advice wanted: kitchen window herb garden

[redbird]

I'd been thinking of growing some vegetables this year. When we moved in, I got the landlord's approval to get some outside planters, put them on a bit of pavement behind the house, and grow cucumbers or tomatoes.

That's looking less feasible, between the social distancing and not having a car, but I think we could put in the kitchen window herb garden cattitude and I were also talking about. I need either one of those herb garden kits I'm seeing online, or pots (probably), soil, and of course the seeds. Does anyone have recommendations, either "get this" or "don't get that"?

That probably means mail ordering, under the circumstances, though there's a hardware store in walking distance, once I'm done with this round of self-distancing. (In a normal year, I'd be calling Pemberton Farms and asking do they carry the things I need, but it takes two buses to get there from here.) Thus, I'm also looking for suggestions about places to order from, either by mail or a store that will deliver locally, where "locally" is Belmont, Mass. Not Amazon, not while the workers are on strike/talking about a strike.

One thing about the pandemic is that not having a car, nor even a driver's license, is a problem rather than an inconvenience. Having carefully found an apartment in easy walking distance of a good bus line (what the MBTA call a "key bus route") doesn't help much when we're being told to avoid taking buses if possible.

Comments

[jenett]

I just put in an order at Burpee.com - I don't have a cat-safe place to start seedlings, but they will deliver when the timing is appropriate (c. end of April here). Normally I'd go to Mahoney's.

I did three varieties of tomatoes, plus herbs.

I have EarthBoxes for my containers. I had issues last year (my first year in this apartment) because it's shadier than it looked, so this year trying more shade-friendly varieties.

[anne]

I have a car, and I'd be happy to take you places when that's possible. It's a Corolla, but it wants to be a TARDIS when it grows up.

[redbird]

Yes, thank you, and I will be in touch. How are you doing otherwise?

[anne]

I need to make a grocery run, but aside from that I'm doing pretty well.

[minoanmiss]

I just saw this on Serious Eats: https://www.seriouseats.com/2020/03/aerogarden.html

[watersword]

I extremely hear you on the sudden problem of not having a car or a license. My life is optimized to require neither, except my life no longer functions as expected.

[minnehaha]

Do you not use Uber/Lyft?

I recommend calling the hardware store and asking if they are planning to offer bedding plants, and buying plants that someone else has started. You'll have much better luck. If you want to grow seeds into something, the most satisfying thing is to grow your own sprouts in a jar in the cupboard.

If you really wish to grow potted herbs in the window from seed, try cilantro, perilla, chives. Those are all very robust. Parsley?

For one option, TAGS in Porter Sq. delivers, though I don't know about bedding plants. Surely they will have peat pots, potting soil. and seeds.

K.

[redbird]

In general, I use Lyft when necessary, but in terms of minimizing contact with other people, the 73 bus might actually be better. It's not like I'm short on time.

Alas, some of the relevant things are specifically flagged on the TAGS website as not eligible for home delivery.

[minnehaha]

Re TAGS: Yeah, OK. I can't say if it is worth it to call and double check, but I can say that if I were in your position, I absolutely would call.

K.

[carbonel]

I have used Lyft/Uber a couple of times to do remote delivery. Once it was something that needed to be picked up in Boston and taken to Cambridge (while I was in Minneapolis), and the other time it was picking up an object in Chicago and bringing it to me.

Both times, I wrote a note to clarify what was needed, and it happened without difficulty. So that might be an option for you. And the driver might appreciate the chance to have a fare with minimal human contact.

In Minneapolis, there's a courier service called Street Fleet that I use for local deliveries, but there wasn't anything like that in Boston the last time I looked.

[bibliofile]

ETA: Don't cab companies also do delivery, sometimes?

I was thinking this same thing (growing herbs in a window), though I'd been thinking more about buying started plants at the natural foods co-op. I also live 3/4 mile from an excellent garden center, so I have fewer logistical problems.

[carbonel]

It's true that cab companies do deliveries. I had to arrange some of those back in the dark ages when I was working as an office temp (back in the 1980s).

But the Uber/Lyft infrastructure makes unattended deliveries so much easier, because you know what the price is going to be when you set up the trip, and you don't have to worry about payment afterwards, because the credit card is already part of the account. None of which is true of conventional taxi companies.

[pinesandmaples]

I have a favorite seed company that is almost exclusively mail-order! I get lost for hours in their catalogue, just enjoying the diversity of what's there.

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds! www.rareseeds.com

You did ask for herb suggestions; but if you wanted to grow some wee veggies, things like petite radish varieties and Parisienne carrots are so small and round and sweet that they fit well in a window box or container.

[redbird]

Hm. I was on their list for a while, when I had an actual garden (a few years ago). I had been thinking that vegetable seeds weren't practical, given how the cats treated seedlings when I tried starting plants indoors then, but I will look for things that might work in a container, started outdoors.