Gardening
Grow Herbs Indoors for Year-round Enjoyment
Artificial lights ensure herbs receive enough bright light to successfully grow indoors.
Photo credit: Photo courtesy of Gardener's Supply Company/gardeners.com
Add garden fresh flavor to your meals year-round. Grow a few of your favorite herbs indoors, harvest and enjoy.
Select a variety of herbs you and your family enjoy and use for cooking, decoration, or fragrance. Basil, chives, cilantro, oregano, marjoram, mint, parsley, sage and thyme are some of the easier herbs to grow indoors. Purchase plants or seeds from your local garden center, favorite garden catalog or produce section of the grocery store.
Most herbs need six to eight hours of bright light each day. A south-facing window in winter is best but an east- or west-facing window may be sufficient. Increase success with artificial lights. Set the timer for 14 to 16 hours a day and keep lights 6 to 12" above the plants.
You will find lots of energy efficient and stylish options for just about any space. Sleeker designs like Gardener's Supply Micro Grow Light Garden can be placed on the kitchen counter or a small table. Furniture grade options like Bamboo LED Grow Light Garden (gardeners.com) make it easy to grow herbs in just about any room in the house.
Use a variety of plants to create an attractive display in a large windowsill planter. Combine plants that have the same growing requirements to ensure success.
Or place each herb plant in its own container. A four- to seven-inch pot is a good size when starting with smaller plants. Growing individual plants in their own container allows you to provide the specific watering, care and transplanting they need.
Select containers with drainage holes or reduce maintenance and increase success with self-watering containers like Viva self-watering planters. Just fill the water reservoir that gradually releases water into the soil for the plants to use. You will need to water less often.
Fill the container with a well-drained quality potting mix. Many contain a slow-release fertilizer, providing weeks or even several months of nutrients for your plants. Just check the label for details and adjust fertilization as needed.
Water the containers thoroughly whenever the top inch of soil is dry. Pour off excess water so the plant does not sit in the excess and succumb to root rot. Or place pebbles in the tray to elevate the pot above any water that collects in the saucer or tray. This means less work for you and better growing conditions for the plant.
Incorporate a slow-release fertilizer or use a dilute solution of any indoor houseplant fertilizer once the nutrients in the potting mix are spent. Follow label directions and do not overdo as too much fertilizer can harm your plants.
Begin harvesting most herbs when they reach six to eight inches in height and as needed. Use a sharp pair of garden scissors, snips, or hand pruners. Make cuts above a set of healthy leaves so the remaining plant is neater and tidier in appearance. As the plant grows, you will be able to harvest larger quantities and more often.
Start with a few of your favorite herbs and expand your collection as you gain experience. Soon you will be confident and eager to try more challenging favorites.
Melinda Myers is the author of more than 20 gardening books, including Small Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses "How to Grow Anything" DVD series and the Melinda's Garden Moment TV & radio segments. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine. Her web site is www.MelindaMyers.com.
Antiques
Latest Antique News
I hope everyone had a happy holiday season and a great start to the new year. It's been several weeks since my last antique news update and there is much to report on.
There was big news out of England at the end of 2021 when research found that a United Kingdom-based antiques dealer's 2019 auction purchase was actually a very valuable historic relic. Dealer Paul Fitzsimmons spotted a gilded oak bird at an English auction. Although it was covered in soot, he "instantly realized that it was a valuable object," according to Smithsonian Magazine. Although he didn't then know that the bird was the badge of Anne Boleyn, he "knew that it had some sort of royal connection because it had the crown and scepter, and it was a royal bird." Anne Boleyn was Henry VIII's second wife, whom he beheaded in 1536. Boleyn had begun to use the falcon and roses badge around the time she married Henry VIII. It's believed that the falcon and roses were part of the palace's decorative scheme at the time. After her death, Henry VIII tried to remove all traces of Boleyn, including the falcon and rose badges. It's believed that the wooden falcon was in Boleyn's private quarters and had been stashed away by one of her supporters. Fitzsimmons paid $101 for it at that 2019 auction. It's estimated to be worth $270,000. He plans to offer it on long-term loan to Hampton Court Palace.
Elsewhere, a Massachusetts estate sale find is also making news in England. "The Art Newspaper" reported that an Albrecht Dürer sketch was purchased from a Concord, MA estate in 2016. They write that "The Virgin and Child with a Flower on a Grassy Bank" was in the collection of architect Jean-Paul Carlhian. A man who wishes to remain anonymous purchased the sketch for $30 from Carlhian's daughters at an estate sale of his belongings. The buyer and seller didn't believe that it was an original work, and the buyer stored it in his home. Clifford Schorer of Agnews Gallery in London heard of the sketch when visiting Boston in 2019 and arranged to see it. Schorer told "The Art Newspaper" that when he first saw the piece he thought, "it was either the greatest forgery I have ever seen--or a masterpiece." Experts have examined the piece more carefully and found that there are two attributes that seem to prove it is in fact authentic. His signature (initials) and the ink used match those that appear in more than 200 of his other sketches. It is believed that the sketch may be worth $50 million. Now that's a stroke of good luck.
Our fifth online auction session of model railroad, die-cast cars, and models will begin next week. We are still accepting consignments for our next online multi-estate auction. It will feature coin collections from multiple estates, gold estate jewelry, a large sports card collection and a wide range of other items. Contact us by email or phone if you have items you'd like to include. Please see our website www.centralmassauctions.com to join our email list and keep up to date on auctions and other events.
Contact us at: Wayne Tuiskula Auctioneer/Appraiser Central Mass Auctions for Antique Auctions, Estate Sales and Appraisal Services www.centralmassauctions.com (508-612- 6111) info@centralmassauctions.com