Prolonging the harvest: bringing the garden inside.
I just got back from a trip North for the second annual Northeast Community Herbal Convergence.* I was worried it might frost while I was gone, but of course that didn’t happen. The garden is very much alive.
In fact, my habanero plant is covered with peppers. I’m thinking of potting it up and bringing it inside for the winter. I’ve done that with pepper plants before—they don’t belong in this seasonal climate of ours, and they tend to be so beautiful right before frost.
Years ago I dug up a thai chili from my garden in Norwich, Vermont. I kept it with me for three or four years—in I don’t know how many different apartments—and it produced peppers the whole time.
It’s easy to dig up a plant from the garden to bring inside. Some take to it better than others, of course. Peppers, especially hot peppers, tend to do well, as do most herbs. Anything that’s perennial in its native habitat is worth a try.
Just dig carefully around the edges of the plant, and transfer it gently to a large-enough pot with plenty of dirt, and maybe a few rocks for drainage. Water it thoroughly and put it in a sunny spot inside. Keep a close eye on it at first, since you may have imported critters, etc. from the garden.
*If you want to hear all about the Herbal Convergence, you can check out Guido’s very detailed report.
darcey said,
October 14, 2007 @ 10:19 pm
mmmmmmmmmmmmm, habs! so good! i never did so well with transplats indoors in the winter. but glad your garden is still growing. we’ve had our frosts and everything is harvested or dead….
Kiva Rose said,
October 15, 2007 @ 1:01 pm
Funny to think it’s colder in NM than in WV, but I guess it’s because we’re in the mountains. We haven’t had a hard frost yet, but the plants are definitely dying back in a big way, and the Cottonwoods are nearly bare.
Next year, I’m growing some Peppers, they ought to like our fiery summers.
Such pretty pictures, Rebecca, you’re all about the color!
crabappleherbs said,
October 15, 2007 @ 1:38 pm
Thank you! I am having fun with pictures for this blog.
Soon I should take a new picture for the header, since the maple tree in the backyard has started to get a bit orange…
Frost is definitely late here this year. What’s your elevation, Kiva? I’m at about 2300 feet. Two counties north of us, they’ve had a light frost. But none here yet.
Surprisingly, it’s only just now frosted in southern Vermont!
Kiva Rose said,
October 15, 2007 @ 2:04 pm
Oooh, seasonal headers, a very nice idea!
Well, we’re at 6,000 feet on the continental divide. Middle mountains montane ecology for the inter-mountain West essentially.
Does seem like we had an awfully quick fall this year, but maybe it just seems that way because I’ve been too busy to truly savor it. But Winter always seems to last forever…
crabappleherbs said,
October 15, 2007 @ 2:28 pm
Wow, you both are so high up!
I do appreciate having a little elevation here. In Vermont I was only a few hundred feet above sea level. It just didn’t feel right, somehow.
I am definitely going to do seasonal headers. It would feel silly to me to look at this green picture when I see something completely different when I’m doing the dishes.
The Herbwife's Boyfriend said,
October 16, 2007 @ 11:53 am
You mean when I do the dishes!
crabappleherbs said,
October 16, 2007 @ 1:35 pm
I swear I did the dishes at least once last month.
Kiva Rose said,
October 16, 2007 @ 6:24 pm
LOL I think the Herbwife’s Boyfriend needs his own blog.
I am up pretty high, but remember that being so far south makes a difference too, so I probably have many very similar plants to you because you’re further north.
I can’t deal with living without mountains! When I visited FL and MO (both places I used to live) after having lived in higher elevation mountainous areas I simply couldn’t imagine living in places so flat and low. They have their own beauty but I need my mountains.
The Herbwife’s Kitchen » Habanero update. said,
October 16, 2007 @ 7:55 pm
[...] We went tromping out to the garden the other evening to dig up that pretty habanero plant. [...]
crabappleherbs said,
October 16, 2007 @ 8:13 pm
Oh, I agree. The Herbwife’s Boyfriend needs his own blog for sure.
Yes, I need mountains too! The funny thing about Vermont is that it is mountainous, but the valleys are quite close to sea level.
Jan S. said,
October 17, 2007 @ 8:16 am
Speaking of Vermont, elevation and frost . . . we just had are first real frost last night, in Sharon. Although the village is only at 500″ we are at 1,500″. I managed to put up and get in my three best geraniums in as well as my rosemarys, some peppermint and oregano, but alas, I think I have made my last batch of pesto for the season- I have a feeling the basil has had it. Oct. 17 – not bad for Vermont.
I am looking forward to the launching of the HerbBoyFriend Blog. I think those of us that follow this one need a more balanced perspective. (Once a month!! Now I see how you have time for so much fun stuff!!!)
crabappleherbs said,
October 18, 2007 @ 2:45 pm
October 17th certainly is late for 1500 feet in central Vermont!
As to the Herbwife’s Boyfriend, I think if he writes a blog it will be a terribly literary appreciation of food — not much like this chatty business here, I don’t expect.
Emilie said,
October 18, 2007 @ 8:44 pm
I would come out of the cyber closet for the Herbwife’s Boyfriend blog.
Jan S. said,
October 22, 2007 @ 4:12 pm
After spending some time in the garden Saturday, I feel in need to print a correction. I KNOW there was a frost in our field last Wednesday and our mailbox was very frosty, but I guess the house and the maples sheltered the gardens and they survived unscathed. The growing season lives on! So much for growing season envy. Brought some more stuff inside. A few little ornamental pepper plants owe their continued prospects for life indoors to your blog.
As to the Herbwife’s Boyfriend, – he gets to appreciate your creations and appreciately washes the dishes- sounds like a good deal to me- very symbiotic.
How about adding a literary corner to the blog? Herbal poetry? Nature stories?