fresh cut herbs brought indoors, will stretch your fresh herbs by about two weeks.

I’m starting seed in the Aerogarden this week.

Aeroponics is a soil-free growing method where plant roots are suspended in air within a 100% humidity, highly-oxygenated growing chamber. Because the roots are bathed with ideal levels of nutrients, water and oxygen, plants grow significantly faster, are healthier and have a higher nutrient content than plants grown in soil. It’s like having a little green house on the kitchen counter.

I’ll grow bright green lettuces and herbs all winter. The 70 million Americans buy organic products weekly will appreciate the simplicity and convenience of Aerogrow.

This little table top garden is a defiant cabin fever cure for us die hard gardeners. AeroGarden is not promoted to help with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) or “cabin fever.” Still anything that tricks my plants into believing the sun is shining, has a positive affect on my attitude.

Gardening is America’s #1 hobby with more than 70 million active gardeners. There are 18 million fresh herb gardeners which is up 41% since 2000.

Small, sweet as candy, little strawberries that you can grow from seed. photo PBH

This little table top garden provides fresh herbs for my cooking all winter. A sprig of fresh basil or parsley will add sparkle to any dish.

In the spring, I start seeds in the AeroGarden. Last spring I had great success getting tiny sweet strawberries to grow from seed. Picking these tiny French Alpine strawberries (fragaria vesca) are like finding candy in the garden. Buy strawberry seed at Renee’s Garden.

Usually, herbs don’t have insect problems. The grown basil plants, just 10 feet away, were not bothered. I used Insectisidal Soap and two days later, there was new growth. I lightly sprayed insecticidal soap again, just in case new eggs should hatch. Safer Soap, is a contact killer, so I lightly sprayed insecticidal soap again, just in case new eggs should hatch. I’ll keep an eye on this pot for two reasons.

Italian basil seedlings. photo by PBH

It’s hot hot hot and plants in containers are very vulnerable drought. And I want to keep an eye on the container to stay ahead of any reinfestation.

A curious note: the lemon basil growing in the sale pot, was never subjected to insect damage. Safer has a FaceBook page.

Minus Thyme Thymus praecox articus 'Minor'

Minus Thyme is a perennial, hardy in zones 5-9. The evergreen, ground-hugging thyme is covered with pink flowers in late spring. One of the lowest growing thymes, it never exceeds 1”. Minus can take light foot traffic making it a good choice along pathyways and between stepping stones.

I bought a plug pack of 12, two years ago from Richters Herbs. The plants did so well, I ordered another plug pack last spring. Then, I divided the tiny thyme that I had planted between stepping stones. It is growing enthusiastically between stepping stones and is easily divided.

The spaces need weeding until the thyme fills in. This very slow process will take a couple more years to fill all the spaces between the stepping stones. I could speed the process by dividing the thyme clumps more often.

Minus Thyme with Cobra for size comparicon

I always order several lettuces and spring greens

A good place to start your garden seed order is by leafing through your favorite cookbooks. Renee Shepherd’s cookbooks showcase the best of garden fresh cuisine. Who better to write a cookbook than the person who grows a bountiful vegetable garden?

Renee’s Garden has two cookbooks, “Recipes From A Kitchen Garden” and “More Recipes From A Kitchen Garden.” My cookbooks are tabbed, with penciled notes in the margins and dog-eared. These two very affordable cookbooks ($12.95) have a few food splashes and the occasional sticky fingerprint.

Horseradish is the herb of the year 2011. I’ve ordered ”

Both Cookbooks will inspire you to grow more veggies from seed.

Tricolor Bush” beans and the skinny French “haricot vert,” that are bright green beans “Rolande. I am predicting that Chilled Green Beans with Creamy Horseradish Dressing and Green beans with Basil-Walnut Vinaigrette are going to be garden party and alfresco dining hits.

Best of all, these two dishes are make-ahead recipes that will develop flavor while chilling in the fridge. These two recipes are in the first cookbook, Recipes from a Kitchen Garden.

As an herb gardener, I love that Renee’s cookbooks incorporate edible flowers and fresh herbs in many of the recipes. With these cookbooks, you will enjoy fresh recipe ideas all season.

baby romaines

by Patsy Bell Hobson

If you’re a beginning gardener looking for a plant to grow that you also can save seeds from, marigolds are a good choice.

Collect seed from different marigolds for a good variety.
Photo by Patsy Bell Hobson

Why should I save seed? It’s free! Collecting seeds from your own flowers is practical and economical. Seed savers learn more about their plants and build their gardening skills. *Note: Hybrid varieties are bred from two distinct parent plants. Seeds saved from hybrids may not produce plants exactly like the one you bought.

What should I save? If you grow some tasty or outstanding plants, you can save the seed from your best fruits and flowers. Collecting the best seed from the best plants year after year will create plants that are ideal for your soil and zone.

Where should I store seed? Make sure the seed is cool and dry then store it in an envelope or a ziplock bag; label and date the packet. If you learned a helpful growing technique, write it down. Make notes about growing the seed and put it inside the envelope. Trust me, you should write down the name of the seeds, the date and any details or tips.

Try saving seed from a few of your garden favorites this year. The number of seeds sold in the seed catalogs decreases every year. Saving seed may save that particular variety from extinction.

There would be no garden without pollinators like the Buckeye butterfly.
Photo by Patsy Bell Hobson

Marigolds, including the little bright yellow single flowered Mexican tarragon (Tagetes lucida), are an easy first seed to identify and save. These flowers look like mini marigolds.

Pinch off the dried flower buds of the marigold. Roll the dried flower buds in your palm to break them open and reveal the seeds. Marigold seeds look like little needles with one end dark and the other end lightly colored.

I save seed every year from a white cucumber my grandmother always grew. Those seed are a connection to my past and a way of saving a mild white cucumber that is very hard to find.

Planting seed, growing and enjoying your herbs and then, finally, collecting the seed for planting again, completes a life cycle. And that is both empowering and humbling.

collect seed from several plants

Yes, there are lots of day lilies and cone flowers.

Day Lilies are bright and cheerful and at their best in June.

Everything in the garden is green and healthy. Later in the summer, plants get dusty and wilted or chewed and burned up by bugs and heat. There are lots of day lilies and cone flowers  in full bloom. The roses haven’t been attacked by the Japanese beetles yet.

Cone flowers ablaze, different varieties bloom at different times, extending the season

Before I share  my flowers, I wanted to show you this unobtrusive drip irrigation system for all 12 of the hanging baskets. Most of these plants are annuals and trial plants that are fun varieties new to me.

a thin black tube carries the water overhead

Raddish flowers

Spring raddishes hung on till the summer heat, then bolted, bloomed and are setting seed.  With all the beautiful flowers, sometimes it’s easy to overlook the  little blooms in the herb and vegetable garden. I’m focusing on edible blooms and vegetable flowers this Bloom Day.

Raddish seed pods look like little bean pods.

Herbs are at their best now and growing fast. Many, like this lilac colored geranium are edible.  Add the petals to a garden salad or,  garnish a dessert plate with these little flowers.

I vowed to keep the zucchini  in control this year. Harvesting squash blossoms, to stuff and fry is a tasty way to keep this beautiful vegetable from over populating the kitchen counter. Harvest these baby squash for grilling.

enjoy fried squash blossoms or grill baby zukes.

Nepeta, or catmint, is a member of the mint family.

Catmint (Nepeta), is a member of the mint family. It is easy to grow, has few pests or problems and attracts loads of pollinators to the garden. A few of these petit little blooms sprinkled on top of a dessert or a salad would be festive.

Carbon tomato plant is loaded with yellow blooms.

Growing fast, and delicate blooming while little fingerlings are growing in the ground.

onion flowers add a very mild, touch of onion flavor.

Onion flowers add just a hint of onion to poppy seed dressing, potato salad, rice wine vinegar or herb butter.

This rose was just begging to be photographed before the Japanese beetles invade.

And finally, these Jackson and Perkins roses just begged to be photographed before the Japanese beetles arrive. And, really it’s nice to end on a rosy note.

Thank you for visiting, please come again.

Patsy Bell Hobson is a garden writer and a travel writer. For her, it’s a great day when she can combine the two things she enjoys most: gardening and traveling. Visit her personal blog at http://patsybell.com/ and read her travel writings at http://www.examiner.com/x-1948-Ozarks-Travel-Examiner.

You still have time to start peppers from seed. I’m growing several chilies and a few different mild or bell peppers. The sweet pepper that caught my attention this year is the baby bell pepper. The plants are compact and heavy producers. Baby bells are a good choice for containers.

Left: Cheese-stuffed peppers make a tasty snack. Photo by Pille, courtesy Nami-Nami.
Right: Stuffed yellow peppers are easy to make. Photo courtesy Burpee.

As you plant peppers, stake or cage them. Pepper plants tend to be brittle and the stems can snap in heavy winds or storms. These cute little peppers can be used fresh or cooked in summer recipes. Leave peppers growing on the plants until their color is bright and the peppers are well ripened for the sweetest flavor.

Peppers, like tomatoes, are native to the Americas. This new baby bell pepper will be pretty served grilled, stuffed as tapas or on an antipasta tray. My little baby bell pepper plants are just about 2 inches tall and looks just like any other pepper plant. Baby pictures will be delivered about the time tomatoes start coming on.

There are truly a rainbow of colors for bell peppers. The green peppers are not as sweet and sometimes more bitter than the red, yellow or orange peppers. Belle peppers are at their sweetest when allowed to ripen on the plant in full sun.

Red peppers have more vitamins and nutrients and contain the antioxidant lycopene. The level of carotene, another antioxidant, is nine times higher in red peppers. Red peppers also have twice the vitamin C content of green peppers. Bell peppers are an excellent source of vitamins C and A. One raw pepper provides more vitamin C than one cup of orange juice.

The red and yellow baby belle peppers are beautiful together
on an antipasto plate or in a large summer salad.
Photo courtesy Renee’s Garden .

This pepper seed is easy to find. Gurney’s Seed & Nursery Co., Johnny’s Selected Seeds and Renee’s Garden and many other catalogs offer baby bell peppers. But if you don’t want to find them on your own, enter my giveaway! I’m excited to announce another giveaway: Renee is giving away baby belle pepper seed packets, which contain both red and yellow peppers, to three lucky Herb Companion readers. Winners will be chosen randomy and announced after they have been notified. Good luck!

Here is what Renee has to say about Chinese chives:
“One of my favorite fresh herbs, Chinese chives, combines the flavor of garlic and the sweet oniony taste of chives in a perfect marriage. The 10 to 12 inch long, strappy flat leaves are scrumptious whenever you want a hint of garlic flavor without the fuss! Use fresh as they lose their savor when cooked. I snip them into ½ inch pieces to sprinkle over fresh salads or on top of most steamed vegetables or a plate of juicy sliced tomatoes. They are wonderful in potato or pasta salads, with scrambled eggs, or even deep fried to finish a rice dish. When your plants begin to bloom with pretty white flowers – break up and sprinkle the individual florets over salads for an ornamental and edible flower garnish.”

And I agree. They are everything Renee says. But there is more:

This is my story: After a lecture on herbs, the speaker said she had free samples of garlic chives for everyone. She had enough clumps to give to each of the 30 young and foolish beginning herb gardeners. She dug up these 30 fist fulls of garlic chives and wrapped them in plain newspaper to keep from getting our cars messy, she said. As I look back on this herbal exchange, I now believe the newspaper was meant to cover up the garlic chives. Sort of like the infamous plain brown wrapper. That way neighbors could not see what we were bringing into the neighborhoods. There would be no screaming or shouting or alerting the homeowners association plant police. And it also provided a cover up so no one would know she was herb trafficking in garlic chives.

To say that garlic chives are invasive, is an underestimate and should be punishable by law when people do not offer full dislosur. The plain truth is Chinese Chives are out to take over the world, one herb garden at a time.

In fact, this is how I started out on the herb speaker’s bureau. I volunteer to speak to herb gardener wannabes. After the lecture, I pass out free samples of Chinese Chives to all the attendees and their friends and families too.

Renee’s Garden

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