Along with starting many vegetables we started some herbs as well. We decided to keep them close to the kitchen out on the deck in pots. We are growing basil, dill, sage and lavender. Once they get bigger we plan on using the leaves all the time while cooking. There is nothing better than fresh picked herbs for a meal, so I am really looking forward to them coming along. We cut a couple leaves off for our first meal, but will probably wait awhile to let them grow some more before we harvest any more.
The largest of the basil have their own pot, and then we spread out the smaller ones in other pots around the deck.
We also planted one arugula plant, and a celery plant. Not really herbs but still useful in cooking.
Most of the other pots are all basil, many kinds of it. Lemon, large Italian, genovese, purple dark opal, thai and sweet. So we have a lot of it and looking forward to seeing their different flavor profiles.
We had more grouped together, but once they started growing we split them up into their own pots so they do not crowd each other too bad.
Using some of my 8 gallon smart pots that I usually grow my cannabis in, they work great.
The purple basil looks so cool, cannot wait for it to get bigger.
It is much smaller right now, we can see it next to some other basil as a comparison.
The sage is coming along nicely, we cut a few leaves off recently to cook with.
I believe this is dill, have not used it yet but planning on it.
Some of the basil plants are smaller than others, but all seem pretty happy. Since we transplanted them twice they now need a break again to start growing again. But I think with the bigger space to grow in they would rather have that in the long run.
Much of the English lavender I started as seeds are becoming little plants now. I hope to put these in the ground around the house eventually. I love the smell of the plants, and they are good for cooking with as well. Tagging @felixxx as I know they were curious about growing lavender from seed.
They have been transplanted twice now. I think I will need to put them in a 1 gallon pot next and keep them alive over the winter. Then they can go in the ground next year.
Just a little worried this year they may not be big enough to survive the harsh winters, so want to make sure they are big and strong before going in the ground.
There is about 20 of them. If I was to buy the plants I am planning on growing it would have cost a few hundred dollars. But instead just a few dollars for the seeds and a little time I will be at the same place.
I am going to start more seeds this winter, so I will have even more in a few years. Growing them this way seems to work well. Not every seed germinated, out of the 80 or so I started only 20 germinated. I put them in the fridge for a few months like it said I should so no idea why a little more than 20 percent actually germinated. But still I got many that did and I am happy with my $2 seed bag's yield.
Just need to make sure they get water every day unless the rains take care of that for me.
Some cheese ravioli, chicken and veggies we made recently. We used some sage and basil inside from the garden. We did not use much since the plants are still small but, in the future we plan on really zesting up the meals and maybe some pesto making too.