Container herbs

I've never been known for my green thumb and, since this is our first full summer here on Gnome Hill, the only progress we've made with a vegetable garden was to use the back hoe to stir up some rocks.

There are Uber-Gardners out there somewhere "tsk, tsk"-ing, I know. We managed to pull rocks out of a 3'x8' patch and added some mulch and manure, but by the time we managed even that much is was too late to plant anything.

But herbs are very forgiving and I plant several pots around my deck. I even started these seeds rather late, and the pot of oregano at right came from a meager two seedlings that actually germinated in June. Don't ask me what happened with the rest of the seeds, but this is plenty.

I planted a huge amount of basil and, even though I gave away as many plants as I could, still should have been thinned more. Two basil pots stand guard at the back door because the herb is supposedly disliked by flies. But we apparently have vegetarian flies who, in fact have no problem lying in wait in the pots to fly in the house and give the cats something to chase.

My boys and I love dill in cucumber salad and on fish, so I was a little disappointed more of this didn't come up. But it is going to seed if I get the ambition to make pickles, which probably won't happen because I don't eat a whole lot of them and everyone else is rather ambivalent about them.

The Italian flat leaf parsley did well as soon as I transplanted it into a large pot. The original batch of seedlings, started in my deck planters, are sad, sickly things, probably because the soil was used up from last year and because I never fully thinned them out. Still, these few plants have served me well.

Chives were an herb I never really used and planted just because I could. But now I'm hooked on them and I love how they just kind of replenish themselves.

Then there's the mystery of the rosemary. Now, I love rosemary, especially on roast chicken. Out of all the herbs I planted, the rosemary was the one I truly wanted to have fresh. But it never came up. June, July -- nothing. Then, suddenly up pops this little seedling.

Well, there isn't much time for the poor thing to become established, so I may bring it indoors and pray I have a sunny enough window for it to grow happy...and large.

I'm afraid that's all we have by way of "crops" here at Gnome Hill, at least for this year. Unless you count the rocks.