Rooting DC 2010

Sat. Feb. 20, I spent the afternoon at Rooting DC - a day long event at the Historical Society of Washington Building featuring panel discussions, information sessions, presentations, and demonstrations on food, gardening, and agriculture in DC! I know a couple weeks have passed, but I wanted to highlight some of the things I learned and share my excitement about the event (so you can keep an eye out for next year).

I attended four sessions. One on canning, another composting, urban agriculture and the last on container gardening. Although I learned a lot in the other sessions, I will focus on what I learned from Jennifer Jefferson in her session on Container Gardening with Herbs for obvious reasons.

Jennifer told us the following:

• Take advantage of a sunny window, deck or patio to grow containers of herbs!
• With herbs, "the more you pinch it, the more it grows".
• Herbs are the gift that keeps on giving! And all you need is sun, soil, water, and a container.
• Containers can be ANYTHING. Jennifer used the example of an old shoe that she turned into a container for herbs.
• For large pots consider: lemon balm and mint.
• Great herbs for containers include: anise, basil, cilantro, chives, dill, mint, oregano, parsley, and thyme.
• Container gardening adds fragrance and beauty anywhere you place the containers.

Here are the steps to starting a container garden with herbs:

1. Read about the herb of interest.
2. Plan an area designated for the herb.
3. Buy or pick up some pots (don't spend too much $$)
4. Wash pots with soap and hot water.
5. Fill up the pot with potting soil (you can use mulch halfway in the container).
6. Plant the herb (she uses plants that are already started, but see my old posts on starting herbs from seeds).
7. Take care of it, the plants have feelings too.

Jennifer was fantastic and I can't wait to start some new herbs from seed to get going for this upcoming season. She recommended checking out the following book: The Edible Herb Garden by Creasy. I'll check it out and let you know if I learn anything important as I begin my renewed adventure with container gardening this season.

The other great thing about Rooting DC was the free lunch and the goody bag with many packets of seeds inside. It is a great starting place for me for the spring. I definitely suggest checking out the event next year.

Rooting DC got me out of the gloom of the winter and got me thinking about the spring and summer coming around the corner.