Harvest Monday - December 29, 2014
The last harvest Monday of 2014 and, wonder of wonders, I
actually have an itty bitty harvest to report.
Our weather in the last couple of weeks has been downright
balmy. This past
Saturday, we reached 9°C (48°F) - the typical high at this time of year should
be around -2°C (28°F). Quite the
difference.
So here we were, preparing all the yummy food for Christmas
dinner, and I was able to go out (without a jacket, no less!) and pick some fresh
herbs from the garden. Just heaven.
 |
| Parsley |
 |
| Thyme & Dew Covered Purple Sage |
And now for some sad, but not altogether surprising, news. Back in October, I potted up my rosemary in the
hopes of overwintering it. I did the
same thing last year and it just barely made it through the winter as I had several
watering (or lack thereof) mishaps.
 |
| Rosemary - Freshly Potted Up |
This year, I vowed to do better & instead of placing the
pot in the family room, where I often forget to water houseplants, I placed it
in the basement under the grow lights. I
did fairly well at remembering to water transplants under the lights this past
spring and since I’m often down there working on one project or another, I thought
I would definitely remember to keep it watered.
Well, only two months after potting it up, my rosemary has succumbed….once
again, my lack of adequate watering was to blame. Sigh.
 |
| Rosemary Two Months Later A sad, sad sight |
Even though the leaves look a bit green, let me assure you
that they are, in fact, completely dried out.
Well, I tried. On the
bright side, this plant did last three years so that’s something. And this gives me an excuse to go to the garden
center in the spring….not that I need an excuse or anything.
I couldn’t see that there would be any difference between
harvesting the dried leaves right off the plant (vs. picking them & letting
them dry separately), so I picked what I could & now have a small supply of
dried rosemary….hey, that’s another positive!
To see what everyone else has been harvesting over the past
week, head on over to Daphne’s Dandelions, our host for Harvest Mondays.
Till next time…
Fresh herbs in winter are always nice! I think three years is great for keeping a potted rosemary going. I often lose them too due to lack of watering.
ReplyDeleteWell, it's nice to know that I'm not alone!
DeleteOh, I am definitely a weather wimp, 48° is definitely jacket weather for me! How wonderful that you got a Christmas harvest.
ReplyDeleteIt's so strange how we react to weather - If we get a 48° day in March, people are walking around in t-shirts and shorts. But if that same temp was in July - out would come the sweaters and jackets.
DeleteI have the same problem with house plants. The only one to survive the years is an aloe plant and that is because if I don't water it for a month it won't die. Of course I leave it right in the kitchen (I keep it for burns), so when the leaves start to turn brown it reminds me to give it some water.
ReplyDeleteIt has been balmy here too. When I went out for my walk today I saw a cherry tree blooming! I couldn't believe it. The poor thing is very confused.
A cherry tree blooming? Yikes - hopefully it isn't shocked to death when true winter weather arrives again.
DeleteThat's so funny about the browning Aloe - my plants have to give me reminders to water them too ... such as wilting. Guess that's why only the resilient ones survive!
Hmm, we have a similar harvest but I sure wish I had some of your parsley! Mine died a few weeks back. I'm trying a second time with bringing rosemary in this winter. Last winter the rosemary plant I brought in came to a similar fate as yours here - I just forgot about it and it all dried up.
ReplyDeleteWhat's funny with the parsley is that I planted two flat leaf varieties this year - only one of them had enough fresh leaves to give me that harvest. The other one had very few good leaves. Unfortunately, I forgot to label them so I have no idea which is which.
DeleteYay to nice fresh herbs! Boo to dead Rosemary :( but sounds like you've made the most of it :) Luckily our Rosemary overwinters fine outside here. I'd never be organised enough to bring everything in.
ReplyDeleteThankfully, that's the only herb I "have" to bring inside in order for it to overwinter. I'd love to bring a cutting or two from some of the hardy herbs like thyme or chives - nothing beats freshly picked herbs - but I don't have the confidence that they would survive more than a couple of months...with good reason, apparently!
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