In order to get my plants optimum sun exposure, I've spread them out on the deck, necessitating my taking two pictures this time instead of the usual one:
Now, let's go through them all plant-by-plant, shall we?
My Thai basil has gotten a lot fuller over the last couple of weeks, huh? The last time you saw it, it was fairly puny... how, it's quite productive and I couldn't be happier! I like the peppery flavor of this herb. I'm currently thinking of ideas on how best to pair this with my Thai chiles!
My purple ruffles basil has also beefed up. I've not quite gotten to the point where I need to pinch off the flowers, but if it keeps going at this rate, I may have to! I had a hamburger this last week that included this basil, some avocado, and a purple Cherokee heirloom tomato (more on that later) which was divine! This basil has a licorice flavor that is just fantastic!
My fernleaf dill seems to double in size every week! It's almost hitting the rim of our deck, it's gotten so tall! I may have to stake this pretty soon if it keeps up at this rate! Look, it's already leaning! I had initially begun pinching flowers off of this one, but I think I'll put a hold on that, at least for the time being, until I can better control it's rate of growth! I used a bunch of this in my garlic-dill aioli (again, scroll down to Friday's first blog entry for the recipe) and it gave it such a nice flavor! A very versatile and bold herb!
My fresh rosemary has done alright for itself these last couple of weeks. So far, I've not used it as much as the other herbs I've planted, but will likely use it if I make a spice rub for some meat or poultry or if I make anything Italian! I love the flavor of this herb and can't wait to use more of it!
My parsley, on the other hand, has done quite well, bushing up and growing a couple of extra stalks! I use this in spice rubs as well, but also as garnish! It's a lot of fun to chop parsley and use it to finish dishes like pasta or fish! If I make paella this summer like I want to, you can bet that this will get used in there!
When I went to Lowe's to buy more pots a couple weeks back, I picked up some fresh marjoram, which has been a great addition to spice rubs and pasta dishes. It's very similar in flavor to oregano, but I find it has a bit of an earthier quality than oregano does. I've got a lot of it here, so there'll be plenty of it to use as the summer goes on!And now, my veggie plants:
My purple Cherokee heirloom tomato plant has done a lot better since I moved it to a larger pot! I've even seen some buds forming toward the top of the plant:
According to my mom, the buds at the top mean that the plant will start producing fruit very soon! (She already has some Early Girl tomatoes coming in from her garden. Not very big yet, mind you, but growing in!) I'll be excited to start growing and eating my own tomatoes! I found some purple Cherokees in the heirloom tomatoes pile at Kroger last week and had to satisfy my curiosity and pick up a couple! Here's what they'll look like when they come in:
This wasn't an overly-large tomato, but it had a good deal of flavor. There was a mild flavor to te tomato and a spicy, almost smoky aftertaste that I found quite enjoyable! I thought it no wonder that these are considered some of the best tasting tomatoes available! I sliced the other one and put it on a burger (as mentioned above) and felt it really enhanced the flavor of said sandwich! YUM!
This is my green zebra tomato plant, which is now occupying the pot the purple Cherokee plant used to occupy. It's been doing alright so far - no buds at the top yet to speak of. These tomatoes are a complete mystery to me, so I look forward to trying some new things with them. I might even use them for fried green tomatoes, if I'm able!
My orange Thai chili peppers have also been flourishing as of late. Again, no fruit quite yet, but the leaves have gotten a lot more prevalent, which I can only assume is a good thing! As I mentioned earlier, I'm thinking of things to do with these bad boys when they finally grow in. Right now, I'm thinking of making a spicy Thai barbeque sauce that's a modification of my classic barbeque sauce recipe using my Thai chiles and Thai basil. Not sure how I'm gonna put it all together yet, but it should be pretty tasty!
I also picked up some marigolds at Lowe's while I was over there a couple of weeks back, in order to keep the bugs off of my tomato plants! They were all pretty much dead when I bought them (in fact, they looked downright pathetic!), but they've sprung to life as a result of the rain and warm sunshine we've gotten the last couple of weeks. These are the only ones currently in bloom, but the other ones are beginning to bud and I anticipate them opening up within the next few days!So, on the gardening front... so far, so good! More to come (especially if I end up with some baby tomatoes in the next week), so stay tuned!
Posts
