I have a kick-ass herb garden. We bought some tiny little potted herbs at the Farmers Market in April and wowza! They have really taken off! Or maybe more like taken over. My basil is more of a tree than anything and the oregano looks like a monster from a cheesy drive-in horror film from the 1950's. The lavender is beautiful, but sadly it is not the culinary variety, so we'll have to remedy that. Rosemary is awesome, especially since my friend just told me that when it gets bigger I can use the woody stems as skewers. The question is, what the flock do you do with all these herbs once you've got 'em? I have big pesto plans for the basil. But what about oregano? It seems like it's just sort of an afterthought in Italian-American crock-pot meals. So, please, enlighten me if you've got a clue. In the meantime I think I'll just keep looking at them and feeling super cool for not killing them.
It's October and in addition to the herbs, I have a watermelon vine growing! Over the summer I was watching this brilliant little guy who was going into 4th grade. Oddly enough, he didn't want to hang out down in toddler-ville. I hit up JoAnn's looking for projects and I stumbled upon this watermelon starter kit for like, $3 on clearance. He planted the seeds, tended them and no kidding, they lived. I was pretty shocked that they sprouted in the first place, so I was ready to call it a successful venture. Einstein, however, was not ready to be done. The next day I transplanted them into the herb garden and waited for them to die, thanking the stars above that school was almost ready to start up. Can you believe it has actually sprouted a blossom?! Granted, the last time I checked, watermelons are not a winter harvest, so I'm not going to hold out for mini-melons like the box claims I will have. Regardless, I'm still pretty enraptured by this tiny yellow flower that greets me every morning!
 |
| The blossom is hiding today. |
After my recent success as a laissez faire gardener, I am convinced that I can grow real vegetables and fruits in my backyard. I live in San Diego, so it's not like there's going to be a big snow or anything, right? Mr. Ginger is outside building me the fanciest, most beautiful, and eartquake resistant raised beds you ever did see. (He might be picking up a few traits from the Weird Dude, my dad. You ever heard the expression "A rowboat built like a steam ship"?) By the end of this weekend I will have three redwood planter beds. I am thrilled! I have visions of The Dude walking out back to pick a tomato or eating raspberries fresh from the garden. Ahhh suburbian heaven! The only problem? I have no idea what to plant, when to plant it, or what to do once it starts to grow. Clearly I need to go scour the interweb for a local gardening blog, or maybe go buy a few books, or stalk the only other person I know who has raised beds. Maybe I'm a natural born plant grower and my instincts will bring us plethora of produce. Or maybe herbs are just tasty weeds and I had better start researching.
