It's too late in the season to take any good pictures, but here's how my first summer where I actually grew my own plants went:
Methi: My methi plants (fenugreek) grew from seeds and they were perfect. I grew two batches in a large pot and harvested and used both. It was a great start to the year, and I should have kept doing it throughout the summer. I'll definitely be growing this again next year.
Mint: Flourished like crazy for months and months. After three tries, I got a cutting to grow and now it's living happily in Portland with my friend Renee. Unfortunately, about a month later, the plant was root-bound and the stems got woody and leaves shriveled up. I cut most of the stems and loosened the root ball, and I hope that the few little leaves that are left will turn into something, but it may be too cool and cloudy now. Hoping for the best - and learned a lot of lessons for next year!
Rosemary: Perfectly happy plant. Hope to keep indoors during the winter. The only real issue we had was that A. wanted to cook with it nearly every week and so we harvested it down to a single stalk! It's growing back though and he's just going to have to wait a little while.
Marigolds: The ones that I grew from seed never flowered - they grew very, very tall with a lot of leaves, but no flowers came. I still think they kept a lot of insects away. I have what look like buds on the ends of the stems now, but still no sign of flowers; plus it's very late in the season; I'd be very surprised if anything were to come of them now. But I really wanted marigolds, so I bought some that looked a little tired at the nursery and decided to bring them back to life, and they certainly came back, in brilliant shades of yellow, orange, and even a few red ones. I have a few blooms left and even a couple of buds, and hoping they hold out until Diwali; I would love to make a garland with whatever I have left. It's an early Diwali this year, but in this weather it may still not be early enough.
Basil: I bought a basil plant on a whim, and the summer was very good to it. I harvested the leaves a couple of times, but in the end it had the same problem as the marigolds; the stem grew very long and eventually the leaves got smaller and smaller. I didn't repot it properly; I think I should have put it in a different pot.
I think I will grow all these again next year, but with a few changes. I'll buy marigolds that have already flowered for sure. The mint and basil will go in significantly larger pots. The rest, I hope I can just do more of what I did this year and they'll grow bigger and better. Not a bad start for someone who's really not very good at outdoor things!
Methi: My methi plants (fenugreek) grew from seeds and they were perfect. I grew two batches in a large pot and harvested and used both. It was a great start to the year, and I should have kept doing it throughout the summer. I'll definitely be growing this again next year.
Mint: Flourished like crazy for months and months. After three tries, I got a cutting to grow and now it's living happily in Portland with my friend Renee. Unfortunately, about a month later, the plant was root-bound and the stems got woody and leaves shriveled up. I cut most of the stems and loosened the root ball, and I hope that the few little leaves that are left will turn into something, but it may be too cool and cloudy now. Hoping for the best - and learned a lot of lessons for next year!
Rosemary: Perfectly happy plant. Hope to keep indoors during the winter. The only real issue we had was that A. wanted to cook with it nearly every week and so we harvested it down to a single stalk! It's growing back though and he's just going to have to wait a little while.
Marigolds: The ones that I grew from seed never flowered - they grew very, very tall with a lot of leaves, but no flowers came. I still think they kept a lot of insects away. I have what look like buds on the ends of the stems now, but still no sign of flowers; plus it's very late in the season; I'd be very surprised if anything were to come of them now. But I really wanted marigolds, so I bought some that looked a little tired at the nursery and decided to bring them back to life, and they certainly came back, in brilliant shades of yellow, orange, and even a few red ones. I have a few blooms left and even a couple of buds, and hoping they hold out until Diwali; I would love to make a garland with whatever I have left. It's an early Diwali this year, but in this weather it may still not be early enough.
Basil: I bought a basil plant on a whim, and the summer was very good to it. I harvested the leaves a couple of times, but in the end it had the same problem as the marigolds; the stem grew very long and eventually the leaves got smaller and smaller. I didn't repot it properly; I think I should have put it in a different pot.
I think I will grow all these again next year, but with a few changes. I'll buy marigolds that have already flowered for sure. The mint and basil will go in significantly larger pots. The rest, I hope I can just do more of what I did this year and they'll grow bigger and better. Not a bad start for someone who's really not very good at outdoor things!
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