Spring has arrived!

Spring has finally arrived. Winter was short and very mild this year, so it seems like all of my plants are taking off. Here is an example:

This is my 2 year old lavender plant.  I took this picture about 2 weeks ago.

Here is my lavender plant today!

Lavender has always been on of my favorite scents. Now it is one of my favorite plants to grow in the garden. I find the small purple blooms to be so beautiful and I don't have a lot of purple in my garden so it really stands out. It is a perennial so it comes back every year. The only problem I have had with my plants is that it grows so tall that it falls over and covers other plants around it. I'm not sure if you can tell in the picture but there is a lime green ground cover living under this one!

Here is an updated picture of my early spring garden. I've pulled up my onions and am eating my lettuce! Unfortunately something has been eating my broccoli, so I am unsure how much I will be eating myself this year.

As you can see in the picture I have added soaker hoses for my watering system. I prefer the flat hoses because they lay down easier and they don't damage my plants. I spent part of today weaving them into my existing plants and laying them in preparation for my summer plants. 





Infused Oils

I recently took a class from a local woman who specializes in herbal gardens. She owns an herbal farm and makes her own infusion oils, potpourri and bath products. She taught us how to make cooking oils infused with the herbs grown in our own gardens. I was inspired to create my own. Here is my first try!

• First I went to Hobby Lobby and bought a small glass bottle. (Always use glass, never plastic!) There were many different sizes, shapes and colors. This bottle cost about $1.50 and it even has a stopper on the top.

• Next I went out in my garden and cut a small branch from my Rosemary plant.

Rosemary

• I also cut some of my Oregano.

Oregano

• I washed them with water(dry thoroughly) and bruised the leaves. I used a cutting board and the back of a knife to release some of the fragrance.
• I left the rosemary intact, mostly because I like the way it looks! I stripped the Oregano leaves off and placed them at the bottom of the bottle.
• Next I used olive oil and filled the bottle about 3/4th of the way. I left some space in the bottle in case I want to add more herbs for flavor.

• In class she taught two different ways to cure the oil.
•  1. Place your bottle in a dark place and leave for two weeks.
•  2. Heat your oil (not boil!) and leave in a dark place for 5 days.
•  After time has passed, try your oil and if it is not flavorful enough you can add more fresh herbs. If the oil is flavored to your preference then you can either strain out your herbs and re-bottle or you can leave the herbs in the oil. By leaving in your herbs your oil will increase in flavor!

I'm excited to try this and I am hoping to use this for many Italian meals in the future. I  will post the results after two weeks and share with everyone how it turned out! Happy gardening everyone! ~Sarah

FYI: I did some research online and there is a risk of botulism if there is any moisture left on the herbs. One way to avoid this is to make sure your fresh herbs are dry after washing. You can leave your herbs in a sunny window. Another way is to keep your oil refrigerated after the two weeks are complete. This was not mentioned in class and she makes her oils with fresh herbs so I'm going to take my chances! ♥

Here are some pictures of my early spring garden! I decided to go with easy, cold tolerating plants. I also decided to go for vegetables that I love to eat everyday, so I won't have as much waste. There is no watering system installed yet, so it is only being watered by rain or by hand.

Here is a picture of my early spring garden. Most of the plants were started in mid-February.

     

Broccoli started in February 2012

                                                  

Lettuce; an Arugula mix.

                                                       

My one cabbage plant that survived the winter. The rabbits ate all the others but left this one as a stalk. Luckily it grew back!

Horseradish! This is one of my favorite plants in my garden. It comes back every year and it is very low maintenance.

Garlic. First signs of my garlic growing!

Onions planted last fall. I also planted new bulbs this spring.