A picture taken yesterday morning: the torture tree has lost the last of its leaves. Winter is officially upon us. (Here‘s how it looked in September.)
We’ve harvested the last of the perbs, with two exceptions. We’ve left the thyme, hoping it might survive a while longer in its oversized pot, and we’ve brought the basil inside (though I doubt it’ll last, even indoors, so we’ll harvest that soon for one final salad extravaganza).
We’ve also taken steps to ensure our winter supply:
We’re trying to sprout and support basil, parsley, marjoram, thyme, sage, chives, and marjoram. In other words, all the stuff we had on the deck, except the dill. Turns out, neither of us are big fans. We have oregano growing in the front garden, but neither of us is particularly keen on scampering out there first thing in the morning in robe and slippers to cut oregano to go on the omelette. So now get to get to grow some indoors, too. The first sprouts will appear in three or four days, I think, but we won’t be able to harvest for a while.
Fair warning: I’ll be documenting the growth of our lovely little kitchen herbs: the kerbs.
ETA: But what if the seed packet labelling is a lie? What if I’m growing a beanstalk, or little pod aliens, or…
Nicola Griffith 
Aero garden pod plants, very nice.
Super science aside, I really do like the winter look of the place.
I like the ravine in winter: sere, ascetic, but full of wildlife (all much more visible without the foliage).
I like the torture tree in winter. :)
Looking forward to the Kerb Chronicles.
Whenever I miss having a backyard (like now) I just go to Prospect Park. Except I'm not going to do that because I have to go catch a lunch with a friend.
That looks fantastic! How very 21C!
In regard to your outdoor herbs, have you read '1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus'? In a section on south America it posits that some indigenous peoples in South America greatly increased the land's carrying capacity by putting charcoal in the soil. As an experiment, someone tried it. In the experiment, no increase in return was noted in the first year, but that by the third year, the carrying capacity had tripled. I had tried putting ash in my soil at the condo, but apparently charcoal works better. I'm going to try it in my garden soil next year providing having a fire going doesn't freak out my dog.
Jo, I haven't read 1491, but I've been meaning to since publication.
@ Nicola — It's got some fascinating ideas in it. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I know some of the the theories sound far-fetched (and I know some of my old archaeology buddies are probably skeptical), but some of them make a lot of sense. I've always thought that a lot of archaeologists don't give native peoples enough credit in the brains department. Sometimes, the simplest explanation is too simple to be realistic where humans are concerned.
Speaking of which, are you interested in the debate as to how early people got to the Americas? Dennis Stanford et. al. have a new book out – PaleoAmerican Origins: Beyond Clovis. I've asked my library to order a copy so I haven't read it yet, but I'm assuming that Stanford talks about the evidence for paleo folks coming over the Atlantic. Should be an amazing read.
Oops, not so new – 2006. I've been out of the game for a bit.
Jo, I remember reading something about that a while ago–and nodding in agreement.