Growing herbs...

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Paint

Senior Cook
Joined
Mar 10, 2004
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358
Location
USA,Colorado
I've wanted to grow my own herbs for a long time, but couldn't find many varieties in our local garden stores, unless you grew them from seed. Anyway - I was in Target the other day, and saw that they sell fresh herbs for cooking with the root ball still attached (I think they're called 'Living Herbs').....Well, I wondered whether they would grow if I planted them in pots, so I potted them up......5 days later and they seem to be thriving, they have already started sprouting new leaves, and have grown in height too. I planted 2 pots of the two herbs I use the most of - Basil and Mint - so I could harvest them in rotation, and one pot each of Sage, Rosemary and Oregano. Time will tell if they really do thrive when planted this way, and if they do, it will be wonderful to have fresh herbs on hand, for a fraction of the cost I usually pay at the grocery store :)

Paint.
 
Good for you paint and a personal welcome to Discuss Cooking!!

The rosemary needs lots of water!!! More than the others. I find though that if at all possible they grow best in the ground. EXCEPT the mint - unless of course you want LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS of mint!! LOL It will take over everything and everywhere! So a pot is better for it!

I'll have to go to Target - I'm due some herbs myself!!! I have to hang my basil in pots on my fence though so the squirrels and rabbits don't eat it - it took a couple years but I finally figured a way to grow it!!

In the last house we lived in I planted my rosemary bush right beside our downspout - the thing was HUGE in no time!!! And very, very healthy - after 1 year (4 small plants planted in a circle) it was 3' high and 3' wide - I made a rosemary wreath one time when I cut the woody outer stems - it was heavenly in my kitchen!!!
 
I'll echo Kitchenelf's opinion of mint. Watch out with that stuff. Besides putting mint in it's own pot, I'd even move the mint pot away from your others. That's how paranoid I am of mint. I think the plant that ate people in the Little Shop of Horrors might have been mint :)

I've never grown it, but Basil, being a member of the mint family, might be a little rambunctious as well. I'd keep an eye on it.
 
Actually, basil is quite well behaved. Now elf, you said that rosemary needs lots of water, but we don't water our plantrs and they seem to thrive here even in the drought of summer. In fact, herbs are about the only plants that DO thrive here. Everything else kicks the bucket, even grass.
 
Welcome Paint! My mom grows several herbs in her backyard, I don't think she waters them, but here in the South we get a fair amount of rain. She's had them growing for years, the rosemary Bush is Big! I always get a bunch to bring home after a visit! :D Atomic Jed!
 
Basil is "safe" - I only wish it would be wild!!!! LOL Well, about that rosemary - let's just say that that was the healthiest rosemary plant I ever had. I have a plant in the front yard that gets only water that falls out of the sky - it's doing OK but not nearly as well as my downspout plant. That's my theory only by observation.

One of my all-time favorite herbs is pineapple sage (it has some growing tendencies like mint). I planted one next to my front steps and the next spring plants were popping up all along the walkway including across the walkway from the main plant. It produces these beautiful little red blooms in fall, the wind kicks up, and little seeds are distributed everywhere!! BUT I love that stuff!!!!

Another favorite is salad burnett, which tastes like cucumber.

And since I have a "thing" for mojitos now I might just have to try some mint in a pot for those impromptu gatherings!
 
What lovely replies - and lots of advice! I would LOVE to have a whole huge raised herb bed in our garden - but I'm no gardener by a long chalk - that's my husband's forte! I've hinted, cajoled, begged....but he just hasn't had the time to do much to our garden here at all, so pots of herbs are the best I can do right now. I tend to be the kiss of death to plants (I actually apologise profusely to them and feel guilty whenever I succumb to buying a new houseplant :oops: ), so I will be thrilled if 50% of them thrive for at least a month LOL!

Paint.
 
Oh my Paint - I have apoligized to my plants when I have bought them too!!!! LOL Especially any kind of ivy or fern - ivy always gets mites and my fern.....well........just turns brown. :-(

I put all my plants outside in our courtyard - very low to moderate sun - last year and with the extreme amount of rain we had they look WONDERFUL!!!!!!! Some of them haven't been this big in 5 years!!!! So far they are even holding up rather well in the house this winter!

But along with all that rain last year came a new layer of moss - which in my opinion, is quite beautiful - we'll see if it thrives this year!.
 
I love growing herbs, they are so forgiving! Rosemary doesn't normally like to be wet, so you must have a brilliantly drained spot, kitchen elf! It needs watering, but doesn't like to get it's "feet" wet or the stem can rot.

Basil doesn't have the same shooting properties as mint, mint sets out runners, rather than giong to seed, whereas basil sets seed and then tends to die. Although it can be grown over more than one season, it is better to start a fresh each year, as it tends to lose flavour a bit as it ages.

Oregano and thyme are must grows, and will grow all year round, and don't mind being completely ignored in the garden or a pot.

There are some brilliant varieties of mint, such as eau de cologne, apple mint and chocolate mint that are fun to grow. Don't let them grow in the same spot in the garden or the same pot, they are naughty creatures and hybridise each other and you get a nasty combination mint that tastes of nothing.

Chamomile is good too, it encourages bees to help pollinate your other herbs, is lovely in salads for colour and interesting flavour, and grows really well in summer.

I could go on and on, one of my favourite topics!
 
Kyles - You really seem into herbs - and to have green fingers. Question:
Australia must have been a haven for your love for gardening, but do you now live in a spot in the Uk where you can get the same results? I've seen gardens on TV shows with miles of herbs, but in a city it must be difficult.
Maws
 
Unfortunately in England we haven't been able to rent a house with a garden, so I just have pots. I hate tailored my gardening to suit my new climate, no more rare chillis or interesting varieties of tomatoes for me! Or fresh zucchini and snow peas....sigh

But herbs love it here, and tend to last longer without racing to seed, as happens in warmer climates, so it's swings and round-abouts! I am going to start planting soon, I don't think the risk of frost has quite passed yet, we are still having the odd snowfall!
 
That's one problem I have here - everything grows and develops too fast and seeds too soon. Delicate lettuce leaves turn bitter, etc. ut ou herb garden is planted at intervals, so as soon as one goes to seed, the next is ready for the kitchen. Homegrwon herbs, wherever, are really rewarding.
Maws
 
I'm reviving an oldddddddddd topic..... anyone have any ideas for an apartment in the winter? I love using fresh herbs.
 
heya ff,
the problem with growing herbs indoors this time of year is lack of sunlight. if you start them from seeds, you will have to provide a strong "grow" light directly above (within 2 inches) the plants. if you try it in a window, the plants will grow tall and thin and keel over from trying so hard to get more sunlight. besides, there isn't enough hours of sun this time of year anyway.
once the plants are established, they can be put in a sunny window, but they still might die off unless they get both natural and artificial light.
i got a chia herb garden for christmas, so i'm gonna wait till february to start the seeds, then when they sprout, i put them on a rack just below a light fixture. when temps warm up, i will "harden them off" by bringing them outside during warm days, and indoors at night. eventually, they will get transplanted to my herb garden.
 
thanks tom... I usually have a green thumb.. but as long as I'm in this apartment.. kinda hard.
 
I have an herb garden in which there is rosemary, lemon thyme, verigated sage, garlic, English lavendar and dying chives (too cold). Before winter came I also had ginger root. They are still thriving and overnight it has been in the teens. I bought the small plants at Home Depot and just stuck them in the ground and they are thriving, as are my tea roses. Would you believe they are still blooming in this cold, I do not eat them however. I am planing bulbs this week-end when the rain stops.
I clip the herbs regularly and put them in a small vase wtih rocks at the bottom on my counter. They look great and the lavendar smells wonderful.
 
I am currently growing rosemary in my kitchen. Every other rosemary plant I have had, I have killed. I think I was not giving them enough water. So, I am giving this one more water, but trying to not over water it. The good news is that it has put on new leaves since I got it about 2 weeks ago.
 
One aspect of plant growing (herb or otherwise) that people do not seem to realize is that sometimes it is length of day that affects the growth. In the summer our days here in northwestern IL are considerably longer than they were in FL or HI. We have considerably harsher winters (yeah, that's a foot of snow out there right now) and much shorter days in the winter (at solistice sunset was at 4:15 p.m.). But some plants love those longer days. I bring in my rosemary and bay. Both seem to like it dry, so I toss them (well, they're heavy, so not exactly toss) into the shower and give them a good bath once a month. In between I just toss in a glass of water here & there. In previous years I've tried to keep parsley going through the winter, or get some basil going. In fact I have baseboard heating, and it is virtually impossible to keep any plant besides those two going because the heating just dries them up. But in the summer, watch out. I have a mint patch, and I'm religious about keeping it separate from the rest of the yard because it will "eat up" anything near it. My herb garden isn't huge, but it is the envy of everyone who loves to cook, and neighbors often call and ask ... do you have .....?
 
We have an herb garden that runs beside the house and driveway. Need to replant a couple of things. The rosemary is more like a small shrub now.

Lots of folks do container gardening and have great success.
 
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