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All About Mint: From Ancient Greek Lore to Your Summer Garden

Categories Grow It, Home, Kitchen Witchin', Punk Rock Plant Stories, Uncategorized, , , , , ,

I don’t need to convince you that mint is a special plant in cultures all over the world — you’ve likely tried a dozen different dishes from as many cultures which use this powerful garden herb. From Moroccan teas and Indian chutneys and salads, to Southern mint juleps and Cuban mojitos, mint shows up again and again.

But did you know mint was also used in ancient Greek funerary rites along with other fragrant herbs like rosemary and myrtle? It’s still used for similar purposes today it would seem, as the tradition of ritual lament by professional mourners (moirologists) continues in Mani, Greece. As if all that wasn’t enough, our humble garden mint has a saucy origin story involving your girl’s number one right-hand goddess, Persephone.

Hylas and the Water Nymphs, Henriette Rae (circa 1909)

According to the myth, Minthe was a Naiad nymph who presided over the River Cocytus in the Underworld. She tried to seduce Hades and/or Hades became smitten with her. Minthe began to think herself superior to Persephone, Queen of the Underworld and wife to Hades. Once Persephone caught wind of the flirtation, either by Minthe’s own tongue or another’s, she turned the nymph into the garden herb we know as mint today.

Mint was also an important hallucinatory ingredient in the ancient Greek drink kykeon, which participants in the Eleusinian Mysteries drank at the height of the experience. I’ll be diving into this trippy ancient ritual in the next post, which you’ll definitely want to check out. But for now, let’s explore how you can care for a small mint plant in the 21st century.

Getting Started with Mint

See if you can spot my little grasshopper friend…

Mint is a really great homegrown herb because there are so many varieties to try, and you can add it to everything from cocktails and fruit salad to marinades and tea. You can sooth an upset stomach with mint, just as you can relieve the acute pain of a bee sting. True story, my babysitter carried me into the house and put toothpaste on a bee sting I got on the back of my thigh after sitting on a bee resting on our tree swing. Nowadays, I welcome the little bees when they come to visit, and mint is one of my go-to herbs for my home container garden.

Be warned, however, that mint will go rogue if you let it! If you don’t have a well-contained and well-tended garden space, I’d urge you to grow your mint in a container. Mint spreads horizontally, and will send out “runners,” which are side shoots or stems that take root as the plant spreads outwards. It’s wild to see the runners start crawling around the sides of your container like alien plant tentacles.

Specialty Mints: Apple and Mojito

The great mojito and apple mint container of 2018

Last year, I fell in love with mojito mint, which is a Cuban variety that’s been bred to smell just like a mojito — lime, sugar, mint, and all! It’s pretty delicious, and it’s a fun Wonka-like addition to a home herbal garden. There are lots of recipes for mojito marinade online, but you could customize your own mix for any grilled meat or fish entree with some citrus, garlic, herbs, and this particular mint.

I also grew apple mint last year, which is a fuzzy mint with soft, felt-like leaves. Apple mint grows quite tall, so your container will have some height once the season gets underway. I wasn’t as keen on putting the apple mint into fresh recipes, but I did use it to make an apple cider vinegar-based facial toner for my acne-prone skin. My partner says it makes my face smell like feet though, so mix at your own risk.

Speciality Mints: Orange and Chocolate

Orange mint taking off!

This year, I opted for a lush orange mint plant at the garden center in lieu of others I’ve tried in seasons past. Orange mint is exactly what it sounds like — a lovely mint with a punchy citrus scent. I let it get a little out of control in the pot, so the other day I cut a bunch of the longer stems and stored the trimmed pieces in a Tupperware container. They’re still looking good in the fridge, so the plan is to make an orange mint-infused vinegar.

I’m 90% sure the second mint I’m growing this year is chocolate mint. However, if you have any thoughts to the contrary based on this photo, please let me know! This mint has a gorgeous deep green color and chocolate brown stems, apropos of the name. My neighbor dug up a section from her friend’s garden and gifted it to me, which is what I have in this little pot. It doesn’t look like much, but this particular guy is super potent. A little will stretch far enough for my purposes, and because of how strong it is, I think I’ll dry whatever’s left for tea near the end of the season.

Pollinator-Friendly: Mountain Mint

May 2019

Chocolate mint’s not the only thing my neighbor dug up and brought back home for us to share. She also gifted me a hunk of grassy dirt with some greenery and dead stalks, which looked vaguely like something I should try to keep alive. It was mountain mint! Mountain mints are native to North America, and the short-toothed or blunt mountain mint that I have is native to Eastern North America. Once the summer really got underway, the mountain mint blossomed. The plant now has silvery white leaves that look almost frosted, which give off a cool fairy vibe along with its tiny lavender flowers. Needless to say, I am into it.

Early August 2019

Mountain mints are excellent for attracting pollinators, especially bees. I recently stopped into the NJ-NY Trail Conference office to check out some maps, and it was awesome to find the whole front of the building planted with mountain mint and literally buzzing with pollinator activity. Mountain mint is often featured on lists of best pollinator-friendly plants, and it was awarded Plant of the Year in 2018 by my own former employer! It’s also deer-resistant, which makes it a great choice for suburban gardens.

Dozens of bees buzzing around the mountain mint bushes
outside the NY-NJ Trail Conference Headquarters

How Do You Like to Enjoy Mint?

I’m trying to take advantage of the abundant fresh mint I have at this moment, because really, now’s the time to let it marry with all the heightened flavors of ripe peaches, strawberries, and watermelon. As I mentioned earlier, one way I’m hoping to keep the freshness of summer alive is by making an orange mint-infused vinegar to drizzle on salads.

Even if you prefer to simply let your mint grow for the visual pleasure of it in your garden, try thinking about Minthe and the water nymphs and all the ways that people before you have treasured and made use of this special plant. How do you like to prepare mint? Let me know!

Roses and Hops and Unicorns, Oh My! Midsummer Magic in New York City

Categories Home, Kitchen Witchin', Punk Rock Plant Stories, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , ,
Potted fruit and herb trees, along with deadly oleander, line a wall of the
Bonnefont Herb Garden at The Met Cloisters (Fort Tryon Park, NYC)

Hey friends, did you know there’s a collection of medieval gardens, courtyards, and unicorn art just north of Washington Heights in Manhattan? Yes, motherfuckin’ unicorns. If Europe’s not in the budget, then The Met Cloisters at Fort Tryon Park is the best alternative for a Saturday staycation.

If you’re a New York resident, you can pay whatever you want for admission instead of the standard $20.00. There are also several different tours, including a daily afternoon Garden Tour, which are all free with admission. Parking is even free!

First Stop – The Judy Black Garden in the Cuxa Cloister

Jewel tone sweet pea flowers

From the main entrance, the first garden you’ll come upon as you wind your way around is the Judy Black Garden in the Cuxa Cloister. The Cuxa Cloister (built with stone from the 12th century Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa), is reconstructed at about a third of its original size and is filled with reimagined medieval magic.

Though I wandered the gardens earlier in the afternoon, I stuck around for the guided tour to get the real dirt. The Cuxa garden is divided into four quadrants, each with an ornamental crab apple tree planted in the corners. Fun fact: I’m 90% sure our guide said it was Albertus Magnus who recommended planting trees a healthy distance apart, not because it’s good for their growing roots, but because spiders will otherwise weave their webs between trees that are too close, and that is annoying.

Daily garden tour, free with admission

In addition to strewing herbs like lavender, you can find plants with historical magical significance, such as lady’s mantle and foxglove. Lady’s mantle leaves are covered in fine hairs, which causes water to bead on the surface. Apparently this was enough for certain medieval folks to deduce that lady’s mantle was an alchemical plant, and therefore magical. Similarly, the doctrine of signatures dictated that plants resembling certain body parts should be used to treat said body part, a not-so-scientific, but also kind of logical approach to healthcare.

Roses (and fuzzy bees) in the Cuxa Cloister garden

Once we reached the roses, our guide explained that their popularity waned for a time because the Catholic Church didn’t approve of them, associating this particular flower with the excesses of the Roman Empire. However, the rose came back into vogue as Crusaders traveled East and returned to Europe, bringing with them a renewed appreciation for the plant which we haven’t shaken since. Because roses set fruit in the fall, rose hips were, and still are, also used medicinally.

Next Up, the Saint-Guilhem Cloister

This interior cloister feels the most like a Game of Thrones set piece to me, though it’s the smallest with only sparse greenery, mostly potted palms. It’s bright and ascetic, and I can just imagine the Sand Snakes (the bad bitches from the books, not the show) plotting some revenge in this mini Dornish courtyard.

According to the info placard, the French monastery from which this cloister came was called Saint-Guilhem-le-Desert, founded in 804 AD by a member of Charlemagne’s court amidst a landscape of waterfalls and gorges. The monastery was a popular pilgrimage site on the road to further religious destinations in northern Spain, and the columns surrounding the space feature designs of ancient Roman leaf types and vining plants, including hops.

The Magical Bonnefont Herb Garden and Cloister

Cascading hop vines in my favorite of the Cloisters gardens

My absolute favorite is the Bonnefont Herb Garden and Cloister, which is located next to the small cafe and more wild-planted Trie Garden. After you grab lunch and a drink (maybe a cold beer or hot tea depending on the time of year), you’ll move to the largest garden featuring raised beds dedicated to different medieval purposes, such as magic, medicine, love and fertility, and arts and crafts.

I’m bummed the apothecary display wasn’t open during this visit, but it’s definitely worth asking about! A couple years ago I was able to get a list of all of the plants in the Bonnefont garden for the 2017 seasons, which is still a great personal reference sheet to have. See the gallery below for a photo of part of the apothecary display.

Raised beds representing plants used for different medieval purposes,
such as magic, medicine, love/fertility, or in crafts

Lastly, hops are one of my favorite plants, and not just because they’re a key ingredient in beer (also a magical substance). Hop buds are beautiful, and cascading walls of hop vines and tendrils make me so happy. Hops feature heavily in the Cloister gardens, with designs carved into columns, canopies growing in the Bonnefont garden, and 16th century instructional texts about growing hops in very old English on display inside the museum.

Unicorns, Fuck Yeah!

Moving back inside the museum, what would a trip to the Cloisters be without stopping to visit the famed unicorn tapestries? I may have to do a separate post to dive deeper into the badass botanical/Biblical symbolism and artistry in these tapestries. But for now, here are some highlights I gleaned from our tour guide:

  • According to myth, a unicorn’s horn could purify a water source if/when the Devil poisons the water overnight in the form of a serpent.
  • People at the time thought they were purchasing unicorn horn for healing, but really they were getting pieces of narwhal tusk.
  • Botanists from the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) were able to identify 101 unique plants in the tapestries, and were able to name 84 of these plants.
  • There’s a hell of a lot of Christ/crown of thorns and Virgin Mary plant imagery, including Irises a.k.a. Sword lilies a.k.a. Sorrows of the Virgin (dope).
  • The patron who commissioned the seven tapestries (initialed A.E.) has never been identified and remains a mystery for historians.
‘The Unicorn in Captivity’ tapestry at The Cloisters [Public domain]

Until Next Time…

Whether you’re a local or visitor to New York, The Met Cloisters is an easy-to-get-to destination for a faux European afternoon of garden life and people watching. One of the best pieces I overheard was a little boy explaining all the plants to family, including the “Frankenstein” plant (a.k.a. frankincense). I’ll certainly be back in the Fall with a book or magazine, and I hope you can take the time for yourself too. You deserve it.

  • All photos by Paige Trubatch

Bombs for Butterflies: Make Milkweed Seed Bombs in Time for Fall Planting

Categories DIY, Grow It, Home, Uncategorized, , , , , ,

Seed bombs have been a favorite craft of amateur gardeners (and their small children) for a long time now, and I’ve always loved the idea of guerrilla gardening. The romantic notion of tossing homemade wildflower “bombs” into unloved lots and along roadways…what’s not to love?

I finally decided to make my own milkweed seed bombs, but I needed to confront my own skepticism. You see, I don’t want to be skeptical about the true effectiveness of seed bombs, but a golf ball-sized ball of hard-as-rock clay just doesn’t seem like a great way to germinate seeds that’ll grow into beautiful wildflowers. And I’m not the only one!

But with some extra research beforehand and a few instinctual tweaks to the myriad recipes I found online, I’ve made about two dozen milkweed seed bombs that I’m optimistic will grow into lively plants for my local pollinators come next Spring.

What You’ll Need:

  • Rich compost
  • Clay (air dry, powdered, or natural from your area). If using natural clay from your area, make sure it’s free of any possible pests.
  • Swamp milkweed seeds*
  • Muslin or burlap sachet for storage or gift-giving

*When choosing seeds, be sure to do your research and find out what’s native to your region. If you plan to use your seed bombs outside the confines of your own garden, or if you’re making a gift, always go with native varieties! I’m in New York State, and so I know to go with swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) seeds, which are native to the Northeast.

Step One: Mix the Clay into Your Compost

Not gonna lie, this first step was a pain. I chose to use an air-dry modeling clay instead of powdered clay, so breaking it into smaller bits to mix into the compost was really hard on my wrist. If I were to do this project again, I’d try to find some powdered clay, which you’d then mix in with your compost and a bit of water to form the seed bombs.

For my purposes this first time, I found that lots of folks recommend not following recipes that call for much more clay than soil. Though my seed bombs did end up being mostly clay, I was careful to only mix in small amounts of clay at a time, kneading the mixture like a bread dough to incorporate as much compost as possible. Once I had a crumbly consistency I was happy with, I moved on to forming the bombs.

Step Two: Form Small, Dime-Sized Bombs

Most seed bomb recipes will tell you to form your mixture into golf ball-sized bombs. While this may sound reasonable, bigger does not always equal better! In my research, I found some great advice to make your seed bombs smaller — about dime-sized — for more effective germination and a greater likelihood of success.

In forming my dime-sized bombs of clay and compost, I tried to incorporate as much soil as I could. Though they did end up being mostly clay due to the nature of the particular modeling clay I chose, I think the smaller size will help to break down the materials faster and more uniformly when the time comes for the seeds to germinate and sprout in the garden. We’ll see what happens, and I’ll keep you posted!

Step Three: Press the Milkweed Seeds into the Compost/Clay Bombs

I chose to first mix all of my compost and clay bombs before adding the milkweed seeds, which may (or may not) have been a wise choice. On the one hand, if your seeds need light to germinate, you don’t want them buried in the middle of your seed bomb. To me, if I’m making much smaller seed bombs with the goal of having them incorporate into the soil easier, then having more exposure to sunlight is a good thing. It was difficult, however, to fold them into the sides of the bombs that had already started to harden.

I eventually got the hang out of it by using my nail to cut a slice in the side and sticking a milkweed seed in there, making sure to close it up around the seed as much as I could. I also didn’t anticipate the seeds being so large and flat. Full of surprises, this project!

Each seed bomb ended up with between 1-3 milkweed seeds, which worked out perfectly for the number of seeds I had between two packets and the number of compost/clay bombs I had made earlier.

Step Four: Leave to Dry at Least 24 Hours

Whether you use dry clay mixed with water or a wet clay like I did, you’ll need to let your fresh seed bombs air dry for at least 24 hours. This should be enough time if you make smaller bombs, but if yours are larger, you’ll need closer to 36 hours for them to dry.

In the meantime, pour yourself a glass of rose in your favorite fancy glass and pick up a breezy summer reading book (I’m making my way through Joyland by Stephen King), or dive into Season 3 of Stranger Things. Relax! It’s hot AF outside right now.

Step Five: Put Together as a Gift or Store for Later

At long last, your final step is to store your milkweed seed bombs in a cool, dry place until you’re ready to throw them. Because I planned to gift about half of my seed bombs, I picked up a packet of two attractive burlap sachets at AC Moore when I bought my modeling clay. You could also use a muslin spice sachet, but do think about how much loose soil you’ll have, and if it’ll come through the fabric you’d like to use.

I put together a little planter gift basket for a fellow gardener as part of a surprise bachelorette brunch a friend organized this past weekend, and I know these milkweed seed bombs have found a good home! Because it’s already mid-summer, I chose a few different seed varieties that can be planted in late summer or early Fall to accompany the seed bomb sachet.

Milkweed seeds are perfect for this collection because they too should be planted into the Fall, to then bloom in the Spring. They need a cold, wet period to stratify and aid in germination, so mid to late summer is the perfect time to spend some time crafting milkweed seed bombs. All together, it makes for an inexpensive, yet elegant gift that I’m sure the gardener in your life would also love.

Final Thoughts

Though I was skeptical at first and some steps ended up being tougher on my hands and wrist than I anticipated, I’m glad I did my research beforehand, and that I followed through with this project I’ve wanted to try for a long time. You can make seed bombs with other wildflower varieties, and with some experimentation, I’m sure it can become a fun ritual to look forward to each year.

Just keep in mind your soil to clay ratios, the number of seeds in each bomb, the size of your seed bombs, and where you’re tossing them for your greatest chance of success. Bringing milkweed back to our butterfly populations is for sure a worthy endeavor, and why not have some fun with it? Bombs away, bitches!

Lemony Fresh Herbs for Your Summer Solstice Mood

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With summertime officially in full swing, I’ve been feeling extra grateful for the lemon-y scented herbs in my garden and the liveliness they bring to the table. With today being the summer solstice, now is the perfect time to learn how you can incorporate the delicate herbal and citrus flavors of summer into your day-to-day, while they’re fresh and bright.

Solstices are also a good time to reflect on how people have appreciated the same plants you have in your garden for hundreds (or thousands) of years, and meditating on those connections as you tend to your garden is an awesome and powerful feeling. Here are three of my favorite lemon-scented herbs that are now staples of my garden, and how I enjoy them.

Lemon Balm, Melissa officinalis

Lemon balm is a gorgeous leafy green herb native to the Mediterranean, southern Europe, Iran, and central Asia, known for its sedative and soothing properties since ancient times. You may also see lemon balm referred to as bee balm or melissa, which is the Greek word for “honeybee.” When used as an herbal medicine in things like teas, tinctures, and salves, lemon balm works as a mild, calming sedative to reduce anxiety and insomnia, and can help treat wounds when applied topically. In researching the historical legacy of lemon balm, I found that it was a sacred herb used in the ancient Greek temples of Artemis/Diana, which is enough of a reason to plant it for me! Later on, the 12th century herbalist and nun Saint Hildegarde von Bingen said “Lemon balm contains within it the virtues of a dozen other plants.” More on Hildy another day, for sure.

Lemon balm plants can be started from seed indoors in the late winter, and then set out as transplants into larger pots once the danger of freezing has passed. I tried direct sowing seeds outside last year, but the seedlings never made it past the super cute little leafy stage. This year, I picked up a six-cell windowsill tray (Jiffy brand) at Home Deport and got going in early March. I highly recommend this method if you’ve got limited space and limited time to devote to getting a seed starting mix just right.

Last year, a friend gifted me a large jar of lemon balm tincture made with homegrown plants, which I strained into brown glass bottles for longterm storage. This year, I’ll experiment with making topical salves for skin irritations, and adding the crushed leaves fresh to drinks and various salads.

Lemon Thyme, Thymus citriodorus

I feel like I didn’t give thyme the appreciation it deserves until last year, so should out to thyme, you go thyme! Native to the Mediterranean, lemon thyme is super chill and just does its thing as part of a container garden, not really causing any fuss as a shrubby herb. It lasts longer into the fall than most of my other herbs, so you get more out of the fresh stuff as the cooler months come on. Lemon thyme is fluffy and fragrant, and I like to add a few sprigs or rough chop to release the oils when cooking summer pastas or fish.

This year, I picked up Silver Queen lemon thyme to grow alongside my other plant in the same container. I love the contrasting shades of green and grey (silver), plus the pale purple stems of the Silver Queen. And with a name like that, I had to take her home with me!

Lemon thyme is also a powerful medicinal herb with antiseptic properties, if you’ve done your research and know how it may affect you. I’ve made lemon thyme tea from fresh sprigs when my partner was having some late evening tooth pain or a sore throat and we didn’t have anything else to help, and I’ve just recently plucked a piece to chew on when I had a small cut in my lip. Thymol is one of the primary components of Listerine, after all!

Though there’s been much confusion about whether or not lemon thyme is simply another type of thyme, it is in fact its own species. More on common thyme in another post, because that one has badass folkloric connections with courage, temple smoke cleansing, and fairies.

Lemon Verbena, Aloysia citrodora

Lemon verbena plant I picked up from a local farmer’s market, and a tincture I started using cut up leaves.

Fresh lemon verbena straight up smells like summertime Italian ices, and I love it. The nostalgia factor is real. Lemon verbena has historical been used by the perfume and fragrance industry, though it’s also a popular flavoring for marinades and in baking. Native to South America, lemon verbena was brought back to Europe by colonizers in the 17th century, where they began to cultivate it for its oil.

Lemon verbena is a pretty common ingredient in herbal tea blends, but so far, my only experiment has been to make a tincture with fresh, roughly cut-up leaves. If you’re a fan of making mixed drinks and cocktails at home, lemon verbena is also your friend. I imagine lemon verbena would work well in a gin and rosemary cocktail, so if anyone wants to give it a go, you know where to find me!

Lemon balm started from seed with Truelove Seeds

Because I rarely pick up lemons or lemon juice when I’m grocery shopping (go team limes!), having a couple different types of lemony herbs on hand is super satisfying. Whether it’s making a DIY witchy mouthwash, brewing a healing tea, cooking, or simply shoving your face in the pot for an instant mood boost (no judgement here), lemon-scented herbs are how I’m choosing to welcome the summer solstice and longest day of the year.

To end on a sweet note, adding a few sprigs of dried lemon thyme, balm, or verbena to a small jar of honey makes for a quick, thoughtful gift any time of the year. Letting the herbs infuse into the honey helps develop a mellow lemony flavor. You should turn over the jar everyday for at least a few days to ensure the plant material stays coated. For safety reasons, it’s important that the plant material be completely dried. But this just means you can turn your house into the apothecary of your dreams, hang drying bunches of fragrant, beautiful herbs and flowers. Happy solstice, my dears.

Plants for the After Hours or Beginner Gardener: 6 Veggies and Herbs to Try First

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A couple years ago, I saw a gift pack of seeds for the 9-5 gardener on the Hudson Valley Seed Co. website, and I thought this was brilliant. I was, and still am, a home gardener with a pesky day job during the hours of 9-5, and I loved the idea of a curated collection of plants that office folks like me could still take care of before and after work.

A friend told me she’s interested in learning more about low maintenance plants, as she doesn’t consider herself a gardener (yet!), and I have been eyeballs-deep in conference planning at work. And so, I present to you my top six self-sufficient, low maintenance garden herbs and veggies.

1. Chives

My neighbor Sue gifted me a dug-up bunch of her garden chives when we moved into our current place, and they’re always the first green I see in the early springtime. They’re so resilient and will come back to life on their own, when they know the time is right. I’ve left my small pot of chives under the deck, forgotten over winter, and when I go to retrieve it, the shaggy green stalks are as vibrant and soft as ever. Seriously, you don’t have to do anything! I call pruning and cleaning up the chives in spring “giving them a haircut.” After a long winter, taking the time to comb through your chives and remove any dead and frizzy pieces is an awesome meditation to get you ready for the season ahead.

Did you know the delicate purple flowers are also edible? They add a subtle onion flavor and splash of wild (or sophisticated) color to a salad or dish as a garnish sprinkled on top. Because I’m a container gardener with limited space and only one small pot of chives, I further pick the flower down to it’s individual little blooms within the whole head to get the most out of my small supply. The fresh stalks are perfect snipped into pieces for a salad, again, for a delicate onion flavor, or added to cream cheese in smaller pieces.

2. Beans

Bush beans are one of my favorite “set it and forget it” veggies to grow, and the flowers they produce are beautiful too. I’ve only just begun trying to grow flowers from seed, so beans have been a two-fer I really love.

Different types of beans will produce different colored flowers, and for the past couple seasons I’ve planted an organic tri-color bean blend from Hudson Valley Seed Co.. The photo above is for the familiar green bean, but there are gorgeous jewel-toned purple beans (and flowers) in that mix too. This is another way to incorporate a variety of flowers and colors in your garden without having to work with too many separate plants.

Bush beans don’t require a trellis or support structure because they will only grow to a smaller, “determinate” height, unlike climbing pole beans. Bush beans are the better choice if you don’t have the space for taller plants, or if you don’t want to bother with the additional supplies and maintenance. Once beans get going, you really need to check between the stalks and leaves for mature beans everyday. I’ve definitely left some on the plant too long, and after a point they just become inedible. Beans also need to be harvested frequently to keep up production, which can feel counter-intuitive to the new gardener. If you only have a few plants, you kind of want to keep the veggies on there! But frequent picking will yield bigger harvests, trust me.

3. Cucumbers

Cucumbers are so fun to watch grow, as they go from cute little spike-covered miniatures to the recognizable cucumber you know from the store. Cucumbers do require a support structure, but they’re still quite low maintenance and very satisfying to have in the garden. I direct sow cucumber seeds right into my pots or raised bed with the support structure in place, and they take off on their own. You can use a large tomato cage, three or four bamboo stakes tied together (my current setup), or an A-frame trellis, as pictured above, is you have a raised bed or larger space.

Cucumber flowers are beautiful, and they add a pop of bright yellow to your space. Once the fruit starts growing, you’ll need to check in on them to guide a tendril around your supports or otherwise help it out. Cucumber plants produce abundantly once they get going, and again, it’s important to check between the large leaves for growing cukes you might otherwise miss. You also need to pick these guys frequently for a continual harvest for snacking, salads, and pickles. You’ll know a cucumber is ready to pick once the little spikes fall off easily if you run your finger along the skin. If it’s still prickly, give it a couple more days and check again.

4. Jalepeños

Of all the different hot peppers I’ve grown over the last five years, jalepeños have proven to be the most versatile and low maintenance. We love spice in my house. What’s great about growing your peppers is that you can watch them change color everyday and pick them when they’re at your desired level of heat. Jalepeños work well in so many dishes, and they’re another “set it and forget it” plant I’d recommend you try when starting out.

These peppers don’t require a huge pot, but they do need some room and depth for their roots to grow. Complicated support structures aren’t necessary, but it’s helpful to have a stake in the center of your pot to help your pepper plant stay upright once it starts producing fruit. You can also do what I’ve done, and simply prop the pot against the side of your house. The lazy gardener’s way!

Jalepeño plants have small white flowers, and they produce in abundance at the height of the season in summertime. They love hot weather and you’ll have plenty of mild to hot peppers to use in cooking with your other fresh veggies and herbs this time of year. I like to prepare a lot of curries and different salsas. Being able to pick peppers right in the yard, rather than having to run to the store after work, has saved me more than a few times when a dish needed an extra kick or another layer of flavor.

5. Basil

A pot of basil is great for sticking your face into, but also for pizzas, pastas, and fresh caprese salads. I feel like most casual gardeners have at some point had a basil plant or two, and they’re a great starter plant. Pinching the stems at the right point (right above where two leaves are growing opposite each other) will help train the plant to grow bushier. This way, you can easily turn a couple of plants into a full pot’s worth of basil. Basil is an ideal herb to grow if you live with small humans in particular, because you can enlist their help to pick the leaves for a pizza making party.

While I think folks in my region (NY/NJ) are most familiar with traditional Italian-style basils such as Genovese, there’s a whole world of beautiful basils out there to try! The pot pictured above is Greek Basil, which is perfect for very small spaces as a compact plant. I’ve also started growing Holy basil (Kapoor Tulsi) for the first time this year. If you love Thai food, cinnamon basil or Thai basil, with its slightly anise or licorice flavor, have beautiful purple flowers and stems to add another hint of color.

6. Tomatoes

While I do think tomatoes require a bit more care and attention, I’m including them here because they’re very often a gateway veggie for beginner gardeners. There’s so much information out there about growing tomatoes for the first time, and you can certainly buy a pre-potted plant with a small built-in tomato cage from your local garden center. With a little preparation, tomatoes can be a low maintenance veggie to accompany all that basil you’re growing!

If you’re just starting out, I recommend planting a determinate variety tomato. This means that they’ll only grow to a certain height, which is shorter and much more manageable for pruning and supporting than those which grow tall. his means they also make for great small space or patio plants. The Sungold cherry tomatoes I grow are by far my favorite, but they reach quite tall and can become difficult to work with in my small space. T

Tomatoes are ready to pick when they’re a vibrant color and when you can snap the stem part right above the fruit at the joint. You’ll notice a little connector joint in the photo below, right where the stem bends above the fruit. Picking the tomatoes at this point, whether they’re tiny cherries or larger tomatoes, will help keep them fresh in your kitchen for longer.

Whether you’re just starting out as a home gardener, or your job and other obligations don’t allow for long stretches of daylight hours to care for your plant babes, there are lots of easy-to-grow and low maintenance plants to fill your space. These are some of my favorites, but they’re by no means the only ones! Depending on the time of year, you can grow various greens or other herbs, all of which we’ll explore in future posts as we move through the season together.