Everywhere we look, now, we see extravagant autumnal gardens with colors that match those of the changing leaves. Here in Western Pennsylvania, though, is it really possible to accomplish such a feat?
Unfortunately, if you are looking to start your flowers or plants by seed outside, sowing them now (for most things) likely won’t allow you to see them until early spring at the earliest. However, creating a fall garden isn’t impossible. You can always buy pre-grown flowers like Marigolds and Mums and vegetables like Arugula and transplant them until your home garden. You should be able to keep most of these things through mid fall to late fall.
If that doesn’t sound like its for you, growing things inside (from seed or not) is always an option, and that’s what I decided to do at the start of this fall. I started three herbs from seed: oregano, basil and thyme.
Basil, Oregano, and Thyme (MAKENNA CABLE)
As you can see above, all of them are only seedlings so far, but with the proper care they will be able to grow into fully usable and productive plants!
If this sounds like something you might be interested in, here’s how I started them:
I ordered a pack of assorted herb seeds from Home Grown Heirloom Seeds and picked which ones looked most interesting to me.
Next, I filled three biodegradable pots with fertilized soil—half from a potting soil bag and half directly from my outdoor garden. Soil from the garden is extra filled from nutrients from the compost (made by worms leftovers from unused vegetables and fruits both in the garden and from my house)!
After that, I made two to three quarter inch deep holes in the soil and gently placed the minuscule seeds in them before gently covering them.
Personally, since the seeds for these herbs were so tiny, I had trouble separating them, so I recommend wetting the end of a Q-tip to pick them up.
Finally, I used a plan mister to wet the soil. Now, all that’s left to do is continuing to mist them, and wait.
I began to worry at first when after about four days, I saw no bits of green peeking out of the soil, but a day or so later I noticed a leaf from the basil pot and two small sprouts from the oregano and thyme.
Once the tiny herb plants are sprouting out from the soil, it’s time to move them underneath the LED grow light, which emits a high quality light that allows plants to grow well.
Although they are small now, when they are fully grown, all three plants should start producing herbs usable and fresh for many recipes!
Although I wish I started earlier so that I could have one of those beautiful fall gardens, seeing my tiny herbs get bigger by the day still makes me excited—not only to see them fully grown, but to use them to make some delicious recipes.
