The reluctant gardener
April 14, 2008
I’m sitting here typing and figured, why the hell not post to the blog? After all, Aiden’s occupied here in the office while I’m on the computer. He’s pulling all the books off the shelves and operating as my own personal paper shredder. And he takes his job seriously. Yesterday he spit up a little and it contained bits of paper. Can’t you tell I am the most watchful and attentive mother ever?
So anyway. I haven’t figured out the specifics of my potential garden yet. I have some issues to resolve (like selecting a site that won’t get trampled on by dogs, and prepping our shiteous soil). So until I get that figured out, I am CONTAINER GARDENING!
Check it out.
Ooh, pretty containers.
Ooh, packets of seeds!
But I have a dumb question. Does one seed equal one plant? I know, I am probably an idiot but I remember my teacher saying there is no such thing as a stupid question. NEWSFLASH! There most certainly is. But does 1 seed = 1 plant? And if so, how many of these suckers can I squeeze into a pot?
Sophie is understandably skeptical about the future garden’s survival at the hands of her intrepid mistress.
Oh! And I just read that these things need to grow for at least 60 days before you can harvest the herb?? That means I need to keep them alive for at least two months? Now I’m skeptical too.
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1.
Laurel | April 14, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Oh man… I got nothing for you. I have a black thumb.
2.
Kathy | April 14, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Technically, each seed can grow into a plant. Supposing that it’s still alive, that is. You can check the back of the seed packets to see how far apart they’re supposed to be spaced, and you can probably plant them in grids 2-3″ apart if they’re supposed to be planted 2-3″ apart.
Basil, thyme, and oregano can get pretty big. If you plant more than one seed in each pot, then you’ll probably need to transplant them later. But if you’re wanting to use these herbs in quantity, then you’ll want more than one plant anyway — because they’re slow-growing at first. You may be able to strip off a few leaves from each plant here and there, but if you take too many then it’ll die of course. Cilantro grows faster, but you also tend to use more of it. And once it starts to flower (a.k.a. “bolting”) then the leaves start to be somewhat bitter (so stick with the tiny leaves; and you can also continuously harvest whether you need it or not, so that it doesn’t bolt), and the stalks get pretty tough. If you let cilantro develop seeds, it’s coriander (which I’ve never actually used). The cilantro we grew last year re-seeded itself, so we have already had plenty of fresh cilantro this year, which is pretty cool!
I’m not much more of a green thumb than you seem to be, but I think you’ll get the hang of it!
Kathy
3.
Rachel | April 14, 2008 at 4:33 pm
I hope it turns out well. I would love to have a herb garden!!
4.
Jane | April 14, 2008 at 8:41 pm
I have never started herbs from scratch. I always buy them started and transplant them to my pots. Then I grow them until about July and then I forget and let them die and never harvest them!
As for attentive mothers, I think Maria ate a dust bunny the other day. The best part was when she was kind of hacking (like a cat would) for the next 15 minutes!
5.
Happy Working Mom | April 15, 2008 at 10:06 am
I’m going to start my garden soon and you just depressed me even more because these are questions I hadn’t even thought of…let alone know the answers too.
6.
Marla | April 16, 2008 at 12:27 pm
I’m not a gardener but if I were, I would buy the plants, not seeds. Thats how we do all the plants for the yard and it seems to work well. I’m not very patient so 60 days would seem like an eternity waiting on results. Good luck
7.
Kassie | April 16, 2008 at 3:56 pm
haha, never thought about 1 seed equaling 1 plant.
i need to get smarter.