Salvage Your Herbs and Annuals

Gardeners, here is one very important chore to add to your list: transplanting your annuals and herbs for the upcoming winter season. Choose your favorites and get them potted soon. First step is to transplant them from the ground into a new pot or container with good, sterilized potting soil. Leave the potted plants outside for a couple of weeks, maintaining them as you would any other container-grown plant. Grow them in full sunlight for the first week or so; then transition them into a shadier location before you bring them in the house. They are going to receive lower levels of sunlight when they are brought indoors; doing this helps the plant transition into these new conditions.

You want to quarantine your plants before exposing them to your current indoor plants. Put the pots in the garage or the basement for a couple of weeks. Inspect them periodically and look for any signs of insect activities. If necessary, spray them with an insecticide to rid them of any pests that would cause problems to your indoor plants. You want to use an insecticide specific to indoor plants and edibles. Ask your local garden center and as always, read the directions. Find your sunniest window and make sure you are cognizant of moisture levels at all times – not too much, not too little. Enjoy fresh sprigs of mint, basil or rosemary mid-winter. I’ll touch upon summer bulbs, corms and other rhizomes (tubers) in an upcoming blog.

Because it looks like Sunday may be a wash-out, the inspirational gardening thought of the day is by Arnot Sheppard. “There is little chance that meteorologists can solve the mysteries of weather until they gain an understanding of the mutual attraction of rain and weekends.” Enjoy the weekend, despite the weather. Remember, pop quiz on Monday.