A little while ago, I collaborated with Intellicig, an e-cigarette company who have launched their #GoGreen challenge to show all of us (include you city slickers who don't have a garden/countryside near you) that you can grow your own produce at home and lead healthier and ultimately happier lives. Intelicig sent me a kit which included everything you could ever need to grow your own allotment - you can read the full post here to get up to speed with what the challenge was.
I thought it was about time to give you an update as to how I'm getting on with my ickle herb allotment and as you can see from the pictures below, unfortunately I have proven that I don't really have 'green fingers' as my herbs didn't take off as planned! The coriander seeds didn't take at all, however the basil and oregano seeds sprouted within a week and a half and I was on the road to full on bushes! After about three weeks, the plants kind of just stopped growing - even though I watered them and gave them just enough light. It has now been over two months and they were just at a stand still: they're not dead but not growing either.
I decided to come to terms with the fact that I'm never going to be a successful gardener and said goodbye to my herb seeds - however I didn't stop with my hope of being more green and self sufficient in the kitchen. I bought some potted herbs and replaced them so now my indoor allotment is blooming and green! My parsley has seen better days but I'm hoping it will get better soon - plus I'm intending on using it this week so not that it's going to live for long anyway before it needs to grow new leaves. I think this is an excellent ideas as you then have fresh herbs whenever you need them and although they cost slightly more than packet herbs you do actually spend less in the long run. Plus, your kitchen looks pretty and green!
Here are a couple of pictures from my Instagram of the latest recipes I have made with my herbs - and even though I didn't grow them myself, they still taste amazing! From top to bottom: courgette and chicken noodles with coriander (2 pictures - before and after!); baked lemon sole Mediterranean style with basil; king prawn stirfry with coriander. I love cooking from scratch - I genuinely think the food tastes much better and you can control what you put in, like salt and sugar.
*The indoor allotment was kindly sent to me on behalf of Intellicig, and I also received a £20 gift voucher for Tesco to create some of the dishes you see in this post.
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