Container gardening, Herbs

Grow an Indoor Herb Garden this Winter

An indoor herb garden makes fresh flavor convenient throughout the winter.

Deep in January and February, between the snow, ice, cold temperatures and grey days, it can feel like spring will never come. To help brighten the long days, there is nothing better than the fresh scent (and flavor) of herbs grown right in your home. 

Herbs, like most other plants, need ample sunlight. Find a place in your home that receives at least six hours of sunlight daily. A south or southwest facing window often works best for an indoor herb garden, but be sure that the herbs do not touch the window pane a sit can easily retain the cool temperatures from outside.   

If an east facing window gets adequate sunlight feel free to use it. And, if all else fails, artificial lighting can work as well, so long as it is placed very close to the plant.

To grow well, your indoor herb garden needs light,well-draining soil. Potting soil is better than dirt from the garden; you don’t want to bring soil-borne pests and disease indoors.

I like to use clay pots with a drainage hole and saucer,most herbs do not like to be wet since most herbs do not like too much water because it can cause the roots to rot, but at the same time,herbs need water to survive. Use your fingers to test the dampness of the soil.It should be damp but not soaked. 

Many pots have holes in the bottom to help drain water. If yours doesn’t, you’ll need to make some. Try painting the pots for kitchen décor.

Also, be aware that most herbs will be fine at the temperature in your home during the winter with warmer days and cooler nights but having the heat on can make the soil dry out quickly. I actually bring my herb containers indoors in the fall and place in the cooler porch. I use the leaves during the winter then cut them back before going outside again in the spring.

Herbs that do well indoors in containers are things like basil, parsley, rosemary, thyme, sage, mint, dill, and chives. Know that basil,dill, and chives will go to seed in a few months as they are annuals and will need to be replanted.

  • Alpine Strawberry
  • Potted fresh basil plant. 
  • Bay plant
  • Chamomile
  • Plant light for herbs
  • Oregano
  • Fresh green parsley 
  • Rosemary
  • Basil
Real Estate (Farm & Ranch Land), Rural life

Calving Book Apps

Calving season is a busy time for beef producers and it seems every year a calving book gets washed in the washing machine with valuable information never to be read again. So, an app for your phone might be a good solution with cloud backup, never lose your info again.

You can download one of several apps on your app store or google play. Many give a 30-day trial then costing from 5 dollars to 15 dollars a year depending on how much information you want to input.

If apps aren’t for you, at the very least keep your calving data book in at least two places: two calving books (one in the gator and one in the house), or a calving book plus an app to keep it safe. Record keeping is necessary for beef producers to make benchmarks and progress from year to year. The famous saying you can’t manage what you don’t measure is true, and adaptation to new calving book apps can have a place in making record keeping easier and keep producers on track this calving season. 

Gardening & Landscape

Do not Forget the Winter Garden Interest

In late fall, with beds full of worn out perennials and annuals, sad but resolute gardeners often bid farewell to their color-filled gardens and turn their attention to the fall clean-up. The talk turns to the beautiful autumnal leaves, while inwardly gardeners sulk as they remember what was. With a little planning and some knowledge of the many magnificent but often less popular plants, gardening can easily become a four-season affair.  

The fall garden is more than cabbages and a couple of pots of mums. And the winter garden shouldn’t feel like a nuclear bomb hit the landscape.  Garden structures are fundamental to a strong winter landscape. ‘Good bones’ in the garden are not limited to well designed structures and art but should include evergreens, deciduous trees with bark interest, water features, and plants like grasses and perennials with seed-heads to attract wildlife.