The Community Herb Garden at Plot 18

With me on vacation, my better half at work and the little one at school, it was a good time to get things rolling at Plot 18. I grabbed some garden tools from the farm and headed over to the community garden.

A bit of a setback to get started...

I headed back to the farm - fortunately very close by - to grab my fork to loosen the soil and haul the dandelions out.

After toiling (and a few swears) in the 28℃ & humid temperatures for a couple of hours, progress was being made...

While I was working away, I was trying to envision the layout of the plot; aiming to be functional and abundant, aesthetically pleasing, and as accessible as possible within the constraints of the two spaces measuring roughly 4m x 3m (12' x 10') in total.

I had brought some wooden stakes and survey string from the farm, but opted for using discarded bamboo stakes I found discarded in a nearby pile at the community garden. The last bundle of wooden stakes I had purchased for the farm cost nearly $70 so I felt fortunate to find the bamboo, snapping them in half to extend the supply.

Here's a photo-dump of how the rest of the day and the plot layout unfolded.

Herbs planted in this session were:

• English Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)^1^
• Greek Oregano (Origanum vulgare hirtum)^1^
• English Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)^1^
• Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus)^1^
• Garden Sage (Salvia officinalis)^1^
• French Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus var. sativa)^2^
• Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis L aka 'Bee Balm')^2^
• Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum)^3^

Stay tuned for more updates, including growing & harvest info, links and recipes for the various herbs planted at Plot 18.

SK0

Footnotes:

^1^ these herb starters were purchased at local garden centres, as the plants at our herb farm were far too gnarly to transplant, and our growing season far too short to attempt to root cuttings at this stage in the game. So I'm out roughly $80 on the first day of this project....but I saved money by using discarded bamboo stakes for laying out the pathways at least... 😵‍💫

^2^ as per the original plan, these herbs were transplanted from the herb farm. The Lemon Balm was started via seed in 2018 from (now defunct) Cottage Gardener Seeds, and the French Tarragon purchased as live plants^4^ in the same year from Richter's Herbs.

^3^ I have close to a kilogram of freakin' cilantro seeds as I had delusions of being the fresh cilantro kingpin. So I sowed five bunches on this day, and will sow more as the season progresses. Stay tuned for cilantro growing pro tips I learned back in the day, which will blow your mind 😀

^4^ French Tarragon doesn't produce seeds. Cuttings are pretty much the only way to grow it. If it's labeled tarragon seeds, it's most likely Russian Tarragon, and it's not as tasty. Don't get fooled by grifters.