Building a Raised Herb Garden

I’ve always wanted an herb garden. We plant a huge garden every year, but Farmer Doc is mostly in charge of that. By the time I think about putting an herb section, the whole thing is planned, claimed, and planted. (If I thought ahead and asked, I’d get an herb section. But I don’t.)

I’ve tried a container herb garden inside. That didn’t go well. So I had a plan for this spring! I thought ahead of gardening season… So far ahead, that I decided I wanted my own raised herb garden, close to the kitchen.

Pineapple moment of truth

We brought back some Maui Gold pineapples from our trip to Hawaii in January. Farmer Doc wanted to try his hand at pineapple farming, so we planted the tops of four of the plants. Only two have made it so far. They did okay living on a table inside at the temporary apartment during our home remodel. Then the lived on the back porch at our new house. And they loved it there this summer! I think they’re well on track to start looking like the ones I saw at the State Fair anytime now…

Gardening at the State Fair

I didn’t have too much time to actually see the state fair during the 3 days I spent there last week. I did make some time to get out and see my favorite parts like the butterfly garden and the FFA building.

This year, I saw an exhibit I don’t remember visiting before – the Master Gardener’s exhibit.


I loved the sign at the entrance to the greenhouse – “Food Begins Here!”

It’s hard to garden in a drought

Our garden goes in late every year. This means that while our friends have zucchini and cucumbers already, we barely have plants above the ground. This also means that when everyone is out of fresh tomatoes in September, we’ll still be growing strong!


The nice thing about not a lot of rain? There’s not a lot of weeds! Of course, it’s hard on the plants we want to keep around, so I guess I would prefer some rain now and then…

We plant a combination of seeds and plants. This dry weather has been really hard on our garden. I’ve been going out about every other day to water the plants, but I just can’t keep up with the rows of seeds. They’re sort of on their own.

Most of the tomato plants are doing pretty well. I’ve not given up hope yet!

Pineapple farmers

On our trip to Hawaii, we drove past a pineapple farm. Hubby Doc thought that was one of the coolest things. We also ate tons of Maui Gold pineapple.

Oh. My. Goodness.

Pineapple in Hawaii is not the same as pineapple in Indiana. Hawaii does not export any pineapple, except for what people like me bring back on the plane or personally order to be shipped to the mainland. None of the pineapple in the grocery stores comes from Hawaii. If you were looking for a reason to go to Hawaii, go to try the pineapple. You don’t need another reason.

Garden party

Last weekend, District 9 of the Indiana Farm Bureau held a spring meeting at Family Roots Nursery in Dale, IN. It was a chilly, rainy day, but we had a blast inside the greenhouse!

Aaron and Andrea Peters, the owners, took care of most of the details for the day, and we all had a blast! Because we couldn’t really do much outside, they cleared a large area in the middle of the greenhouse, and we were able to have all our sessions and even lunch inside! What a neat atmosphere!

We got a behind-the-scenes tour of how their operation works.

We learned about their irrigation and fertilizer systems.

And talked about where their plants come from (most are started on their farm in Illinois, and then shipped to the greenhouse in Indiana when they are close to ready for sale).

Aaron told us about the types of plants that Thomas and Abraham Lincoln planted in their gardens and on their farms. Lots of the plants and crops we use today can be traced back to that farm!

(He gets a little passionate about that subject.)

Andrea told us about container gardening.

And she made it look so easy! She even convinced me to bring home things for a container herb garden of my own. And, of course, I played with my new camera.

There was so much inspiration, it was hard to keep my hands off the shutter!

It made me ready for spring!!

Look! A pineapple! (Did you know that in this climate it takes almost six years for a single fruit to grow to maturity? No wonder we don’t grow pineapples in Indiana! And see, I learned something on this trip, too!)I really wish I had a green thumb… Maybe my flower gardens will magically look pretty this year? Or maybe I’ll head back to Family Roots Nursery for one of their free Saturday seminars to get help…

Yes, that’s probably smarter than waiting on magic.BTW, all these photos are straight out of the camera (SOOC). Have I mentioned that I am in love?