January 6, 2016

We've been having a much more normal winter this year with regular rains coming since the beginning of November. The garden is also much more subdued but there's still work to do. As I learned in my horticultural experience in my few years at Weston Nurseries in Hopkinton, MA back in the 1970's, the movement of the earth towards and away from the sun between the solstices determines how vegetation grows. From the summer solstices to the winter, the sun rays move back, and from the winter to the summer, they move forward resulting in a kind of Doppler effect in terms of sunlight.
Hence once the winter solstice has passed, like it did a couple of weeks ago, the days grow longer and the decreasing angle of the sun's rays inspires the growth of plants. As it is relatively mild and (usually) wet here in the Bay Area, I consider January a prime month for getting plants started.

I usually repot all of my herb containers in the middle of the rainy season. This is one of the three mints I grow in pots getting a reboot.

Box 4, the herb box for the past year, is nearing its end. At first I was planning to keep perennial herbs going here indefinitely but in practice, I'm finding it would be better to simply replant all the herbs I'm not keeping in containers each winter. Although the herbs served me well, it's just too simple to purchase new ones and restart them fresh with renovated soil. I'll keep the herbs here until I've established new ones in Box 5 then use Box 4 for other plantings.

Box 5 is going to hold the new herbs which I plan on planting once I've renovated the soil, probably in a week or two weather permitting.