Do You Grow Your Own Herbs?

[shel]

I got a basil plant and a greek oregano plant today. Both are in pots, and the first chance i get I'll set 'em out in the best spot I can find for them. I don't think I've ever had oregano, greek or otherwise, freshly plucked from a living planr before. Tried some today - WOW! it sure was great.

Will these plants grow indoors in a sunny spot?

Shel

[KYHeirloomer]

The basil surely will, Shel.

I don't know positively about the oregano. But my guess is it will. Rosemary, which also is a herbaceous shrub, does fine that way.

[Headless Chicken]

I typically grow basil, thyme, and rosemary and 1 last little spot for something new...last year, I grew some lemon balm. However, this year I may not have the space anymore. Padio stones are being laid out as I'm typing this over the entire garden space so I may end up doing this indoors starting this year.

[mudbug]

Shel,

It's always best to grow herbs outside in direct sun in the ground (assuming your soil is decent and has good drainage). They are just more healthy and happy outside.

[angelarleyba]

I live in a basement apartment, and have no yard, but I love having fresh herbs. I finally broke down and purchased an aerogrow. It's growing basil, purple basil, mint, dill, thyme, parsley, and chives. I've only had it for about a month so far, but I think it's pretty great. I went to Sur La Table and asked some people there about it. Their opinion was it's great for herbs, but they would stay away from the other plants. I've only done the herbs so far...

[joujoudoll]

Right now I am growing basil, flat-leaf parsley, 2 varieties of sage a purple sage and a green sage, mint, thyme, oregano, rosemary, and cilantro.

.<3
Stephanie

[realistic cook]

Hi, I love my herb garden. In the Nortwest we have a very short growing season so I grow whatever I can.
I have had great luck with sage, thyme, basil, parsley and my monster rosemary bush! I can harvest nearly all year with most of these except the parsley. I harvest and dry a lot of what I grow.
Does any one have a good way to dry parsley so that it keeps it's beautiful green color and great flavor? That one has stumped me.
Please come and visit my cooking website at therealisticcook.com.
Thanks

[bigchefherbs]

Originally Posted by shel

I got a basil plant and a greek oregano plant today. Both are in pots, and the first chance i get I'll set 'em out in the best spot I can find for them. I don't think I've ever had oregano, greek or otherwise, freshly plucked from a living planr before. Tried some today - WOW! it sure was great.

Will these plants grow indoors in a sunny spot?

Shel

The light requirements for most herbs is low. Growing them in a sunny window will work or take a table to put them on. Now get one of those cheap stupid looking stand lights.. most have three lights on them and then plant bulbs or any full spectrum bulb. They'll do just fine. 8 hours of plant lighting should be fine. You can get really fancy with lighting that inhibits flowering or forces flowering (like saffron) but thats all pretty complicated.
Actually small citrus trees such as lemons and limes will also grow under these types of lights indoors but citrus tends to be more of a hassle with pest. I use natural or organic. With herbs you probably won't need any pest control.

[DC Sunshine]

Originally Posted by realistic cook

Does any one have a good way to dry parsley so that it keeps it's beautiful green color and great flavor? That one has stumped me.

Thanks

Its got me stumped too. It always turns out that horrible grey-green colour yuk. Only way I've found to store it is chopping finely and putting into icecube trays with a little water, freeze, bag up and use as needed, but it doesn't suit all applications.

I'd be interested to know too. Maybe blanch & refresh before drying?? Just a thought.

[AndyG]

I have grown a lot of my own herbs and I think some herbs such as parsley and cilantro, for example, are just impossible to use dried with any success. Frozen in some liquid has worked a lot better for me. With freezing, one way I avoid the air-liquid interface (and thereby the freeze-drying) is by freezing in sealed baggies with the air squeezed out, or adding some oil that will float to the top of the liquid before freezing.

[foodnfoto]

I grow the usual suspects: several basils, oreganos, thymes, silver & purple sage, rosemary (wont winter over here), dill, cilantro, chives and parsley. One thing that has really wowed me this year is how flavorful the parsley is and how pretty and lush a plant it is. There's also lemon grass, lemon balm and a pretty lemon verbena.

I stuck one horseradish plant in a couple of years ago and even after harvestin what I thought was all of it last fall, I now have SEVEN new horseradish plants as well as a freezer full of horseradish sauce. It's a beautiful plant though, and it provides a home and sustenance for a pair of the emerald colored grasshoppers-they've been hanging out there for about 6 weeks!

On the wild and wooly side, there's a beautiful wormwood plant-we tried making some absinthe, but the results tasted horrible! One of my favorites is anise hyssop with beautiful purple bottle brush flowers that the bees go crazy for!

Next year I hope to procure an angelica plant so I can try to candy some stalks-I just love the flavor of those.

The herb garden is kind of a crazy looking with fuzzy plants growing in every direction, but I like it. It keeps the dogs smelling good as they run through it all the time, but it survives the abuse just fine.

[Tasty Thoughts]

We have started to grow our own herbs in our windowsills. We currently have basil and chives but intend to add more and fill the sills of 3 windows. They look lovely and smell wonderful besides being helpful when cooking. We also have lemon verbana, but it is a large plant that we have in a bigger planter on the floor near our other herbs.

[KYHeirloomer]

If you have the room, TT (obviously, you have the light) a nice approach is to use a strawberry pot to create an entire kitchen herb garden. A selection of herbs go in the mouth of the pot, and other, individual plants, go in the side cups.

Looks great. And you have the herbs you need right to hand all the time.

[Tasty Thoughts]

That sounds like a good idea. It would be nice to have a wider array of herbs available in a small amount of space.

[CatheyJ]

Last year I grew thyme, basil, cilantro, chocolate mint, mint, rosemary, parsley ( both curly and flat) lavender, lemon... something.. I cant remember.. I didnt replant this year because I couldnt keep wild animals from eating from the garden.. we live in the country and have everthing from deer and peacocks, to raccoons and armadillos in our yard. I am not big on sharing with wild animals.. GROSS. They especially loved the basil. I thought that was kind of weird.
I have never been successful with cilantro either.