My 2023 Garden

Published July 30, 2023

My grandfather was a gardener who started his plants from seeds and had several backyard plots for corn, potatoes, tomatoes, and more. My dad learned from his father, and soon I started gardening, with a small tabletop potted garden of veggies and minimal herbs.

In my area, squirrels destroy everything, and I found that a potted tabletop garden was a buffet for them to steal tomatoes, gnaw on peppers, and knock over herbs.

Over the years, my garden evolved and moved to the ground — where it could be protected behind a wooden fence. This allowed me to cover my herbs for the winter and have the same plants grow year after year.

Each season, I start my planting around Memorial Day weekend. I wait until this holiday weekend in the hopes that New Jersey’s frosty morning weather has passed, to ensure the best success for new plants. 

My 2023 Herb Garden

New Rosemary

I’ve had rosemary and sage plants for nearly 6 years. My original rosemary plants grew into little trees with thick stumps. I was shocked to see how hearty these plants could become.

However, our past warm winter weather shocked the rosemary plants and turned them into sad Charlie Brown trees. Every time you touched the plant, brittle brown leaves fell to the ground in a shower. Their leaves never turned from brown to green. So with the start of the season, we removed them and planted new ones.

I have yet to harvest any rosemary from these plants. I am worried I’ll shock the plant, so for this year, my goal with the rosemary is to ensure it takes root and grows successfully before the winter. I’ll ensure to cover these new plants with their winter covers in the hopes that they will survive for next season.

Original Sage

Given that the rosemary had difficulty this past winter, I was nervous about my original sage plant.

Luckily, as Memorial Day approached, the sage came to life and its brown leaves were replaced with green growth. The sage has even expanded to take up the space where the old rosemary plants grew.

I have a never-ending supply of sage. As I cut stems and large leaves, I can already see small shoots of new growth forming.

Original Chives

Two hearty chive plants grew back from last season and frame the sage. Now that they are a few years old, their shoots are wide and grow straight in the air.

I cut back some of the woody pieces so new shoots can form. If I’m cutting chives for recipes, I’ll select the more delicate strands along the outer part of the plant. I have yet to cook with the purple flowers that blossom (called pom-pom’s, apparently), so I will be excited to see them again next year when I can test out a new recipe with them.

Italian Parsley

I have two parsley plants this year. Last year’s plant is now ~foot tall with sturdy stems. The newer parsley plant is lower to the ground with full leaves. I’ve harvested and dried several stems and have already replenished my parsley supply from over the winter.

I typically dry my herbs but parsley is one that does well frozen. You can tie it into little bundles with string and then freeze it when you want to use it in sauces and soups.

Cucumbers

I rotate the location of my plants every year to give the soil a break. This year, I put up my wooden trellis and planted the cucumber plants on the opposite end of the garden. 

I love how easy it is to grow cucumbers. As long as they are well-watered and have something vertical to grow on, it doesn’t take long to have large leaves, yellow flowers, and curly vines reaching for every surface. Every so often I will reposition the plant, prompting its curly vines to take hold of something else to help it grow.

After being away on vacation from when I took the above photo, I already had a few cucumbers to harvest, including a colossal cucumber that looked more like a zucchini. I used that cucumber for several juice recipes.

While cucumbers are great in salads, or used as a base like a cracker, I like to make homemade pickles with mine.

Basil

Basil is my star herb this year. I planted six plants in a row and let them grow together into a massive bundle. I typically plant sweet basil or Genovese basil.

For me, basil requires little effort or maintenance to flourish. I ensure that I cut the leaves before any bugs can eat them, and I harvest several leaves and stems to ensure they don’t flower and stop growing.

With the past few weeks of rain in New Jersey, the leaves have grown to massive sizes, the best I’ve ever grown. I’m excited to prepare pesto, flatbreads, bruschetta, and other recipes with them.

Oregano

Oregano is a second herb that I cook with frequently. This year I rotated the plant’s location and added two new oregano plants to the garden — typically Italian oregano.

As you can see, the plant already flowered by mid-June. I cut off these sections and shaped the plant to grow more densely, and luckily that worked. The oregano plants have continued to grow and fill in the open areas alongside the basil.

Lettuce

I added lettuce to the garden for the first time this year. I was happily surprised that two of the four plants produced tons of leafy bunches to pick from.

The other two were smaller and still offered small leaves to harvest. I used this crisp lettuce in my homemade gyros.

Big Boy Tomatoes

I’ve cut back on the number of tomato plants in the garden. This year I only have one big boy tomato.

After seeing several recommendations from gardeners on Instagram, this tomato plant received a trim of its leaves and branches, to ensure its energy was focused on the tomatoes. I find this makes it easier to monitor the tomatoes and also keep the tomato from overtaking too much of the garden.

A second approach for this year’s tomato plant was picking the tomatoes when they were green and leaving them on the counter to turn red. This ensured that birds and small animals did not eat the tomatoes on the vine while waiting for them to ripen.

I was skeptical that this approach would work, but after two weeks of sitting on my counter, the tomatoes turned from solid green, to blush, and now bright red.

Harvesting Fresh Herbs and Vegetables

My 2023 garden is thriving at this time of year, which is great for harvesting, drying, and packaging herbs for winter, which is primarily what I have a garden for.

I cut my herbs and add them to a cookie sheet. I usually remove each herb from its stem, wash it, dry it, and leave it laid out in layers to air dry.

A dehydrator would be perfect for preserving fresh herbs. Since I don’t have one, I elect to air dry — though I have read that baking in the oven on a low temperature could also achieve the same result? I feel that doing so may change the flavor of the herbs, so air drying, though time consuming, works best for me.

When the herbs are dried, I place them in labeled containers or bags and store them in the pantry until they are needed.

Harvesting and packaging lettuce is similar. First, I cut away any spots or holes in each lettuce leaf. Then, I leave it under running water to take off any hidden bugs or dirt (especially at the base where it was growing closest to the ground).

Patting each leaf dry with a kitchen towel works best as you go. Then, I arrange the cleaned leaves on a plate to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes to try to remove any excess moisture. Don’t leave it out too long, as the leaves can start to wilt.

I package the cleaned and dried leaves in a Ziploc bag and store them in the refrigerator. I find that these greens last much longer than store bought ones, and have a more vibrant color and crisper texture.

What are you growing in your 2023 garden?

I’m excited to pick even more homegrown produce as my 2023 garden progresses.

What do you have in your garden this year? Leave a comment below with your thoughts or browse my recipe videos to find inspiration for cooking with your produce.