Plants are amazing. It’s quite magical how tiny seeds develop into such wonderful plants with a little love and care. Having said that, I thought I would share some pictures of the plants currently growing in my garden to help inspire and encourage you to get out there and get growing!
My little foray into gardening began a few months ago when I started growing wheatgrass (and wheatgrass is SO easy to grow- I will have to do a post on it!) and some other microgreens. After that, I was hooked and I had to see what else I could grow.
So here is what i’m growing at the moment:
Things I’ve grown from seed:
Sunflower Microgreens:
Sown on: 2 or so weeks ago. These were so easy to grow and have been growing quickly. Apparently they love the sun (I guess that’s why they grow into sunflowers!).
Pea Microgreens:
Sown on: ~2 or so weeks ago. I had to slightly sprout the dried peas before I planted them in the seed tray and then I kept it under a damp piece of newspaper until it began to turn green. Now I’m keeping it in the sunlight.
Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum- graecum):
Sown on: ~2 or so weeks ago. I just used the common fenugreek that we had in the pantry, planted it in the soil and it grew!
German/True Chamomile (Matrica recutica):
The seedlings quite tiny, but if you look closely you can see the little green leaves. Sown on: ~19/12/11
This seems to have been the hardest plant to get going from seed (well in our hot (and occasionally rainy) summer at least). Initially I had a lot more seedlings growing than are in the picture above. They seemed to get affected by too much water and too much heat, so I’m keeping them in the shade and using a water spray to gently mist them, so I hope these plants grow strong. Update 7/1/12: Sadly, the chamomile seems to have all dried and died.
Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis):
Sown on: ~19/12/11. Lemon Balm as seedlings seems to not be able to tolerate our hot heat, a bit more so than chamomile at least. So I’ve kept it in partial shade and have been watering it similarly to the chamomile. It seems to be growing okay.
Lemon & Genovese Basil Varities (Ocimum basilicum)
Sown on: 29th Dec. These seedlings have been one of the easier ones to grow from seed. It only took a few days to germinate. And I now have a few pots of them. I’ve sown a few of the lemon and genovese basil near the tomato plants.
Calendula/Pot Marigold (Calendula officinalis):
Calendula officinalis (to the left) & Nastursim officinalis (to the right).
Sown on: ~19/12/11. Calendula grew quite quickly from seed. I’ve grown quite a bunch of then, thinned them out and planted them in a few pots around the garden. But it seems to not really like the heat either (Summer is apparently not the time to sow Calendula). So I’m giving it plently of water in the evenings. They seem to hate their leaves being watered.
The Nastursim took about a week or so to germinate but it’s been growing pretty well every since.
Things I’ve sown now (but don’t have a picture for because I don’t see much point of posting a picture of that just looks like soil):
Stevia: It still hasn’t germinated after a few weeks, but I’m going to persist with it so hopefully it grows.
Things I’m growing from cuttings/spontaneous plants that have just grown in the garden:
Tomato plants 1:
I found these plants growing in the garden spontaneously (maybe from the compost or from a past plant perhaps?). I planted some more basil around them (and a few calendula seedlings).
Tomato plants 2:
I grew this plant from a cutting which was so easy to do. What you do is this: cut a stem below the node then place the stem in water for a week (changing the water every few days), then just wait patiently as they roots grow. Amazing! Below: the cuttings of chilli, tomato, oreogano and mint.
Plants I’ve bought:
Some of the below plants I got from Four Season Herbs (not an affiliate link).
Arthritis Plant (Centella cordifolia):
This plant is actually a native plant to my area. It was labelled an ‘arthritis plant’ but I think the arthritis plant is actually Centella asiatica.
Chocolate Mint (Mentha species):
This variety of mint has a delicious mint and slight chocolate taste.
American Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora):
Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri):
This herb is pretty cool. It’s like gingko in that it is great for memory, but the way it works is that is has a physiological effect on the brain rather than increases circulation to it.
Woodland Strawberry:
Valerian (Valerian officnalis):
It’s funny, gardening is a great test of patience for me. I’m quite impatient, but I find gardening relaxing and it’s nice to know your working on something that continues to grow and produce.
If I’m able to continue on this great green-thumb streak, I think I will do an update post every 2-3 months or so to let you all know what I’ve got growing in the garden.
Do you have a herb garden or veggie garden? I’d love to know! Please tell me in comments below.
© Copyright: 2012 Michelle Robson-Garth. Please ask permission first when using any text or images on healthfoodlover.com . See the disclaimer here. Have a look at the recipe index for more health food lovin’ recipes. Join the Facebook page & follow Health Food Lover on twitter.
Michelle
Health Food Lover is Michelle Robson-Garth. Michelle is a degree-qualified Naturopath (BHSc) and Massage Therapist. She is also a passionate writer, recipe-creator and all-round foodie from Melbourne, Australia. © Copyright: 2009-2012 Michelle Robson-Garth. Please ask permission first when using any text or images on healthfoodlover.com. Read the disclaimer here. Have a look at the recipe index for more health food lovin’ recipes. Join the Facebook page & follow Health Food Lover on twitter.
