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I've been busy lately, on the house and finishing up the garden for the year.
In the spring, I took the poor, spindly tomato plants that survived the terrible cold of last winter and the neglect of me getting too sick to remember to water them in the spring, and planted them outside. Most of them survived, but barely. They never produced more tomatoes, and will go to a well-deserved final rest when the first hard frost hits in a few days.
On the other hand, the purple basil that self-seeded into my lawn, and which I relocated into the beds around the tomato plants did fine, growing lots of pretty (and tasty) purple leaves. They flowered and went to seed, and I did my best to knock the seeds away from the lawn when I harvested the leaves. I do enjoy the flowers, and may get outside tomorrow and claim them, but I very much enjoy having the self-seeded plants every year, so I left those parts to get as many mature seeds as possible.
Here is a picture of tomatoes harvested during the summer:
I got new tomato plants for the second floor porch, so I wasn't lacking in fresh tomatoes. Those are now in my spare room, though it's been a windy year, and the leaves that grew strong enough for high winds and direct sun have not, for the most part, done well inside even with the grow lights. That's nearly always an issue when you move tomatoes in or out; hopefully these will revive over time. If not, I'll have to plant new ones. But in the meantime, I have a couple of small ripe tomatoes in the refrigerator and almost a dozen ripening inside.
I also have purple basil going to seed inside, since I brought in a few plants last fall and they seeded into the pots they were in.
But the biggest surprise this year was the oregano. Friendly birds apparently dropped oregano seeds around the garden, and the winter didn't discourage the oregano at all. I had a huge harvest of oregano where I planted it and also several clumps in other places, including with the roses in the front yard. I had so much I gave away some to passing neighbors and took a whole grocery bag full to a local homeless shelter.
The oregano took over the plot it was in, almost completely crowding out the lemon balm and peppermint there. I clearly have work to do next spring. But for the meantime, the roses are covered with fall leaves to help keep them safe and secure over the winter, I have bags of chocolate mint, oregano, and other herbs drying inside, and I am grateful I do not have to rely on my garden to supply me with food through the whole winter.
I am also very glad I have space to grow fresh herbs and tomatoes, and hopefully more than that next year.
In the spring, I took the poor, spindly tomato plants that survived the terrible cold of last winter and the neglect of me getting too sick to remember to water them in the spring, and planted them outside. Most of them survived, but barely. They never produced more tomatoes, and will go to a well-deserved final rest when the first hard frost hits in a few days.
On the other hand, the purple basil that self-seeded into my lawn, and which I relocated into the beds around the tomato plants did fine, growing lots of pretty (and tasty) purple leaves. They flowered and went to seed, and I did my best to knock the seeds away from the lawn when I harvested the leaves. I do enjoy the flowers, and may get outside tomorrow and claim them, but I very much enjoy having the self-seeded plants every year, so I left those parts to get as many mature seeds as possible.
Here is a picture of tomatoes harvested during the summer:
I got new tomato plants for the second floor porch, so I wasn't lacking in fresh tomatoes. Those are now in my spare room, though it's been a windy year, and the leaves that grew strong enough for high winds and direct sun have not, for the most part, done well inside even with the grow lights. That's nearly always an issue when you move tomatoes in or out; hopefully these will revive over time. If not, I'll have to plant new ones. But in the meantime, I have a couple of small ripe tomatoes in the refrigerator and almost a dozen ripening inside.
I also have purple basil going to seed inside, since I brought in a few plants last fall and they seeded into the pots they were in.
But the biggest surprise this year was the oregano. Friendly birds apparently dropped oregano seeds around the garden, and the winter didn't discourage the oregano at all. I had a huge harvest of oregano where I planted it and also several clumps in other places, including with the roses in the front yard. I had so much I gave away some to passing neighbors and took a whole grocery bag full to a local homeless shelter.
The oregano took over the plot it was in, almost completely crowding out the lemon balm and peppermint there. I clearly have work to do next spring. But for the meantime, the roses are covered with fall leaves to help keep them safe and secure over the winter, I have bags of chocolate mint, oregano, and other herbs drying inside, and I am grateful I do not have to rely on my garden to supply me with food through the whole winter.
I am also very glad I have space to grow fresh herbs and tomatoes, and hopefully more than that next year.