|
Post by bixaorellana on Apr 29, 2009 14:59:48 GMT
Please! Did you plant curly or plain?
Oh yes -- now that you've found the usb cable, I'm looking forward to updates on your paved garden. (HINT HINT)
(Pushy, I know, but you do take the loveliest pictures!)
|
|
|
Post by spindrift on Apr 29, 2009 15:12:04 GMT
Here they are! They are curly. (I'll post about the garden soon; it's going to take some time that's why I've put it off)....
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2009 15:26:33 GMT
Lots of food for the Black Swallowtail caterpillars! Do you have them there? I always plant extra larval plants for my butterfly friends.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2009 17:10:56 GMT
I think the parsley is looking frisky already. And you know that once it gets going, it grows fast.
|
|
|
Post by spindrift on May 2, 2009 14:25:40 GMT
No, I'd forgotten it would grow fast. I checked on it today. The compost is still soaking wet and I fear the roots will rot. It is, however, looking a little better and standing more upright...we don't seem to have caterpillars in my town area and the pigeons have ignored the seedlings. I am now waiting for basil and dill seeds to germinate. BazFaz gave me the basil (strangely) and I'm germinating the dill for a friend. I don't want dill in my small garden - well, not much of it.
|
|
|
Post by spindrift on May 12, 2009 8:15:51 GMT
Due to recent poor weather conditions I fear my parsley seedlings will not survive.
|
|
|
Post by pookie on May 12, 2009 8:24:45 GMT
Do you have any clear plastic bottles,ie coke, milk . Cut the bottoms off ,high enough to make little hot house , put some holes in bottom, put over seedling . Mini hothouse ;D That should save some of them until the weather improves
|
|
|
Post by bjd on May 12, 2009 10:11:28 GMT
I always buy one or two basil plants to go with tomatoes. If there are still leaves at the end of the season, I cut them up small and put in a freezer bag. I used to plant parsley (flat kind) but have stopped. I don't have much space and prefer to plant flowers. And the lady at the market I buy my veggies from always gives me a bunch for free.
|
|
|
Post by spindrift on May 12, 2009 10:14:58 GMT
Pookie - a good idea! Unfortunately no plastic bottles but I'll think of something else.
|
|
|
Post by spindrift on May 29, 2009 15:21:27 GMT
I sowed my parsley seeds nearly 4 months ago. My little plants are still only about 3 inches high. This shows how hopeless it is to try and grow herbs from scratch in this climate. I did leave them out of doors without cover...
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on May 29, 2009 18:40:38 GMT
They can suddenly jump in size when the finally gets warm. Well, maybe not as well as if you were living in equatorial regions. And if you get the plants to a decent size before the end of the summer, they can put up with quite severe conditions all winter.
My grandmother used to send me to pick sprigs of parsley buried under the snow in eastern France.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on May 29, 2009 23:47:39 GMT
That's been my experience with parsley. It does not show dramatic growth at first. Have you transplanted any of them yet?
|
|
|
Post by spindrift on Jun 9, 2009 18:07:18 GMT
Yes....I have transplanted them into bigger pots but their progress is almost nil due to our very bad weather. I won't grow parsley next year. The basil seedlings have given up altogether.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2009 18:46:59 GMT
Parsley lives for 2 years, so if it struggles through this year, it might still flourish in 2010. After that, it will go to seed and die.
|
|
|
Post by bazfaz on Jun 9, 2009 21:21:10 GMT
Our parsley is doing well. I sowed it much later than Spindrift did - had it germinated when you visited? I have just yesterday tossed last year's plants on the compost heap. I'll be able to pick from the new plants in four or five days.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Jun 9, 2009 22:33:50 GMT
Do you pull up your parsley plants after one year, Baz, or wait until they're going to seed?
Spindrift, what if you bought already started parsley and basil next year, after the weather warmed?
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2009 5:21:11 GMT
I think I'll buy a pot of parsley and another of coriander next time I go to the hypermarket. I should be able to keep at least one of them alive on my windowsill this summer.
|
|
|
Post by happytraveller on Jun 10, 2009 5:40:43 GMT
Not sure if I have posted this picture somewhere before but here is my pot of herbs exploded. Rosmary, Oregano, Lovage and Parsley. I also have a big pot with Sage, one with Chives and one with Basil.
|
|
|
Post by bazfaz on Jun 10, 2009 9:33:49 GMT
Bixa, parsley goes to seed in the spring of the second year. Last year I tried a second sowing at the end of summer - it has still gone to seed.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2009 11:40:29 GMT
What beautiful herbs Happy! Didn't know you had a green thumb. You've been holding out on us. Parsley is planted in the autumn here and goes strong through the winter,spring, and then bolts as soon as the heat sets in. Would never last two years here. Same with cilantro,dill and some others that one associates with summer food. The cilantro and dill not available fresh from the garden here in summer is one of the great disappointments of gardening here. In fact it is downright cruel.
|
|
|
Post by bazfaz on Jun 10, 2009 14:46:18 GMT
Cilantro is a toughie to grow. Sow it in autumn and it lasts through the occasional frost and snow we have and then is bountiful in spring. But the seeds we plant in spring or summer produce spindly little plants. And yet it is part of the cuisine of countries that are routinely hotter than the south of France. A puzzle.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Jun 10, 2009 15:11:22 GMT
Cilantro is moody! I really think the secret is keeping the roots cool. You can use lots of mulch, or plant it very close to a wall. If you have a raised house or shed, plant it so that even if the plant has to lean towards the sun a little, the roots will be in shade.
Casimira, try casting some dill seeds in the back of a bed &/or in dappled sun to see what happens.
|
|
|
Post by spindrift on Jun 10, 2009 15:44:06 GMT
I recently grew dill seedlings for a friend. They germinated fast and grew up strong.
|
|
|
Post by happytraveller on Jun 11, 2009 6:36:35 GMT
Casimira, I don't think I have a green thumb... I wish I had ! Sometimes my herbs die days after I plant them but this time I seem to be lucky !
|
|
|
Post by spindrift on Jul 3, 2009 10:35:36 GMT
I ate the first of my parsley yesterday. It took 6 months to grow large enough to start cutting it. I don't know if it was worth the effort.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Jul 3, 2009 13:51:36 GMT
Aww, Spindrift. You did really well to have parsley to eat after the long, gray, wet spell you've had there. Next year will be better!
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 3, 2009 18:11:52 GMT
I know that this is the parsley thread, but it is not worth starting a mint thread for the pot on my kitchen windowsill. It was greener before, but it has been suffering from the heat wave.
|
|
|
Post by spindrift on Jul 3, 2009 18:26:42 GMT
That' s a fine pot of mint and it's healthier than mine which is in the garden. It's nice to have sun shining into your kitchen.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Jul 4, 2009 2:13:21 GMT
Look at the people on the street staring at and admiring the mint!
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2009 12:21:32 GMT
I thought that maybe we could trade advice on this subject, particularly on what is easy to grow and what isn't worth the bother.
My mint plants are shooting up and getting ready to bloom. Is this the end of the mint then, or will new plants grow from the base?
|
|