I would like any tips on growing herbs. I have some basil and thyme, which I seem to do well with, and then some parsley. Last year my basil was okay, but I would like to get more out of it. Also, any tips on parsley would be great. I will also probably get some cilantro.
Also, any recommendations on other herbs to get and what to use it for, such as marjoram, oregano, etc.
I grow in a container of sorts, two old wash tubs on the corner of the deck, which is full sun.
Thanks!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
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My best advice for basil is: don't let it bolt. As soon as you see any sort of flower-like thing sprouting from the top of the trunk, break the flower-like thing off. This should have two effects: the basil won't grow as tall, and it should bush-out a little bit (producing more yummy leaves for you).
ReplyDeleteI'd love to give advice on parsley and cilantro, but I'm distinctly unqualified. No, I take that back - my best advice is: keep the rabbits away. I've never had parsley get taller than about three inches, because the neighborhood rabbits have feasted on every leaf each plant has put out. Nearly the same for cilantro, though I did get lucky and have a couple of plants survive last year. Score one for the neighborhood hawk.
Mint can be a great (and easy) herb to grow. Especially if you have a separate box for it, to keep it from spreading too much. I haven't read the directions in a while, though - mint may be one of those things that actually wants a little shade (mine seems to like it alright, anyway).
I've added sage and thyme to the patch this year. We'll see what happens.
I have never done well growing herbs in a pot- always seem to do better in the ground.Also I only grow dill from seed, the rest seem to better if I buy plants. Oh, I guess I have fennel coming up now from seed and a few parsley also. But mainly I buy plants.
ReplyDeleteMy only advice is similar to Bryan's--- you need to USE IT. Use it often so it doesn't try to produce flowers and bolt.If it does flower, pick them right away. I know you want to use the big leaves on the bottom of the stems but use some of the tiny end ones too, pinching those ends will make it branch out and get fuller. If nothing else, when you walk through the garden just pinch some off and inhale. When I pick flowers for the house I always put herbs in the bouquet for scent and texture.
If you can't think of anything to use it for right then, chop it up, mix with water to cover and freeze it in ice cube trays(pop out and put in a freezer zip lock when frozen). Then I add the whole herb cube to my soups, stews and sauces in the winter.
I also plant twice as much as I think I might need. Then there is plenty to share with all the butterfly larva. For some reason the rabbits don't bother my herbs-too busy cutting down all my shrubs and hosta I guess. Well I guess they ate all the tops off most of my carrots last year too. My herbs are all planted in with the flowers not my vegetable garden, maybe that makes a difference--I have dumb rabbits?
I wouldn't know what to do without rosemary; use it on chicken, potatoes, carrots, corn on the cob.
I use a lot of thyme; mostly on chicken.I also make a pizza crust that has thyme in it. Dill ( has taken over one whole part of my garden but I don't mind); always needed for fish, dips and more dips and the butterflies. Lemon Balm; dips and tea. Perennial Sage, I grow it because I like to smell it, and it looks pretty as a garnish.I also have used it with poultry.
My tarragon and fennel have not gotten as large as I would like but it is ok. I grow the fennel mostly for the butterflies and for a garnish. The bulbs are always almost too tiny to use. The one herb that I have a really hard time growing is lavender. I don't think anyone will be getting lavender sachets from me anytime soon.
Mint, I have a tiny, tiny little plant surrounded by huge rocks that I work on all the time to control. The plant will send runners 12" under the rock and come out the other side. Jeff gets really nervous when I say I want to plant more. Some reddish-green leafed chocolate mint called to me at the garden store last week and Jeff would not let me purchase it. Mint really took over when planted in the vegetable garden. Jeff puts mint right up there with purple loostrife. Maybe you should try a little mint, just to boost your confidence! Just watch it or the fields and woods will be filled.
Thanks for the advice.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I do with basil when there is extra (actually I bought a whole lot at the farmer's market one year to do this with) is put it in the food processor and add a little olive oil, just enough to make it stick together. You then put that in ice cube trays, freeze, and pop out into Ziploc bag. Then throughout the year when you use it it tastes just like fresh. I don't know how that works, but it really does. I used some last night from a couple of years ago and it was like using fresh basil. Yum.
I planted chocolate mint one time, with the warning of the dreaded spreading of mint, it lasted a couple of years and then never came back. I think I have an agressive garden!
@Darleen: I think your herbs being in your flower garden may, in fact, have something to do with your rabbits leaving them alone. I've heard that there is a flower variety or two that rabbits do not like (poppies?). Maybe I should "add some color" to my garden.
ReplyDelete@Deanna: We do something very similar to your basil freezing, but we usually go all the way to pesto. Just add nuts and garlic (+parmesean, if you're feeling cheesy) to what you already have in the food processor. We freeze that in half-pint containers. Throw one of those containers (defrosted) in a half pound of pasta, and you have dinner (always improved by a few tomato slices in the late-summer).
I've successfully dehydrated cilantro and hot peppers. Anyone know of an herb that doesn't do well in a dehydrator?
Oil or water-anything to keep the air off the herb while its frozen will work.
ReplyDeleteIf you grow in a pot Deanna, what kind of soil mix do you use? Do you fertilize? Almost have to in a pot.
You know my mind forgets things so easily, especially when it is not me that does the work. I forgot that Jeff often (after almost every rainfall) sprays coyote urine on shrubs, around the hosta, around edges of the garden. Yes, sometimes the yard smells like urine-perhaps that is why I like to pick the herbs when I walk around and inhale.
Also, we have lots of clover in our lawn. Maybe the rabbits are too full by the time they see the herbs? I do see them eating clover all the time. Again, plant enough for both you and the rabbits and train a pet coyote ( or a husband who loves to walk around with a spray gun) to urinate around the edges of your property.