Grow herbs on your window sill

Fresh herbs can really boost the flavors in a salad, your favorite soup, fish and chicken...really anything that you prepare. And they have multiple health benefits on top of containing vitamins and minerals. According to Ellie Kreiger's blog, herbs have "plant compounds with potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Piles of studies show that polyphenols in herbs help combat such diseases as cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, diabetes and more. Polyphenols are anti-microbial, so they can help protect us from harmful bacteria as well."

Oregano and parsley growing in a sunny window.

But they can be really expensive in the market, particularly when you don't use the whole bunch and it rots in the fridge. I have been growing oregano and parsley in my sunny kitchen window for a couple of years now so I have access to at least two varieties of herbs all year long. Last week we had some really cold weather but I rescued the parsley from the summer vegetable garden and stuck it in a small pot for the kitchen window. I have also seen whole herb plants in the produce section of my grocery store. They are perfect for putting in a pot and growing in your house all winter long.

Plant those mums in the spring

One aspect of the fall garden that I have grown to love is chrysanthemums. I say “grown to love” because I could never figure out why you would buy this beautiful plant, enjoy it for a few weeks and then get rid of it. After all, they are easy to find in the big-box and grocery stores starting in late summer and it’s tempting to buy a few plants to dress up the patio. Alas, it’s still pretty hot here in the mid-Atlantic in September so the flowers don’t last long – it either gets dried up really quick or the heat fries the flowers.

But then I discovered that you can plant mums in the ground, and with a little bit of attention over the summer, have beautiful flowers year after year in the cool fall when everything else has been zapped by frost. They bloom for a long time in the cooler weather and the colors say “Autumn.” (Annecdotally I have heard that yellow plants do not live well in the ground.)

Hold on to those mums that you are enjoying this fall. You can plant them in the spring and have beautiful flowers for years to come.

I have collected a few plants over the years and planted them in the spring with great success. Once the flowers have died, cut back the plant to about 3 inches and keep alive over the winter. They do need a little water now and again, but they survive just fine outside on my back steps. Then in a cool spring day, I plant them in the flower beds.

I get them to bloom again in the fall by cutting them back to about 2 ½ to 3 inches right around Independence Day. This allows the plants to continue growing and to form flowers at the right time-when I am wearing a sweater and admiring the fall leaf color- and not in the heat of August.

There are borers that can infest the plants, but I have not had this problem to date.

So if your Thanksgiving guests bring a mum, rejoice because you will enjoy that plant for years to come.

Other Resources for Mums

Chrysanthemum Festival at Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania runs through November 24, 2018.

National Chrysanthemum Society, USA

Time to plant garlic

According to the University of Maryland extension, now is the time to plant garlic so roots can develop before the cold winter.

Last week I planted hard-neck garlic that I got at the Silver Spring (Maryland) Garden Club's October meeting. Tony Sarmiento, a local garlic grower and evangelist, shared a head with everyone at the meeting.

• He advised that your plot get 9 hours of sun a day and be grown in well-drained soil that has organic matter. 
• Break up the head and plant the individual cloves 6-8 inches apart at a depth double the height of the clove. 
• It is recommended to dip the cloves in a mixture of 1 part bleach to 9 parts water before planting.
• He also advised covering the patch with mulch after the ground has frozen.

Easy, right?

I have grown garlic in the past with mixed results so I am eager to see what happens when the winter is over. The garlic will be ready to harvest in early summer.