I like to have volunteers in my garden beds. I love wild plants as well as ones I have planted. It's fall now here in Sandpoint, Idaho, and I live almost to 3000 ft. with a south slope. It's raining and we have had a frost. I have three greenhouse coldframes that hold three varieties of tomatoes and some beets because the electric fence my husband built around the garden doesn't keep the deer out and I have lost my zucchini, half of my broccoli, my lettuce, arugula, comfrey, potatoes. My Sweet Cicely that has been a mainstay for many years still has its tall stems with seeds on them, but the green fern-like leaves have been mostly eaten. They even ate the so-called poisonous rhubarb leaves. I sell herb plants and one-of-a-kind, handbuilt ceramic animal statues, sayings plaques and herb markers at the Farmers Market, mostly volunteer herbs. Tomorrow is Harvestfest, the last day. I only have lemon balm, catnip, sweet cicely, wormwood, peppermint, motherwort, parsley in pots to sell and I have herbs in pots that I am hoarding in case I actually do get a fence that keeps the deer out of the garden. They go into an attached cold greenhouse that gets some heat from a woodstove in below zero weather. Life is good here in many ways.
Here's my question:
I have fall volunteers in my 12'x24' greenhouse coldframes that I love. This year some Blessed Thistle seed that must have dropped years ago germinated and I had two plants in the spring and now three starts in the fall. I want to dig up a couple of them and pot them. Will they withstand being dug up, potted and put either in the house or the greenhouse attached to our tower home? Same for Gopher Purge. It doesn't stop the the pocket gophers and the voles, but it's such a beautiful plant when it matures. I want to save the three of these I have in another greenhouse. I also have volunteer borage in two greenhouses. It's so sensitive to being dug up, but I have been able to do it in the spring, but in the fall??? I'd appreciate any words of wisdom from anyone who loves herbs.
Best, Merla 2:37 AM. It's raining cats and dogs
