The two "strawberry pots" at either end (the 3-tier ones) are the herb pots. So far I've got sprouts or plants for rosemary, oregano, basil, dill, cilantro, savory, and mustard (in a different pot since it gets big and messy, but it's not pictured). I've yet to see sprouts for marjoram, thyme, chives, garlic chives, parsley, or sage, but since most of the rest already sprouted, they should be coming soon. For most of the herbs, I soaked the seeds first (up to 24 hours; some less), which is supposed to help them sprout faster. The only herb I didn't grow from seeds is the rosemary, and that's because I couldn't find any (it's apparently a controlled plant in some states). The first one, I nearly killed by overwatering, but (after re-planting) it seems like it might come back. I bought a second though, just in case.
The four smaller pots (10", but you can't tell) in the corners are Scotch Bonnet peppers; I got those as plants, simply because I couldn't find seeds for them anywhere. They're still doing well.
The two tiny pots in the middle are just a couple of cacti that my ex-roommate left.
The four planters are, from far to near, mini bell peppers, cayenne peppers, thai chili peppers, and garlic. The peppers haven't sprouted yet, but I didn't know to soak them beforehand (they got planted a few days before the herbs). The garlic has started to sprout: of the 14 or so cloves I planted, 2 are already shooting up stalks; it's a variety called Silver Rose, which is apparently really well-suited for southern California.
I'm also trying to grow some tomatoes from seeds; my first attempt ended horribly (too hot/too wet), so I'm trying again with a more controlled environment and not overwatering.
All the pots except the strawberry pots are "self-watering": they have reserves in the bottom that soak up through the soil. I have actual watering systems for the herbs, so that they get enough-but-not-too-much water going forward. The key to ADHDgardening is to make sure it can survive in spite of me :)
Anyway, there's my "garden". The big blue thing is obviously my hammock.
2 comments:
Hi there, Austin
Thanks for posting this - it's interesting to see how you've laid it out. You might want to check the optimal conditions for each of your herbs, and hence which ones you put together in a pot - I think some of them like to be drier and warmer than others.
I'm surprised rosemary is controlled in some places - it seems pretty inoffensive to me.
Take care
Mark
Most herbs - or at least the ones I'm growing - are either full sun or most sun and generally dry-ish conditions. So, they're all fine in the pots the way I've got them, at least according to the majority of websites I've checked.
The only weird ones, because they get so large and require different conditions, are the rosemary, mustard, and oregano. The rosemary and oregano, I have in the tops of the strawberry pots to both give more room and to control watering easier; the mustard is in a separate pot entirely.
I know there are some states that most organizations won't ship rosemary to; I ran into that online. I assume it's because it's *so* invasive/prolific, but that's just a guess. We've got it growing all over here in California; after a rain, there are certain parts of the 405 that just smell amazing.
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