Dreaming In Shades of Green...The Herbs of Spring

It's a beautiful, but cold, day! The sun is shining brightly this morning, and is forecasted to shine throughout the day, bringing some much needed warmth to the pens and the greenhouse! It's still pretty darned cold out there, in the 20's, with a predicted high of 30. As the sunlight dances through the tree branches, the goats seem to be enjoying the sunshine, and are out grazing on the little bits of greenery in the back pasture. Such a simple, yet beautiful picture! I love my little homestead!

I spent some time, yesterday, going through the seeds collection, and I've actually got quite a bit! A good friend gave me much of her leftover seeds at the end of Summer; they've been stored in a cool, dry cabinet, so they should still have a respectable percentage of sprouts to come from the planting. Those expiration dates on seeds...pretty much a suggestion, not carved in stone! Last year, I planted some of a new pack of Basil, and it did not fare so well. Now, Basil is a friend of mine, and normally does outstandingly, so I was baffled when it just didn't pan out! I had a second packet of seeds, that was supposed to have expired in 2015...It grew like a madman! Just shows, it never hurts to give older things a chance!

This is maybe, a third of the seeds I've got. The first plantings will be the herbs...and those will start indoors this month. I'm leary about starting too much in the one greenhouse too soon; I'm pretty sure this isn't the last freeze we'll see! So, I'll start those in their sale pots. I'm planning on using the 4" pots for my sellable herbs, where they can be window plants or may be transplanted.

Herbs for the first wave will be Basil, Thai Basil, Thyme, Oregano and Cilantro. Maybe some Dill...,we'll see. For some reason, I've not had much luck with Dill! That and Tarragon! I'm not quite sure what that deal is, but we'll keep on trying! My catering clients are quite fond of Tarragon in their Chicken Salad, so it'd be nice to be able to have fresh instead of dried. If anyone has tips or suggestions on those two, I'd sure be appreciative!

These are some starts from last season; we'll just set that here, and call it inspiration! Time to get online, and see what kind of deals I can get on the peat pots, soils, and such. Time for thoughts, lists and writing those plans into happening!

I hope you all have a wonderful day, my Steemian friends! Full Steem ahead! C'mon , Spring!

Follow me on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/gardengatespecialtyfoods
http://www.facebook.com/geminigardenscandles