In bloom

Outside my basil is trying to flower like crazy.  I keep picking them off so that I get one last big leaf harvest before fall.  I found it interesting that my oregano bloomed too. Does it know fall is approaching even though it is in a climate controlled environment? Or is it a coincidence?

My salad burnet was a failure so I replaced it with lettuce.

Disappointment

My salad burnet is dying.  I've never had luck with starting it from seed, and this is no exception.  The leaves are starting to look dry.

The tomato that I had such high hopes for is not producing much.  It had so many blossoms, but so far I only see three tomatoes despite shaking it daily.

However, you can see that the oregano is vining up the tomato plant, which is kind of cool!

8/3

I can't believe it's been three weeks since I last posted!

The first of my two tomato plants has died like these tomatoes tend to do.  However, the second plant is alive and healthy and looks like it's ready to produce a second crop of tomatoes!

These mighty minis are so inconsistent I don't think I'll ever figure them out.

And would you look at that oregano! It has actually vined out and climbed into the tomato plant.

In place of the missing tomato, I planted some salad burnet, which is an herb whose leaves like cucumber.  It's also supposed to be a perennial, so I will put it outside eventually.  I have tried growing this from seed before, but have never had much luck.  This time, things are looking good!

These two little sprouts came from just one seed! (Ignore what the paper cover says - it's the third use I got out of this one.)


Outside, my green basil continues to flourish.  I picked enough to make a batch of pesto for six people.  I think that plant is really glad to be outside even though it does not get as much light.
The mini red peppers are doing amazingly well too.  I have several little green peppers and many more flowers. 
The purple basil is doing alright - it never was a fast grower.  But it did get its deep purple color back.  I always thought it would be fun to make a batch of purple pesto, but I would need more than one plant at the rate this grows.

An overdue update and a small harvest

Now that both of my basil and both pepper plants have been growing outside in dirt for at least a couple weeks, I can say that they've adapted beautifully!  I have a few peppers that are turning red.
The green basil has gotten as tall as my knee, and very bushy!  The purple basil is not growing as fast as the green, but it never has.  It is a beautiful deep shade of purple though.

This batch of tomatoes is doing better than previous attempts - one plant more so than the other.  The plant in the back actually has to be propped up because it is so heavy.  The oregano is still enjoying the extra room it has in this garden.

Last night, I harvested my tomatoes to use in a recipe.  It probably wasn't enough to make a huge difference, but it was exciting for the kids :) 

Thinning the jungle

Last time I posted, I wrote about transplanting my green basil and pepper.  I can tell you now that they are doing very well! The pepper plant has two tiny peppers on it, and the basil looks pretty happy.  So I decided to plant my purple basil outside a few days ago.  It does not stand up straight for some reason, maybe just because it's so top-heavy.  And the purpleness of the leaves has been fading and turning more green.  We'll see what some summer sun does to it.

That means I have only one plant left in my bigger Aerogarden.  I did not want to move that pepper plant until the pepper on it ripens.  I was pleasantly surprised today to see this:

After some Googling, I found out the  cracks on the skin are called  "corking" and that they do not signal a problem.

My small AG is doing well too.  I have a good crop of tomatoes coming in, and the oregano looks better than it ever has before, even after being chopped up just a few days ago and thrown into some chicken :)

Garden renovations

So it seems this one space refuses to grow a tomato.

The other two are doing great, though, and have several small tomatoes on each plant.  I pulled the dead one and put my scraggly little oregano there instead.  Hopefully with less competition for light it will flourish.

My one mini pepper continues to thrive.

Looking back on it, these were a mistake. I have lost several blooms to burning in the light even at the highest setting.  And since they grew so high they were difficult to pollinate.

So for fun today, I pulled the plant without a pepper and planted it in my outdoor garden.  I had to cut the basket off of it and plant the sponge.  I did the same with the green basil.  So far, the basil looks good and the pepper is questionable.
That leaves one pepper plant and the purple basil on my AG7. I will transplant the other two later, but I do not want to move my pepper until it is ripe.

The end of an era, and the start of something new

I hate to say it, but the original mighty mini is done for.  One tomato fell off and the plant is flat.

However, the other mighty minis look healthy and happy with new blooms opening every day!

And I've finally gotten a pepper successfully pollinated: