Return of the Garden (Episode III)

Yay, it's that time again!

I've planted my 2011 Garden, and I'm looking forward to the bounty of herbs this summer. I've switched it up a bit this year; so far, only

select

herbs, and giving them a bit more room. This year, I'm going with rosemary, basil (2/4) and oregano thus far.

The oregano miraculously survived the winter, marking its third y

ear in the container. It on

ly has a f

ew shoots left, down from the small bush that it used to be. With so

me pruning and a lot of love, hopefully it'll catch up.

The rosemary (new) will be isolated on one side, as it likes a bit drier soil, and was previously living next to the basil, which likes it wet. I'm considering (and looking for) a waterproof separator.

For basil, I'm rocking two sets of two plants this summer – you can never have enough basil, and I preserve it for the winter. This year, I'm separating them out a bit, so as not to get too crowded. 2010's crop was slow and sat close together– sometimes would shield other parts from the sun, which led to a lot of immature leaves, and slow growth.

I'm going to attempt to actually track growth this year on a consistent basis, so here's the base

line:

• Rosemary: 19cm
  
• Basil 1: 15cm
  
• Basil 2: 11cm
• Oregano: 15cm
  

I had suspended my weather station sensor from the container (to mostly shield it from sun and elements and increase accuracy), but that attachment rusted in the spring rains. I need to

find a new solution to mount it there, and get it off the windowsill.

An extreme close-up of the rosemary… You can see the texture pattern of the leaves and tiny little hairs as well (oooh… scary!). Yay for macrophotography. Something to play more with.

We had a TON of sun/heat yesterday – my weather station recorded a 96 at one point during the day— and a TORNADO WATCH, for f's sake, so I hope to get a lot of growth over the next few days.