedge until she moved to her current house in the southern California. Since I happen to be here as I write this, here's a picture!

This is my other rosemary. I got the start of this plant from Farm and Home a few years ago. It was planted in the ground outside last summer. I dug up a little bit of it last fall and brought it in. It has some really nice long branches on it. When I plant the it in the ground I won't separate them right away. I will spread them out as much as possible and bury them under some dirt with just a few leaves above the ground. After a few weeks, each  of them will grow enough roots that I can separate them into lots of different plants

Rosemary is a wonderful smelling herb that is great with meats. I put a little in the crock pot with my roasts and chicken. It's smell has been proven to improve memory and cognitive function too! I need that! Check out the study at the International Journal of Neroscience.

God Bless You All!

~Grama Sue

The Weather Outside is Frightful - But Look What's Growing!

Well, the weather outside is frightful,

But the fire in the corn stove is so delightful.

 

Let it grow, let it grow, let it grow!

 

There are 4 shelves and an ottoman full of plants in my living room. This window faces north east, but fortunately I have some grow lights that I put on when the sun starts to go down. I leave them on till I go to bed. That doesn't seem to be quite enough light, but I've only killed one plant so far! One of my momma aloes is on the left, Then I have a pot with some lemon grass and some volunteer chard. Do not ask me how it got in there, but it has tasted good this winter. Next winter I think I'll dedicate a whole pot to it! On the bottom there is a partial onion that I found at the back of my fridge that was growing. Thought I might as well put it in some dirt. 

This is the bottom shelf of the northeast window. I'm pretty sure I killed the thyme, I'm waiting to see if it will come back. If it doesn't, I have a few catnip seeds that I'm gonna plant in it. I put the packet in the  pot when I found it the other day so I don't loose it. There's also basil, some local rosemary and a celery base that I stuck in some dirt.

This is the southeast window. I've got some lemon balm, a begonia start that one of my elderly clients gave me, the orange tree than my grand kids planted and the rosemary that I brought home from my mom's house in California the last time I visited there. 

This is the bottom shelf and the ottoman. I've got some holy basil on the far left, a sweet basil that isn't doing so hot at the center  back, an elderberry start, some lavender and a ton of aloe! I gave away one of my momma plants and several babies after the markets ended last year, but I will have plenty when the markets start again in the spring. I've had to plant a bunch in cups and put them in a basket lined with a plastic bag. They are sitting on the ottoman because the only other window in my house that has anything to sit it on is in the kids room and I keep it closed when they aren't here. It just gets to cold there.  I have  a grow light on them at night too.

What do you have growing in your house?

God Bless You All!

~Grama Sue

Feb. 1st and I Planted Garden!

The local news stations are all abuzz about how on February 1st last year we got a big blizzard. Today it was in the 60s and beautiful. I walked by one of my garden beds today and saw this!

I picked a large leaf of red lettuce and ate it. It tasted so good! Since the lettuce thought it was warm enough to rejuvenate itself, I decided to check the soil temp under my covered hoop. It was 50 degrees. Early crops  like lettuce and beets only need 40 degrees to germinate. Looks like we've got a window of a few more days of 50s and 60s and even then the highs are still in the 40s at the end of the 7 day forecast.

When I first moved here 30 years ago, I started working for a very wise old country woman. She always told me, "Sue, plant lettuce the first time it thaws in January. If doesn't make it, you won't be out much. But if it does, you will be SOOO happy!"

So with Lelia's words ringing in my ears, I decided it was time to plant the covered hoop. I put in onions, peas, beets, lettuce, kohlrabi, spinach, radishes and three different types of lettuce. I couldn't find my carrot seed. I thought I had some, but I must have planted it all last year. Gonna have to make a point of getting some for the next time I get a little crazy.

Then later I decided to go for a scavenger hunt to see what else is growing. There's quite a bit of kale coming back from last year.

My blackberries and garlic have never died back and they are on the north side of the house!

Parsley is looking good.

... and so is the thyme.

I found this cilantro under a piece of plastic.

The rosemary on the south side of the house is doing fantastic! Of course, it has had a little bit of help.

I covered the rosemary with some old clear refrigerator  drawers and plastic last fall.

The catnip looks a little nipped, but it's still green.

And there's even a bit of spinach.

Most everything out there is pretty small, but if I needed to, I think I could come up with a good sized salad. Add in a tomato from the indoor garden and we could eat pretty good!

God Bless You All!

~Grama Sue