Herbs in Winter: Lavender, Thyme, Oregano

Here are pictures of the lavender, thyme, and oregano I planted last year.  I think they started out as 4" pots.  Not having grown them before, I didn't know if they'd overwinter, but they have and they've also provided good flavor through the winter months!

Lavender in the back and thyme to the front left (on the right is Blue Rug Juniper - not for cooking!) with a natural mulch of leaves.

I've taken a sprig of the lavender and put it in a vase where it lasted for weeks in the house.  Outdoors, it's not quite as bushy as it is during the warmer months, but it's healthy.  The thyme is still flavorful even though it gets a slight purply winter color.  Just strip off the leaves with your finger nail and throw into any dish for awsome flavor!

Lavender close up.

Oregano (it's in there!) grows close to the ground and spreads like a ground cover.

Oregano does die back some in the winter, but there's still enough to enjoy and survive until spring.

There's no need to water these herbs much in the winter as they are native to areas with poor, dry soils.  And these three are not invasive (like mint or basil which need to be planted in a confined space) so they can be used as greenery in your landscape.

Tomato Seedlings Update

The tomato seeds I planted in the large Jiffy pellets took about ten days to start sprouting.  I've been moving them within a day or two of sprouting into plastic cups just because the large peat pellets are too tall to grow much in the plastic sprouting house.

On the other hand, none of my peppers have sprouted so far, and I planted them on 2/11 - so three weeks ago.  They really need 70 to 80 degree temperatures to sprout (and it's been colder than that in the house), so I've tried resting them on a heating pad (lowest setting) and a towel to try to warm them up.  If that doesn't work and they've rotted, I'll re-plant in a couple of weeks.

I will actually plant these in soil eventually, but for now it's just a pellet in a cup because I haven't gotten around to getting out the garden mix!

My heating pad experiment.

Herbs in Winter: Parsley

Last year was the first time I grew parsley.  It is super easy to grow, but it takes a long time to germinate!  Direct seed in the spring, and then you'll have to sit back and wait three weeks or so before you'll see anything.  Here are both the Flat Leaf Italian and the Curly Leaf varieties I grew.

The more flavorful Flat Leaf Italian Parsley is generally preferred for cooking.

Up close, the Flat Leaf Italian Parsley looks similar to cilantro.  In fact, a few years ago, I accidentally bought a bunch at the store having mistaken it for cilantro and threw it in a batch of homemade salsa.  Oops - no chips and salsa at the Oscar party that year!

Here's the curly leaf parsly which is traditionally used as a garnish but can also be used in cooking.  Both varieties are small and clumpy right now because they are beginning to flush from the base.  Parsley is supposed to bloom the second year, so I plan to leave them in the ground to see what they do, but I'll also sow some new seed since herbs tend to produce less once they start blooming.

Close up of the curly leaf parsley, which I have never tried in salsa!

Don't feeling like trucking it out to the garden every day in the cold?  Just stick a few cuttings in water, and they'll keep for several days.

Cook up an omlet in your cast iron pan and top it with some fresh parsley... dee-lish!!