Rosemary: A Winter Kitchen Herbiary Begins

Written by: Sumati Shah

 

I felt like I was rescuing this pale leggy but nonetheless lush little rosemary in a teeny 3 1/2″ pot starting to sweat in a plastic sleeve, bent and squeezed into the shelf of a cooling rack wheeled out into the retail floor of the green goods section of a (yucky) big box retailer’s grocery store.

 

~Rosie joined me on the couch for her debut ~ don’t worry, she’s back in the kitchen ~

The label told me it came from a grower who’s practices I know and trust, so I could be confident that the 97 cent price sticker wasn’t indicative of anything nefarious or suspect,  but really just an ‘overripe’ crop being moved out quick.

Start the Car!

Rule of Green Thumbs: Look for your herb plants at the grocery store!

There’s often a huge savings finding potted herbs at the grocery store over the garden centre – it’s not unlikely that they’re from the same specialist supplier…..As good as finding a $20 in your coat pocket!

Two weeks later, that once pallid & overgrown plant has been repotted into a 5” terracotta pot sitting in a lovely cover pot, roots spreading out in fresh soil…. I  see the green deepening, the older lower stem becoming woody, and  all is well.

I plan on keeping this rosemary alive all winter, enjoying her in my cooking and so much more (candles, herb jars, smudge bundles….possibilities are many)

Come spring, I’ll transition her outdoors.  I’ve got plans for Rosie and since she’ll overwinter in a kitchen window near my kettle, we’ll talk about them over a cups of tea.

Now I have the notion to seed some parsley and maybe cilantro…and so with the purchase of a 97 cent rescue rosemary, the seed of a  kitchen’s winter herbiary has been sown.

 

Have you got a sunny window ledge and room for a Rosie of your own this winter?

 

Go Go Green Thumbs!