Get Your Herbs Ready for Fall!

Hot. Humid. Buggy.

Summer plants are withering.

My fall garden NOT GROWING as fast as I think it should.

It still feels like summer so I still feel like retrying to plant some of the things that were not successful this year like cucumbers, but it is too late.

It’s the August slump. It feels like it happens every year. Either I am frustrated because things didn’t grow as well as I had hoped (yep), overwhelmed with one thing that took over the garden,(it’s weeds this year) or ready to get planting and try again, but I have to wait for next spring for some things.

Maybe you’re feeling this way too. If so, keep reading and check out a few idea for fun things to do as we approach fall. Here’s a quick overview of what I’ll be sharing in the coming weeks to get you through the late summer slump.

Bring the outside in!

                My husband thinks I’m crazy for my houseplant collection, but hey, he has taxidermy deer and little woodland animals all around the house so he can’t complain about bringing the outside in!

My biggest suggestion is to start an inside herb garden! I am sooooo excited about trying this and will be posting about some of my favorite pinterest suggestions along with some practical ideas for making your inside garden a success.

– Take cuttings and restart them in pots. I’ll be writing soon on how I learned to do this and the best plants to transplant from cuttings so you can try it yourself.

– Dig up plants that will not overwinter in your area and repot them. Some plants will go dormant in the winter and spring back to life in the spring, while others will not be coming back after the cold months. Learn which plants to baby and which plants will tough it outside in my upcoming post.

Start some exotics inside

– Like I said (my Grandpa used to say that lol) this is a great time of year to turn some more attention to your indoor plants. I bought a turmeric root and an ginger root to plant as houseplants back in the spring and they are doing great! It’s always fun to have something fresh and green to take care of in the house.

Harvest & Dry what you do have

– trim plants & dry the cuttings inside or outside. I will be posting on how I harvested from my    herb plants including lavender, rosemary, sage, mint, chives, and more!

– Make some quick-grab infusions so you are ready to use your herbs on a moment’s notice. I’ll be sharing how I make extra strong infusions and freeze them in ice cube trays so they don’t go to waste and always have them available.

Start some seeds!

I’m so doing this with my cilantro. I have a cilantro plant outside, but I want some inside in the kitchen window so I can snip some off whenever I need them. I’ve been reading about how to start herb seeds inside and instead of encouraging them to grow into a giant plant, just maintaining them by keeping them trimmed.

Learn how to USE what you have

Here’s a shocking idea; learn to use what you have in a way that your family will enjoy. For example, my mint is growing great. I was crazy enough to plant it directly in my garden & it may as well be a weed now. Only problem is that we don’t really like mint tea so much, so I really do not have anything to use up all my mint for. Same goes for my pineapple sage plant. It’s big and beautiful, but I need to figure out how to cook with it. I am looking forward to using these hot sticky end-of-summer days to do some research and experiment with the plants that I have already.

So there you have it; some of the things I am super excited to be sharing with you all in the coming weeks as we enjoy the harvest we have been blessed with and get ready for fall. I KNOW there are plenty more great ideas to keep learning and growing as the garden season wraps up (reading my blog is one of them!) Leave a comment with your ideas to prepare for fall; I’d love to hear them!