Gardening Notes

• Anise will germinate in 10-14 days and will be ready to enjoy in 120 days.
• Basil will germinate in 5-10 days, and be ready to enjoy in 60-90 days.
• Cilantro will take about 2-3 weeks to germinate. Leaves are ready in 35-40 days. In 60-90 days, you'll see white flowers that will yield tan Coriander seeds, which you can harvest and use as a spice.
• Caraway will take 1-2 weeks to germinate. In 65-75 days in the first season, you'll see lush green leaves. In the second season, you'll see a taller plant with white flowers, which will produce seeds.
• Parsley is a biennial that acts more like an annual. Parsley will take 1-2 weeks to germinate, and ready to enjoy in 70-90 days. In its second season, it will grow flowers, which pollinators can enjoy (but the leaves will be less flavorful). You can eat parsley stems!
• Lavender will take 2-4 weeks to germinate, and 90-200 days to mature.
• 'Grolau' chives (Allium schoenoprasum): Strong flavor and thick, dark green leaves. Developed for forcing, 8 to 12 inches tall. Seeds germinate in 10 to 14 days at 60° to 68°F.
• Fernleaf' dill (Anethum graveolens): Dwarf form of dill only 18 inches tall. Ideal for dill weed indoors. Standard varieties grow too tall and bolt too soon. Easy from seeds, germinating in 7 to 14 days at 60° to 68°F.
• 'English' mint (Mentha spicata): Perhaps the best-behaved spearmint variety (not as invasive as others, and the leaves are broader and deeper green). Excellent for cooking and tea. Easy to propagate from cuttings.
• Greek oregano (Origanum vulgare hirtum): The true oregano for Mediterranean cooking, with excellent flavor and white flowers. Watch out for the impostor (called wild marjoram) with pink flowers and no flavor. Greek oregano grows well in pots, reaching 8 to 12 inches. Grows easily from seed in 7 to 21 days at 65° to 72°F.
• Broadleaf thyme (Plectranthus amboinicus or Coleus amboinicus): Also known as Spanish thyme and Cuban oregano, this plant has broad, fleshy leaves unlike those of ordinary thyme. Wonderful, spicy thyme-oregano flavor and useful in many of the same recipes as ordinary thyme. Never goes dormant. Grows from cuttings only, and reaches 10 to 12 inches tall.
• Vietnamese coriander (Polygonum odoratum): Not true coriander, but a good substitute. Regrows after cutting, unlike true coriander, which must be reseeded after harvest. Grows 4 to 8 inches tall. Propagate from cuttings.
• 'Blue Boy' rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis): More compact and diminutive than regular rosemary, reaching only 24 inches. Flowers freely and has excellent flavor. Propagated by cuttings only. Rosemary will take 2-3 weeks to germinate, and 80-180 days to mature (depending on how hardy you'd like it to be.)
• Dwarf garden sage (Salvia officinalis 'Compacta'): Smaller leaves and more compact habit than regular sage, growing only 10 inches high. Same sage flavor. Propagated by cuttings only; seeds are unavailable.
• Creeping savory (Satureja repandra or S. spicigera): Flavor identical to that of winter savory, but easier and faster to grow indoors. Reaches only 2 to 4 inches in height, but fills the pot with a dense mat of foliage. Difficult to find seeds, but grows readily from cuttings.