Getting excited about getting your garden started? Do you like to grow herbs? This year the Herb Society has designated Coriander/Cilantro Coriandrum sativum as the herb of 2017.
Consider adding cilantro to your garden or plant it in a pot to grow on your deck or patio and/or if you have the right lighting, you can try growing cilantro indoors. For directions on growing cilantro, most companies that sell the seeds, like Burpees, have good planting directions (see here).
If you love herbs, also consider joining the Herb Society (here or here) – and attend local, national and/or international meetings to meet other
herb enthusiasts and learn more about herbs.
Above is a video made recently about Cilantro being named herb of the 2017 year with interviewer David Moss who prides himself on being
quite the cook! and has been around our TV world forever.
And if you want some lovely recipes using cilantro, check out the blog Simply Recipes. I especially like the cilantro pesto recipe because it
is simple to make and does not have any dairy in it so I can serve it to my vegan friends.
TheGardenLady has written numerous posts about vegetable gardening. See here for example. But all of TheGardenLady’s recent posts on vegetable gardening have been about outdoor vegetable gardening. Vegetable gardening can also be done indoors.
The idea of having fresh salads in the middle of winter seems like a nice reward for this effort. Many vegetable plants like pepper plants are easy to raise indoors. Most herbs will grow indoors (above is a photo of vegetables and herbs growing indoors under grow lights). Some of the herbs may grow indoors if you have very sunny windows. But since most vegetables and herbs need lots of sunlight, when one grows vegetables and herbs indoors, it is best to grow these plants under grow lights, designed to stimulate plant growth.
I wrote a post about putting a vegetable garden in your front lawn, if your neighborhood allows it . There are horror stories of cities not allowing it. (see here )Â Remember vegetables and herbs need sun- a full day of sun, so these are not suggestions for shade gardens.
What would be some pretty plants, plants that have attractive flowers or look like flowers, to plant in your front lawn vegetable garden or among your flowers? I have a list of some vegetables (I include herbs in the vegetable category) that either have pretty or interesting foliage or pretty flowers or both. I have chosen 10 that I think are particularly pretty. These plants add another dimension to any garden.
As clean water becomes a more scarce commodity and because of the rising cost of using it or the towns’ limiting of the use of water on flowers and lawns due to drought, as well as because fresh produce prices are going up, many people are converting their front lawns as well as their back yards to vegetable gardens.
It used to be that there were rules regarding the plantings on your front yard. These rules may still be in effect where you live. So before you decide to create a vegetable and herb garden on your front yard, or even before you plant drought-tolerant plants and remove the lawn, find out what is allowed in your community. You don’t want to pay a fine should your town or housing development have laws on the books that don’t allow certain plantings in the front of the house. Or you may not want to destroy your lawn and flowering plants in the front of the house and upset your neighbors’ feelings.
TheGardenLady walks around checking her garden daily to see what is coming up. Though mostly this is a flower garden, I do have herbs and a few edible plants growing among the flowers and I want to see if there are spots where more vegetables can be squeezed in.
Coming up all over my flower beds is my favorite herb, dill. I didn’t plant it. It arrived a number of years ago, I assume, in some other plant I bought. Lucky for me. And I’m so happy it is spreading all over. I love the feathery leaves of the dill plant, I think it adds a nice dimension to the flower bed. A neighbor also loved the look and asked me what was that “exotic” plant I had growing. Imagine her surprise.
Besides gardening, reading is one of my passions. My reading preference is non-fiction which includes cookbook reading. Reading cookbooks is my relaxation reading; I often do it while watching TV. Even though I rarely cook these days, I still enjoy reading recipes. I have a huge bookcase filled with cookbooks. I also have saved all my Bon Appetit and Gourmet magazines. In spite of all the cookbooks and recipes I own, and in spite of all the recipes that are online, I cannot resist going to the cookbook section in our local library and checking out all the new cookbooks.
Today I found what looks to be a interesting and fun cookbook to read because it not only has recipes using herbs, it also has herb information. It is called “Jekka’s Herb Cookbook” by Jekka McVicar, a Firefly book publication that came out this year, 2011.
Indoor Gardening with LED Grow Lights by Rachael & Zane Ross
TheGardenLady received this question from Kayleigh.
I really want to grow food in my dorm room. It doesn’t have a particularly large amount of sunlight. Is there a type of lamp I could buy? I want to plant some sort of easy-to-grow vegetable and/or some herbs.
Before considering any lamp for raising plants indoor, please CHECK with your college or university and dorm to find out what is and what is not allowed. They may reject having lamps for growing plants in the dorm room for a number of reasons including: extra electricity costs, insurance restrictions, light pollution and fear of fire.
For vegetable plants to grow successfully, electric lights have to be on for long periods of time. Even if your college and your dorm will allow lights and will allow them to be on for extended periods every day, will your roommate/s want to sleep with lights on in the room? And will you want to sleep with the light on? Grow lights have to be on for up to 16 hours each and every day.
Scientists seem to recommend that for best rest, one should sleep in a totally dark room; some scientists say that even light from your phone or digital clock may not be healthy. One article said that sleeping with your TV light on may lead to depression. See here.
Know also that raising plants indoors is tricky in that the plants can attract insects. You may be lucky and not get any insects; but most greenhouses use insect traps- another thing to think about when raising vegetables in a small space like a dorm.
TheGardenLady received this question from Alexandra.
I saw your article about growing plants in a dormitory room that you did quite a long time ago (2006!) and I was wondering if you would be okay with answering a kind of similar question.
My roommate and I want to grow lots of plants in our dorm room next semester because it’s so drab in there (white walls, white ceiling, white floor, etc.) and we both have agreed that it would be cool if we could start growing herbs. We both like making tea, and we both think that it would be nice to have plants that would smell good, taste good, or be useful instead of plants that just look good.
We are going to live in a corridor-style dormitory room, and it has one big back wall window. I am not sure if it faces south, or not (new room) but I have stayed in the room style before and I know it lets in a decent amount of light. The dormitory IS air conditioned/heated, so keeping plants warm is not a problem.
What kind of plants would you suggest? And is this a good idea at all?
Good for you to want herbs in your dorm and I am so pleased that you checked out TheGardenLady archives.
You can grow herbs indoors but the crucial item that you will need is light. Herbs come from the Mediterranean where they get lots of sunlight. You need a minimum of 6 hours of sunlight to grow herbs. Rooms, even with windows, generally don’t get enough sunlight for herbs. So the first thing I recommend is getting good growing lights into your room.
One suggestion is to buy a special lamp already created to raise herbs.
Herb Garden – Post-Potting by a crafty vegan
A company called Aero Grow makes one with a planter attached to make it easy – everything you need for your indoor herbs in one compact piece. See here.  I saw one in my local hardware store. It is not that large, but it would be a start.
If you want something larger, perhaps you and your dorm mates could build a grow light to put over a planter. A friend of mine who loved African violets had her husband build one where she raised show quality African violets that were always in bloom.
You could probably get information on how to build grow lights with a planter at your local lumber yard or Home Depot or Loews. They would also advise you on the best bulbs that are needed. You want a cool bulb so the heat doesn’t get too much for the little plants. See here.
TheGardenLady has invited people with horticultural interests and expertise to contribute posts to this blog. The following post was submitted by Christy Baker, a certified Family Herbalist and Consulting Herbalist.  Christy is currently pursuing a certificate in Horticulture Therapy and a second Master’s in Landscape Architecture.
Fenugreek, triganella foenum-graecum, is also known as “Greek Hay†for its long time uses in the livestock industry. Fenugreek has been widely used to make sub par hay and animal feed more palatable. In spite of it’s usage with livestock, this 2 foot unassuming plant has some marvelous abilities when applied to the human species. Generally the leaves and seeds are used for medicinal and culinary purposes. Baby leaves are used in salads, mature leaves are dried and added to savory dishes and the seeds, well the seeds are so versatile and useful they could have their own aisle in any self respecting grocery store.
Fenugreek Seeds by Susan/The Well-Seasoned...
Native to the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea, Fenugreek is also cultivated in India, Morocco, Egypt, and England. Assyrians were the first to cultivate this herb in 3000 BC and the Greeks and Romans used it as mouth freshener. Folklore claims that small breasted women would bathe in water infused with Fenugreek seeds in hopes of increasing breast size (no medical findings have been given to support this claim). Fenugreek was widely used to induce childbirth and it was even used as an addition to hair conditioner.
Trigonella foenum-graecum by afuna
Today Fenugreek has been discovered to offer wide and varied medicinal uses aside from increasing breast milk production in lactating women. Fenugreek tea has been noted to reduce fever and menstrual pain; topically it can be made into an ointment and applied to alleviate several different skin ailments such as infections and eczema. Despite its bitter aftertaste, Fenugreek has been noted as an aphrodisiac and been said to increase the male libido. Ground seeds lend a maple flavor to sweets and candies while its powdered form is used as a softening agent in lip balm. Internally it is said to alleviate cough, bronchitis, respiratory issues, and sinus conditions.
Generally the ingestion and topical application of Fenugreek is harmless, however,there are some cautionary notations to accompany its usage. Allergic reactions may include hives, swelling of the throat, lips, tongue, or difficulty breathing. It has been noted that Fenugreek can reduce blood glucose levels, although if taken in conjunction with other medications adverse responses may occur.
An additional benign effect of Fenugreek is that it may turn urine a slightly different color and cause one’s sweat or urine to smell faintly of maple. These side effects are rare and have only been found in extreme cases and most often can be avoided if used responsibly.
For the culinary inclined below you will find a simple recipe using Fenugreek that is said to make an excellent side note or vegetarian main course when paired with rice or couscous. Recipe is courtesy of allrecipes.com
TheGardenLady just attended an entomology lecture the other day. Insects are interesting and one has to learn how to deal with them both with indoor and outdoor plants. The safest way to get rid of the bad insect pests is to encourage good insects to your place. These beneficial insects do an amazing job keeping your garden pest free. By using pesticides or insecticides, you know that you will be killing off the good insects with the bad. So unless it is the last resort, you want to avoid poisons. You want to know how to encourage good insects by planting plants that will support the beneficial insects at all stages of their lives.
What are some of the good/beneficial insects? We all know about honey bees, butterflies and Lady bugs but here is a more complete list with photos of other beneficial insects.
