Herbs

[maskedsonnet]

Starting a new thread for herbs!! The parsley has been sickly-looking:

So I ended it and planted thyme!

Trimmed the basil too! Have the dehydrator working on all those leaves

Also ended the polka-dot plants and put in oregano!

[maskedsonnet]

The basil is recovering well from the last trimming

Oregano is up in both pods

One pod of the thyme is up

[lynnee]

My thyme doesn't seem to have germinated, so I guess it's time to put in a new pod. I think I started it before yours.

My cilantro had swollen seeds, but wasn't sprouting, so I took the seeds out and gave them a blow with my little LEGO hammer.

I fear that the seeds were crushed, but we'll see. Next time I'll hammer the dry seeds to crack the covering, as you are supposed to do.

[maskedsonnet]

I feel like thyme can be a bit finicky - I’ll probably have to re-start the pod that didn’t germinate, but I’m giving it another week or so to see if it was just slow.

For the cilantro, I’ve never cracked the seeds before! Maybe that’s why it never germinates in AG for me. I might try it again someday, but for now I get plenty growing it outdoors. It seems to love the weather here.

[lynnee]

The official AG site actually suggests cracking the cilantro seeds if you're having trouble getting them to germinate! I knew that Aerogarden Experiments suggested this method for something (spinach? cilantro?), but was surprised to see it on the AG site.

[maskedsonnet]

Both pods of oregano are doing well

The second thyme pod never came up. Decided not to replant, last time I did thyme one plant gave me more than I could use.

The basil is flourishing as always!

[lynnee]

Is the turquoise color right for the Sprout? It's very pretty. The oregano looks great!

[maskedsonnet]

I love the color of the sprout, I wish AG would do more colors for their machines!! I got that Sprout as a deal through Tasty/Buzzfeed

[maskedsonnet]

The oregano is growing really nice!!

Thyme has gotten taller

The basil is going to force me to find time for it soon, but it won't be today

[maskedsonnet]

The oregano and thyme are both getting bigger

The basil has finally been cut down and ended. It had a great run!!

[maskedsonnet]

The oregano and thyme are both going strong!!

[Shawn]

YOur plants are always exploding with goodness.

[maskedsonnet]

Some lovely herbs!!!

The oregano! She bloomed!!

Thyme trying to eat my machine:

Post-trimming

The harvest

[lynnee]

What kind of dehydrator do you have, maskedsonnet? I think we may have the same one. Does it have the heater on the top?

Do you dry the oregano blossoms along with the leaves?

[maskedsonnet]

My dehydrator is a Snackmaster Jr. from American Harvest, that I'm pretty sure my parents bought when I was about 10 years old (making it around 23 years old and still going strong!!). But nifty new appliances from back then do tend to run together in my mind, so my memory's not the most reliable on what year the Cool Thing was actually acquired. My love of collecting Cool Kitchen Things was inherited from them, so there's been a lot through the years. They gave it to me several years ago when they decided to buy something with actual timers and temp control lol. The fan is in the bottom, and you really have to watch it like a hawk to make sure the herbs don't burn in there. There's not even an on/off switch, just plug in/unplug to turn on or off.

As for the oregano blooms, I always just throw them in the dehydrator with the leaves. The flavor of the flowers isn't as concentrated as the leaves, but you don't really notice that when they're dried and ground up and mixed in with everything else. They also make a really lovely edible garnish if you use them fresh!

[maskedsonnet]

The thyme is still trying to eat the harvest it's in!

[lynnee]

Your thyme looks really healthy!