ISO help with taking care of fresh herbs

[BreezyCooking]

MicheleMarie - in your neck of the woods, thyme, sage, tarragon, oregano, chives, & mint are perennial & should return each spring. Rosemary is also a perennial, but may need some protection, as it's a bit more tender. In NY I grew mine up against the southfacing side of the house & it grew into a small shrub.

Parsley is a biennial, so it will come back the following year, but won't be as lush as it will be working towards going to seed. You're best off planting some fresh seed every year.

Basil & Lemon Verbena are tropicals & won't make it thru the winter. Lemon Verbena can be grown in a container & brought indoors if you have a southfacing sunny spot for it. Basil should be sown fresh each year.

 

[Michelemarie]

Thanks Breezy! I have the perfect spot for these herbs. My black eyed susans did not return this year (well, at least most of them). I have been thinking about what to put in my spot right outside my deck - these herbs are perfect! Now, to get it to look like your beautiful herb garden! Thanks for the help!

 

[GotGarlic]

Thanks Breezy! I have the perfect spot for these herbs. My black eyed susans did not return this year (well, at least most of them). I have been thinking about what to put in my spot right outside my deck - these herbs are perfect! Now, to get it to look like your beautiful herb garden! Thanks for the help!

I'm in gardening hardiness zone 8, so a lot of these are easily perennials for me. Just wanted to make a small correction - the photo is from my garden, not Breezy's

 

[Michelemarie]

Oooh, sorry Gotgarlic-just gorgeous. I will have to check my zone, I really want something like this but would love for it to come back every year!

 

[legend_018]

A few quick questions

The strawberry clay pot has a hole on the bottom so needless to say...when I water...it makes a mess. Do I need to put a plate under it outside?

Also: Do I water on top and in each hole. If I water in each hole I have to tip it, or the dirt comes out and it makes a mess. I mean it is one big pot in a sense right? MY DH said you probably just water from the top until the soil gets wet through the whole pot.

 

[Katie H]

No need to put a dish/plate under it when it's outside. When you bring it inside, you'll have to put a dish/plate under it to protect your floor.

What I normally do is water from the top and gently add a little to each little balcony.

Sounds like you're having fun.

 

[BreezyCooking]

You don't "have" to put a saucer underneath the pot outside, but doing so can definitely help the water situation.

Clay pots are very porous & release a lot of moisture through their sides. Plus, with all those plants you have a lot of root systems in a relatively small area. A saucer underneath the pot will allow both your watering water & rain to collect & wick up. And if you have an abundance of rainfall, you can just empty the saucer.

 

[Quadlex]

That outdoor herb garden looks good, well done! I've never wanted my own herb 'garden' per-se, I just don't have the ability to visualise and plan a good looking one.

Coles Supermarkets over here sell herb plants along with their fresh and minced herbs. So if you don't a small plastic packet, for only a bit more dosh you get the same amount (or more) herbage, except you go home and plant it out, and suddenly you don't have to buy that particular herb again ^_^

I've done this every few weeks for the past couple of months. So now I've got a bigarse Basil bush (Huge leaves on it, too... Thank you Seaweed Liquor), a nice stand of Chives, some Mint that is attempting to leave its pot and make a break for freedom, a small stand of Sage, just planted Oregano (I'm a bit worried about it... It wasn't doing too well when I put it outside just after I bought it, and it still looks a little sick), and this week I bought a single sprig of Rosemary. The last one is going to have to get a bigger pot then normal, I think. The others are all in 5L pots (Except for the sage), but on my experience it's going to want to become a tree. I guess I could keep it as a bonsai version, who really needs Rosemary with branches as long as their arms?

I bought or scavenged the buckets I keep them in. I also bought the cheapest potting mix I could find, and mixed it with some hydrated water saving crystals in 10L batches... I bought a $10 tub and it's still 2/3rds full, even after planting all those herbs and some other plants. When I transplant them I watered with some water doped with Seaweed Liquor which is a fantastic and cheap fertalizer. One capful in 10L of water, watered in thoroughly. I water them all every three days or so, and once every two months give them all some fertalizer. They seem to be doing fine, but I do live in Brisbane, which has a semi-tropical climate (Winter lows are usually 10 degrees Celcius).