Create a container garden on my porch

The cilantro died in the last 90 degree heatwave. That’s three plants that I’ve killed this summer. Ah, well. Maybe next year.

So, today I was going to start over, go to Safeway and buy one of those large pots with already established herbs. I figured when the birds came to eat those, at least there would be some left for me.

I’ve been neglecting the plants on the balcony, because it’s been oddly overcast for summer, and there’s been quite a bit of rain. I figure the eaten basil plant and the sage plant are pretty much done for.

I went out to the dead basil pot, and it was pretty gross (just as I was expecting). The sage doesn’t show any signs of being better or worse than it was when I left it two weeks ago.

But as I considered the parsley and cilantro that I started two weeks ago - way too late for any kind of summer harvest, I saw… a flash of green?

Is it cilantro? Is it parsley? Is it a random weed that floated onto my balcony. I’m not sure. But here’s the pictorial evidence. I’m not sure what to do about it, since it seems to be doing just fine in my neglect.

The tiny basil plant that my green thumb friend may not last the week. Something has been nibbling at it. I noticed a few missing leaves over the weekend. And then whatever it was took most of the leaves after I put the plant up in a flower box so it could get more sun. Ah, well. Let’s see how hardy these roots are.

The drying/dying sage plant has also been put in the flower box because I realized it hasn’t been getting as much sun as I thought. Let’s see how long I can leave it there before someone in the apartment building starts to complain about the dead plant on the balcony.

I asked my green thumb friend to purchase a basil plant for me at the local high school horticulture sale. She did, and gave me an old clay pot, as well. The basil is about an inch tall, but I hear it’s pretty idiot proof. But one should never underestimate the idiot.

Every green thing I touch dies. Right now, I have a dying sage plant on the balcony of my apartment. Maybe it’s lonely. I think to go full bore with this, I need to do some real research, and not just research random plants on the Internet. This will be a several-year project. Eventually, I would like to grow basil and tomatoes in containers.

In the meantime, think good thoughts for my sage plant.