on growing rosemary from seed

Don't do it.

That is all.

...Okay, but if you insist on putting yourself through that particular kind of thankless torture, here are a few things I learned. First of all, I was very disappointed when I planted a tray of rosemary, basil, and tomatoes. The tomatoes sprouted and grew like crazy, and the basil soon followed suit. The rosemary did...nothing. I had completely given up hope when one teeny tiny sprout emerged. Hurrah! Right? Um, well, sort of, I guess. Eventually, a grand total of four of the seeds germinated. I had planted the whole package. Yup. It has been a month since I planted the seeds, and only one of the seedlings is starting to send out its very first set of true leaves.

Feeling like a bit of a gardening failure, I did a little research. Turns out, there is a bit of an explanation.

1) Rosemary seeds have a notoriously low germination rate. While I've read about some people having 80-90% success, it is more common to have a germination rate between 5 and 15%. And it can easily take them a few weeks (I've read cases where it took up to three months) for germination to occur.

2) After germination, do NOT get excited and religiously water your delicate little seedlings. This will kill them. In fact, it's a better to wait until the soil has completely dried out to water them again. Rosemary is fairly drought resistant.

3) Be patient. Yes, I know you feel like you've already been patient, but progress is going to continue being excruciatingly slow. So if you are impatient and require near-instant gratification the way I do, you are going to be disappointed.

Personally, I am going to stick with my puny little rosemary seeds, because why toss them out now that the poor things are there, but I will be heading to the outdoor market when it opens to buy a rosemary plant. I bought a small one last year, and it did really well, and I even seem to remember feeling like it grew fairly rapidly. But I'm guessing that rosemary needs to reach some kind of critical size before it really takes off, and I'm thinking that, based on my rosemary, and photos I've seen online, that size may not be achieved for a year or more. So patience, patience, patience. I hear it's a virtue. Or, give up on the feeling of satisfaction at having created your plant from scratch and buy a small plant, like I will. On the other hand, if you want a happy compromise, rosemary is supposed to be very easy to propagate from cuttings. I will try to remember to give this a try over the summer and report back.

pruning basil

Pruning back new growth in basil is what creates a full, bushy plant. I'd heard that you could cut basil back very aggressively, and that as long as you left at least one set of true leaves, the plant could recover. My basil plants, grown from seed, are still fairly small, but they are healthy looking. I will be transplanting them outside in about a month, and I want them to be well on their way to leafy, bushy, productive plants by then. So, despite the fact that they are still quite a bit smaller than what many people recommend for their first pruning, with a little trepidation, I cut back one of my pretty little seedlings to its first set of true leaves.

As an experiment, I thought I'd also try to root the cutting I had pruned off in a glass of water. This works fairly reliably for larger cuttings, but I wanted to see if I could get a cutting with only a couple leaves to grow roots. If successful, this technique could be an easy way to multiply my basil plants while making my existing plants as productive as possible. Fantastic, because, although basil germinates easily and grows fairly quickly, it takes basil about six weeks to become a  decent sized seedling on my windowsill. Win-win. (And yes, I knoooow I already have dozens of basil seedlings, but never underestimate my huge freaking love of Italian food, or my ability to eat oddly large quantities of food in one sitting. Worst case scenario, I have some extra to give away!)

basil seedling with all but its first set of true leaves snipped off

the pruned top of my basil seedling

letting the cutting sit in water
(see how the leaves have kept growing!)

A week later, the pruned back plant has, as it should, sent out two branches of new leaves where formerly, there was only one.

At about a week, I also start to see little bumps form along the stem of my cutting.

tiny little diseased-looking bumps along
 the stem are the beginnings of roots

the roots begin to form

Although I haven't transplanted my cutting into soil yet, I think the whole process has (knock on wood!) been a success. The roots seem to be growing almost half an inch a day, despite the fact that the weather has been poop and they haven't gotten much in the way of sunlight. I think it's time to start pruning some of my other basil seedlings...

*to see photos of the results: pruning basil - update!

all in the name of procrastination

Can you believe I started a blog just to let me put off...oh, everything?

So I've been working on starting a vegetable garden this year, you know, in an effort to engage in more wholesome activities. My therapist approves. I want to grow as much as possible from seed because, I don't know, it feels like more of an accomplishment. For the rest, I'll make a trip to the market when it opens. I have tried my hand at growing vegetables before, but, to be honest, with limited success. But I'm trying to cultivate a little patience here, and maybe an attention span longer than that of a gerbil. I have grown herbs before, your standard basil, chives, rosemary, etc., and I think I'm ready step things up.

Here are a couple pictures of last year's herb garden in its infancy.

So, about six weeks ago, I planted some tomatoes, green onions, chives, basil, oregano, spearmint, and rosemary in seedling trays indoors. And barring any major mishaps, in a month or so, I will be out getting dirty in the garden :)