Some of the memories I hold onto from childhood are the ones I have of older family members growing and tending to plants and/or having all out gardens. There was almost always a porch full of plants for me to sit with while I watched and listened to the world around me. I never really participated in the care of the plants, unless I was asked to. I was always afraid I’d kill them. Every plant I’ve ever had has died.
I hop on and off of snapchat from time to time. I can’t remember when, but I started noticing snaps down below the ones I follow. One that stuck out to me was Struggle Meals. I thought it was interesting to see the meals created for cheap. Often, fresh herbs were used from pots. It reminded me of the time I did the Sexy Shred. I had a lot of fun cooking with fresh foods and seeing these of home grown herbs inspired me to try to grow my own. It just so happened, I saw some seeds at Big Lots so I decided to buy them. A friend gave me some other seeds, starter planters, and soil.
And so it began…
I chose to first start off with germinating my seeds first, because a friend mentioned how hard it is to grow from seed. I have also been given plants that have already started. It’s been fun learning as I go and I look forward to learning more through my research and trial and error.
So, without further adieu, I introduce you to some of my garden.
With pictures!
Enjoy!
First there’s basil.
I got a bit excited about her. I couldn’t wait to start cooking from her. So I’ve been picking leaves off as they get mature. However, I also read that pinching from the plant promotes growth to be bushy rather than lanky, so it excites me to see so many small leaves growing. I’ve decided to try my hand at patience and stop picking at her so aggressively. This is the only surviving plant of my first set of seeds that I germinated.
Next there’s another basil plant.
This one was 100% grown from seed. After a lot of death, I decided to just plant some seeds. I haven’t pinched from this one much. I don’t know why the leaves are so bunched up. I kind of like how unique she looks. I may pinch off the rest of the big leaves and see what else happens.
Let’s see…. How about sage!
I’ve seen so many sage plants die that these two are my babies. Both of them were started from seeds planted directly in soil and now they’re so frigging pretty. I love when they dance in the wind.
Let’s move on to onions!
I have two onion plants. They came from my kitchen. The onions sprouted so I put them in some soil. I didn’t expect them to look so beautiful. Look a them! Aren’t they sexy? Yes. I know.
Then there are the red bell peppers.
I may have gone overboard with the peppers. After starting garlic, I wondered what else I could grow from my kitchen. PEPPERS! I love peppers. They have so many seeds. So what did I do? I planted some! I have 8 little plants now in 2 pots. Today I noticed an infestation of white bugs on one. Did a Bing search, mixed up some water, vinegar, and dish soap, checked back later, and they’re dead. SUCCESS! If the plants survive, one of these pots will likely be given away.
Artichokes!
I was given two of these plants. They haven’t died and that makes me happy. I haven’t really looked up much about them. This one in the picture is the prettier of the two.
Tradescantia Zebrina: Wandering Jew
So check it, the zebrina is the plant closest to the camera in this image. She was given to me by my friend. I potted them recently and so far, the leaves stopped getting crunchy. They’re supposed to be easy to grow and I love the color. I look forward to having such a pretty plant in my house. That other purplish looking plant is one of the plants I was sent from Florida. I talk about the Florida transplants in another post.
So I mentioned garlic a few times. Like the onions, I had garlic sprouting in my kitchen so I planted them. One died in such a strange way I’m not even sure what to say. She kind of just disappeared. Garlic is the herb I’ve cooked with the most, so imagine how horribly I’ve picked at her. She’s so bad, I couldn’t get a good picture. She’s still alive, just….skinny as fuck.
There are more plants, but I’m going to give them all a dedicated post. This one is long enough.
No wait!
There’s more!
I have some more seeds in process. So far, one has sprouted.
Meet the Zinnias.
When I started this, I said I’d only grow useful plants. Plants I could eat or make something with. Well, flowers serve a purpose. They make me smile. These little babies are my first try at zinnias. I can’t wait to see their pretty colors!
Plants coming up later
- Bachelor Button
- African Daisy
- Aster
- Petunia
- Thyme
- Oregano