Herbs n' Things

I recently received a cookbook. It's very pretty, the food looks yummy, and for the most part the recipes are doable. Oh, and at least a dozen recipes in said-book list fresh mint as an ingredient...

...so that's my excuse for buying myself a peppermint plant.

I already nibbled on a leaf, and WHOA is it minty...yum! It's a little small for regular 'harvesting' though, so I'll have to be patient until he's a wee bit bigger.

I also plan on using it in tea and jam, so this guy's going to be put through its paces. You can even dry the leaves and make tea solely out of the leaves. I'm thinking iced tea, mojitos and mint juleps for summer!

It's funny too, I never liked mint-flavored things when I was really young. I even avoided it in toothpaste for as long as I could. (Sadly, they do not make bubblegum or fruit flavored adult toothpaste readily available.)

While I was at the same nursery I also picked up a Pineapple Sage plant, to the right here.

"Why oh why do I need a Pineapple Sage plant when I already have a traditional Sage sitting on my kitchen windowsill?"

The answer, my friend, is that this smells EXACTLY like pineapple. When you rub the leaves between your fingers and sniff, it's like you dunked your hand in a tub of pineapple juice and stuffed it in your mouth.

I can tell you right now this is also going to end up in teas and jams, not to mention some chicken recipes.

Oh, and it may look small for the container at the moment, but the lady at the nursery said they can get pretty big, so I'm being optimistic.

The other item  bought yesterday was... strawberry plants! Unfortunately, the plants that were the sad subject of this post, I gave up on and tossed. They were still infected after I checked later that week, the plants were not growing as I felt they should be, and even some of the new growth was dying back.

Looking on the bright side of things though, the pot was salvageable. I rinsed it, left it outside for a week (in rain, shine, and freezing temps) and then gave it a good second wash before transplanting. No buggies in sight (before, when I watered, they would bounce around, or swim around on top of the water).

Looks much better than before!

They're an ever bearing variety, as opposed to June bearing, which wouldn't have done well in a container I think.

For those that don't know the differences, June bearing gives one crop of berries in June. Day neutral gives two crops, one in June and one in August. Ever bearing produces throughout summer/fall.

I originally wanted a day neutral variety, because I read somewhere that they usually produce a higher-yield overall. BUT ever bearing was a close second in my mind, because I am impatient when it comes to yummy things.

Also, it's already got some berries on it!

The flat come with six plants. I planted two in the top (pictured here) then two in the middle-pockets and two in the bottom-pockets, leaving a couple pockets empty so it has a "back." That way I won't have to worry about turning the pot and evening out their sun-exposure.

It's sitting outside at the moment, cause it was outside at the nursery, and I want to make sure those berries get all the pollination and sun they can get! I get to eat them sooner that way. And that's the important thing.

And lastly, some seedling pictures! I'll let them speak for themselves.