I’ve always been interested in gardening, but I’ve never really mustered up the guts to get out there and buy a plant. I guess I’ve always been a little nervous that my thumb will be more brown than green, and I’ll destroy whatever poor plant I attempt to grow.
Then one day, just about a month ago, as I was walking around the open market on Fort Street, I decided to just go for it. After a slew of questions (How much sun does it need? Will a balcony work? How often do I water it? Is it possible to over-water? How do I harvest them?) I bought a Basil and Italian Parsley plant.
Amazingly, I not only kept them both alive, they were GROWING!
Ten days later, I decided to add to my mini garden, and at the recommendation of the shop owner, bought dill and lemon thyme.
She also told me that I would need to transplant these little guys into a bigger pot, ASAP. Apparently the roots of these herbs grow out quick, and they need space, or they’ll be unhappy.
So off to Home Depot, where the amazing workers schooled me on the size pot I would need, and the type of soil I should get.
I ended up getting one bag of potting soil (the kind that’s supposed to help those forgetful people that don’t water daily) and two pots.
I found out Basil is a beast when it comes to its roots! While the Dill, Lemon Thyme and Italian Parsley could be thrown together in a single shallow pot, the Basil needed its own home in a giant 5 gallon pot!
Here they are, happy in their new homes:
I’m thinking of growing some lemongrass (one of Ry’s favorite tofu flavors) as well as some kind of lettuce mix. Anyone out there have success with either in this Hawaii temperature? I’ve been reading online, and they’re saying lettuce mixes can get bitter if they get too much sun.
Goes to show you that fear should never stop you from trying new things. If you have a balcony that gets sun, grow something! It feels so great to walk out and pick some basil for a tomato salad, or some dill for roasted veggies! Can’t wait to see what else I can grow!
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One tip and one suggestion…basil plants die after they flower, so to prolong the life of your plant, be sure to “nip it in the bud”; remove the flower buds as soon as they appear.
I recommend growing rosemary and chives. They’re both very hardy and very useful. Toss rosemary with potatoes and olive oil and roast ‘em…yum! Chives and scrambled eggs are wonderful too.
Thanks! That’s what I’ve heard…I sort of jumped the gun the first time and thought it was about to flower and chopped it down. It lived, though, and now it’s a monster plant! I’ll look into chives and rosemary. Hopefully the market will have them this week!
hi, got here via Jen’s blog.
i love ur herbs, i’m wanting to get basil, rosemary and thyme but I’m afraid my dog might just destroy them (he’s a handful)
Oh! I’ll remember to thank Jen
Re: your dog, maybe putting them up on a higher ledge? Rosemary is actually pretty hardy, if you can keep him at bay for a bit, it’ll grow into a bush~ which he probably won’t be able to destroy.