Growing herbs.

frobisher

I'm a big food fan and have decided that I'd love to grow my own herbs. Any tips or advice?

I have a large back garden. Should I use this or can I grow some indoors too? What about other edibles? Any tips on veg that are easy to grow?

crosstownk

Try thi site : http://www.hoptechno.com/book26.htm

m_stan

you could make a nice little herb rockery in your garden, grow them in tubs, or grow them indoors - take your choice. most common herbs are easy to grow. drop down to woodies etc and you can buy a variety of small plants ready to go - easier than growing from seed. you can move on to that later.

herbs are great ,lovely pleasant plants to grow and then you get to enjoy them fresh and all winter after you've dried them out.

best of luck with it !

morgana

I started a herb garden last year with parsley, chives, sage, thyme, mint, lemon balm, dill. All easy to grow and became quite large in late summer & autumn, make welcome small pressies for friends :-). The perennials are just waking up now while the parsley, although bi-annual, seems to have disliked the various cold spells and has disappeared. Coriander didn't make it past nursery stage last year - the slugs developed too much of a liking for it :mad:
I also cut some of the parsley and chives and froze it in ice cube trays (and put cubes in bags) - instant fresh herbs!

malmatthews

As per my previous post coriander is my favourite (just try a generous sprinkle of the freshly chopped leaf with basmati rice (forget the dried version - it's tasteless) and you will see what I mean! I am having such difficulty growing it out of season and have asked for advice on this board.
I would never let mint grow wild. Mint grows like a weed and will quickly take over your plot. Grow outdoors in pots. Oregano is also very easy to grow; great for flavouring Italian dishes. Thyme also is a doddle. These last three are perennials and easy to grow. I have had little success with Rosemary but I think there may be two variants; herb and bush? Can anyone comment on this? I also know a girl called Rosemary. She is also of the wilting, uncooperative variety.I think I need to exercise more than mere persistance. Can anybody recommend a technique? I will settle for best method of growing coriander between spring to autumn incl.

Alun

I've never had a problem with Rosemary ... grows really easily, although not in a pot. Likes the sun, and seems to thrive in less than optimal soils. On the other hand, Thyme always goes a bit straggly and woody on me. Bought a beautiful potted Thyme plant last year and it's gone all straggly already. Oregano grows easily, although in our damp and soggy climate it never seems to become 'aromatic' enough. Another 'no-brainer' is Tarragon .. pops up every year no problem, as does Fennel and Chives.

Gordon Gekko

Hi Alun,

Re your thyme going leggy/woody, I was reading one of Monty Don's books recently and he said for years he had the same problem.

After much trial and error, he realised that thyme is a pretty delicate herb, and needs a)full sun, b)excellent drainage, and c) lots of air circulating around it.

As a result, he doesn't grow it in the 'hurly burly' as he puts it, of his herb garden anymore, but in a bed solely for thyme. He says it thrives and is very bushy etc. He found when grown with other herbs that it does well until they get going, but then suffers badly from crowding/shading/lack of air circulating around it.

Might be worth a try.

Alun

Thanks for that Gordon. Mine's in a pot at the moment, so I can move it around to get maximum sun exposure, and circulating air shoudln't be a problem either. Drainage shouldn't be a problem either, except for when it rains and the tray at the bottom fills with water. Maybe I should just remove that and let the water drain through completely?

Raven_k42

...Anthony W Thomson...or Thompson...was talking on the Saturday Kitchen food programme on BBC2...and said to stop mint taking over the garden....grow it in a pot...set in the ground. The pot should have a hole in the base. For some reason...the mint doesn't spread !. His words....not mine !!.

K.

Alun

Raven_k42 wrote:

...Anthony W Thomson...or Thompson...was talking on the Saturday Kitchen food programme on BBC2...and said to stop mint taking over the garden....grow it in a pot...set in the ground. The pot should have a hole in the base. For some reason...the mint doesn't spread !. His words....not mine !!.

K.

Tried it ... doesn't work Problem is that the pot has to have some drainage in the bottom, or else you'll end up growing it in a swamp! It doesn't take long for the roots to grow out of the bottom of the pot and start escaping, also above ground too. It's better than growing it wild in as much as it contains the problem to a certain extent though.

One of the problems with growing mint just in a pot is that it quickly gets potbound. I find that mine needs regular feeding to keep it going as there's virtually no soil left in the pot, and it's all one big root mass.

dras

had problems with rosemary myself - need to keep in sun I believe. Never had luck with basil, even indoors - anyone got any tips?

parsley is great as are most other things if watered properly. I can recommend grow bags with courgettes for an easy and heavy crop - good one for starting off as you will gain confidence at how easy it *can* be!

babaduck

I grew Rosemary a few years ago in a pot in my south-facing garden and boy did it thrive!!! This year, I'm going to just do flat parsley (hate the curly kind), chives and basil indoors... I bought a wee kit from www.bakker.ie for €8