herbs

Annual Herb Sale presented by The Herb Society of Nashville

Every year the The Herb Society of Nashville holds an herb sale open to the public. This year the herb sale will be on April 16, 2016 at the Nashville Fairgrounds. Check out the information below from their press release for more details! The Press Release: The Herb Society of Nashville will hold its Annual Herb Sale on Saturday, April 16, 2016, from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. at the Fairgrounds Nashville Sports Arena Building. The Annual Herb Sale is open to the public and admission is free (except for a $5.00 parking fee to the Tennessee State Fairgrounds) and will feature the sale of rare varieties of annual and perennial herbs, as well as all culinary herbs.  Credit and debit cards will be accepted. For more information, visit www.herbsocietynashville.org or contact Rhonda Galligan at rhonda.galligan@gmail.com or by phone 931-224-8947. Featuring: •Heirloom Vegetables •Rare Varieties of Annual and Perennial Herbs…

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Why I Let Cilantro Bolt and You Should Too

Why I Let Cilantro Bolt and You Should Too

Cilantro is one of our family's favorite herbs to grow. We use it in cooking various dishes and always include it in our guacamole. In the garden it tends to be very short lived in the heat of the summer. Cilantro is very heat sensitive and will produce flowers very fast when the temperatures get warm. When a plant begins to flower is called bolting but in the case of this herb it's not a bad thing. There are lots of great reasons to let your cilantro bolt. Cilantro produces small tiny clusters of white to pink flowers that are very ornamental. While that might be a great reason in itself to let cilantro flower cilantro also attracts small bees and pollinators to the garden. It's also never bothered by deer or rabbits so it makes a great plant to keep next to garden areas that may have issues with…

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How to Make an Indoor Decorative Herb Planter Out of a Birdfeeder

How to Make an Indoor Decorative Herb Planter Out of a Birdfeeder

The cold temps are keeping you indoors and you are going stir crazy.  You need to do something in the garden, with the garden, or for the garden and the seed catalogs showing up in your mailbox just aren't good enough to get your gardening fix.  Then do this - plant an indoor garden!  Recently I put together a small herb garden that I made from a decorative bird feeder I found at Lowe's.  All materials for this herb planter project were supplied by Lowe's Creative Ideas. Read on to see how I made this decorative herb planter out of a bird feeder! First I gathered my materials for the project which consisted of the bird feeder, sheet moss, two plastic water cups, LED puck lights, soil, and of course some seeds (basil and chives).  Unfortunately my local Lowe's did not have seeds available yet but I had more than…

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A Few Facts and Tips about Growing Basil

A Few Facts and Tips about Growing Basil

Corsican Basil Basil (Ocimum basilicum) is one of the easiest herbs to grow. Here are a few growing facts about basil in the garden! Dark Opal Purple Basil Basil grows well from seed.  You can sow it in the garden or start the seeds in pots.  It transplants well.  Keep basil seeds moist until germinated and established. Basil is a great companion plant to just about everything.  My favorite companion planting combination with basil is to pair it with tomatoes or peppers. There are lots of different kinds of basil.  The flavors can range from lemon to cinnamon to the traditional Italian basils. Different flavors allow you to pair your basil with different types of foods making it an extremely versatile herb. When growing basil pinch the stem tips to encourage a bushy plant.  It also delays the flowering. The flowered are edible and make an interesting addition to salads! Basil…

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Propagating Stevia from Cuttings

Propagating Stevia from Cuttings

There are some plants that are tricky to propagate but stevia isn't one of them! Stevia rebaudiana is an herb used as a substitute sweetener for sugar.  It isn't reliably hardy here in Tennessee even though I did have a plant come back one year.  Since then I've kept a plant in a pot to bring indoors for the winter.  I've tried to grow stevia from seed but had a lot of difficulty in getting good germination which is why I turn to cuttings.  Taking a cutting of stevia is as simple as it can be.  I trim a stem or branch just above a set of leaves, leave two leaves on the top of the cutting and stick the bottom end of the cutting in moist sand. Rooting hormone is not necessary. I kept the cuttings moist for about 3-4 weeks and found the root system to be very…

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Raised Beds Aren’t Just for Vegetables

Raised Beds Aren’t Just for Vegetables

I mostly use raised beds for my vegetables but the truth is almost any plant can do great in a raised bed. Herbs, flowers, and ornamentals can all thrive in raised beds.  What makes a raised bed an awesome growing method is the soil that it uses.  You can mix the perfect soil mixture for any plant you want to grow whether it be ornamental or edible! Rosemary Herbs in a raised bed will want a well drained soil that isn't too rich.  Often herbs do much better when planted in a nutrient deficient soil so you don't have to build a rich compost-like soil for them.  For herbs a well drained mix is very important.  Soggy soil can lead to rotting and the eventual demise for some herbs.  They can handle conditions that are drier. In fact the flavor that herbs produce can be enhanced in dry conditions. When…

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5 Herbs for Thanksgiving!

5 Herbs for Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is coming up next week and soon those turkeys will be filling our homes with the savory scents of a delicious dinner to be enjoyed among friends and family (and perhaps a nap to follow).  A lot of preparation goes into preparing that perfect Thanksgiving dinner and this being a gardening blog we aren't talking turkey here but rather - herbs!  So for today's Friday Five post let's visit five herbs that will help make your Thanksgiving Dinner delicious! 5 Herbs for Thanksgiving Dinner! Rosemary Our family uses rosemary around our house all the time.  Our favorite dish for rosemary also contains another garden favorite - potatoes! We roast the potatoes with onions, garlic, and a little olive oil in the oven until the potatoes are tender.  The exact makeup of the roasted potato dish varies depending on what potatoes we have around whether red potatoes, sweet potatoes, or a combination…

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What I’m Growing on the Porch

What I’m Growing on the Porch

For several years before we bought our house we lived in an apartment.  I still had the gardening bug and couldn't resist planting a vegetable garden in pots on the porch.  While today I have ground to plant in I still utilize the porch and deck on our house to grow a few plants.  Here's a look at a few porch and deck plants we're growing. I planted the coral red honeysuckle but the blue morning glories were volunteers.  Morning glories are beautiful plants but can be very prolific if allowed to go to seed. I plant moonflowers every year.  The extremely large white flowers that open in the evening are fragrant.  I planted 3 of these along the front porch but they did not all grow as I had hoped! Vine plants work great on the porch rails but that isn't all you'll find on our porch.  Check out…

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Propagating Creeping Thyme

Propagating Creeping Thyme

Creeping thyme or Thymus serpyllum makes a great ground cover that is very easy to grow.  Once started it quickly grows and spread to fill out areas. It's also an extremely easy plant to propagate.  Why is propagating creeping thyme so easy?  Let's take a look! I planted three small seedlings of creeping thyme a couple years ago and now it has grown into an evergreen carpet along our stepping stones.  Creeping thyme forms roots anywhere the stems touch a surface.  Essentially if the area is dark, roots will grow!  Even though our creeping thyme is resting on a stepping stone it still produces a copious amount of roots which makes an awesome opportunity to create more creeping thyme.  All I need to do is trim the area around the stepping stone then separate the rooted stems of thyme into individual pots or into new areas of the garden to…

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Time For A Few Herb Cuttings!

Time For A Few Herb Cuttings!

It's time for a few herb cuttings!  Surely you didn't think it would be too long before the plant propagation posts began again?  The warm weather is here - early - but the plants have responded and it's time to take some stem tip cuttings.  My wife finds these posts boring and floats right by but hopefully you won't. ;) Recently I took a few herb cuttings.  Herbs are extremely fun and useful plants to have around the garden.  Aside from being fairly pest free they sure can add some oomph to the dinner table.  The first flush of growth is spring is one of the best times to take cuttings of many perennials - including herbs. Stem tips are exactly what the word sounds like - cuttings taken from the tip of the stem. I took cuttings this weekend from three easy to grow and root perennial herbs: catnip,…

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