"It's dead, Jim"

Oh Jenise...does it usually last the winter? Here in the Northeast, everything outside dies during the winter. I did get one of those indoor herb gardens (Aerogarden) for Christmas and I have a bunch of herbs growing great in there.

Maria - I have been very interested in these indoor herb gardens but have been put off by the cost. Are they worthit - or rather, if you didn't receive it as a gift, would you have bought one? Is it easy to set up?

Anyone else buy one of these?

Jon,

Not sure if I would have spent the money to buy one of these for myself. They are quite pricey...plus, the seed kits are about $25.00 as well. You cannot just add some dirt and some seeds...you have to use their "seed kits" (although, I may try to use my own seeds at some point). The Areogarden uses water, seeds and nutrient tablets to grown their herbs/produce. I do think they are useful for herbs and maybe arugula..but I can't see how it could grow lots of tomatoes for salsa or lots of lettuce for salads. Also, once you have grown something...then you are supposed to wait 5 weeks, harvest, then replant another herb garden. Finally, they try and make you buy new light bulbs every 6 months and if you want to continue your current herb garden, you need to buy new nutrient tablets as well. Seems pretty expensive. But, it might be nice to have cilantro in the winter, instead of buying a ton of it at the store when I need it.

My herb garden is looking a bit worse for wear too - in this case, it's heat and lack of water. We've had a fairly mild summer so far but a couple of days of solid dry heat around 40 degrees fried things a bit. I've revived the hyssop, the sage and the lemon verbena; the winter savory and the golden oregano are hanging on, as are the thymes; I think the salad burnet will make it although it is looking pretty ratty. The basil and the marjoram have had it. The parsley had run to seed anyway. The curry bush, though, is loving it.

I had plans to set up a shade cover this summer and haven't got round to it because it didn't seem that hot. Now I realise I'll have to get a move on.

Jon,

Not sure if I would have spent the money to buy one of these for myself. They are quite pricey...plus, the seed kits are about $25.00 as well. You cannot just add some dirt and some seeds...you have to use their "seed kits" (although, I may try to use my own seeds at some point). The Areogarden uses water, seeds and nutrient tablets to grown their herbs/produce. I do think they are useful for herbs and maybe arugula..but I can't see how it could grow lots of tomatoes for salsa or lots of lettuce for salads. Also, once you have grown something...then you are supposed to wait 5 weeks, harvest, then replant another herb garden. Finally, they try and make you buy new light bulbs every 6 months and if you want to continue your current herb garden, you need to buy new nutrient tablets as well. Seems pretty expensive. But, it might be nice to have cilantro in the winter, instead of buying a ton of it at the store when I need it.

Thanks for your opinion, Maria. I know what you mean about it being nice to have cilantro (and other herbs) in the winter, instead of buying a ton of it at the store when you need it. I really dislike taking a bunch to the compost bin.

Geez, I figured from the header this was going to be about a William Shatner commercial for Viagra....

It was the long cold temps that did it. I've got a fair bit of frost damage as well. Don't be in any rush to root out the frosted stuff, especially the woody ones like Rosemary - there is still some hope. I've even had plants take a year off and then come back up from the roots. The thyme is pretty hardy too (ours is fine).

[Jenise]

the salad burnet

What is this? New term to me, though it might be something I know by another name.

the salad burnet

What is this? New term to me, though it might be something I know by another name.

Jenise, when I first read Matilda's reference to this herb it seemed mildly familiar, but I could not place it. I just decided to google the term and this is what I found.

http://www.sallys-place.com/food/column ... burnet.htm

Geez, I figured from the header this was going to be about a William Shatner commercial for Viagra....

I really did laugh out loud at that one, Bill. Thanks!

Geez, I figured from the header this was going to be about a William Shatner commercial for Viagra....

I really did laugh out loud at that one, Bill. Thanks!

Ahh - another old Trekkie!

Everything I ever really needed to know I learned on Star trek.

Salad burnet is a very pretty plant. In German, it's called Herr Gott's Birdlen (God's little birds), because the leaves look like a row of birds' wings ... well, they do if you squint a bit and use your imagination. It's a pretty plant - it grows in a low rounded clump, and the leaves are dainty to look at.

In the kitchen, the soft young leaves are a nice addition to a green salad, and they taste a little like cucumber. The old leaves are a bit tough. Salad burnet turns up in a few fancy butters - Montpellier, Ravigotte, Chivry. Sometimes you see it listed in a recipe as "pimpernel" or "French pimpernel".

Everything I ever really needed to know I learned on Star trek.

Ditto.

[Robin Garr]

I can tell if it's a bad winter if I lose my rosemary. In the past has lasted 3 or 4 years and threatened to turn into a tree. Then the frost kills it the next winter. This year, so far, the rosemary and sage seem to be in pretty good shape. It's true that a snowy cold is less likely to kill everything than a dry cold...

Speaking from quite a few years of experience, in the Ohio Valley, one night at 5F or below will kill a rosemary plant, but it shrugs off anything above about 10. For Louisville, that means about one winter in two is a killer, but global warming (or whatever) has been changing that. Our current rosemary tree, er, bush, is about 10 years old now and has a thick, gnarly trunk. I THINK that trunk helps make it more winter-hardy, but at this point, if arctic cold is predicted, we drape it under a tarp and put a birdbath bowl with electric heater inside to make it a cozy little tent.

Mary pruned it back severely this year, but it had grown to about the size of a VW, and neighborhood gardeners used to walk by and marvel at it. I use sprigs from it maybe a dozen times a year (usually to throw in the skillet with pan-seared steaks or lamb chops), but it's great to have it.

[Robin Garr]

Don't be in any rush to root out the frosted stuff, especially the woody ones like Rosemary - there is still some hope. I've even had plants take a year off and then come back up from the roots. The thyme is pretty hardy too (ours is fine).

VERY sound advice. We've had plenty of years where freezing cold made the rosemary brown up and look like hell, but it came right back in the spring. As I said in a longer post below, unless Jenise's local temperature dropped to 5F or below, there's a very good chance it will resurrect in the spring.

I just looked and my rosemary plant is blooming. Amazing for central Indiana!! I guess it likes living in my basement better than I would have thought.

'Winger

I can tell if it's a bad winter if I lose my rosemary. In the past has lasted 3 or 4 years and threatened to turn into a tree. Then the frost kills it the next winter. This year, so far, the rosemary and sage seem to be in pretty good shape. It's true that a snowy cold is less likely to kill everything than a dry cold...

Speaking from quite a few years of experience, in the Ohio Valley, one night at 5F or below will kill a rosemary plant, but it shrugs off anything above about 10. For Louisville, that means about one winter in two is a killer, but global warming (or whatever) has been changing that. Our current rosemary tree, er, bush, is about 10 years old now and has a thick, gnarly trunk. I THINK that trunk helps make it more winter-hardy, but at this point, if arctic cold is predicted, we drape it under a tarp and put a birdbath bowl with electric heater inside to make it a cozy little tent.

Mary pruned it back severely this year, but it had grown to about the size of a VW, and neighborhood gardeners used to walk by and marvel at it. I use sprigs from it maybe a dozen times a year (usually to throw in the skillet with pan-seared steaks or lamb chops), but it's great to have it.

Here's something else you can use besides a tarp: http://www.jackfrostfoam.com/equipment.htm

[Jenise]

Oh Jenise...does it usually last the winter?

Yes! Well, parts of it. I lost the thyme last year and replanted, and year before that I lost part of the rosemary but the chives, oregano, lavender and sage had all survived for five years without incident.

[Jenise]

VERY sound advice. We've had plenty of years where freezing cold made the rosemary brown up and look like hell, but it came right back in the spring. As I said in a longer post below, unless Jenise's local temperature dropped to 5F or below, there's a very good chance it will resurrect in the spring.

Bill and I are in the same zone. And no, we haven't been below 5F. I'll definitely leave them just in case, but I'm fairly certain I lost it all. Btw, Robin, you've inspired me--now I know what to do with that boat heater!

Don't be in any rush to root out the frosted stuff, especially the woody ones like Rosemary - there is still some hope. I've even had plants take a year off and then come back up from the roots. The thyme is pretty hardy too (ours is fine).

VERY sound advice. We've had plenty of years where freezing cold made the rosemary brown up and look like hell, but it came right back in the spring. As I said in a longer post below, unless Jenise's local temperature dropped to 5F or below, there's a very good chance it will resurrect in the spring.

It really depends on the particular rosemary since they vary a lot in what they'll take. The ones that run around on the ground come from islands in the Mediterranean and can run into trouble even at 20F. At the other end of the spectrum is a variety called "Arp" (named after Arp, Texas apparently) that is supposed to be good to -10. There are myriad rosemary varieties that lie between those extremes. The advice to wait and see is good, though - there's always hope.

The only things that consistently survives here are my chives.

I'M READY FOR SPRING NOW!