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Do You Grow Your Own Herbs?

post #1 of 71
3/13/07 at 6:53am
Thread Starter 
I don't understand why any cook doesn't. Herbs are easy to grow, do not take up much room, and lend themselves to containerized growing.

So I'm wondering: Do you grow your own? And if so, which herbs do you grow yourself?
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post #2 of 71
3/13/07 at 7:23am
I LOVE growing herbs, even ones I don't use all that much. I always have rosemary (a monster bush that can't be killed :eek:), lemon thyme (one of my favorite scents), sage, and flat-leaf parsley. I'm inbetween mint plants right now (my spearmint and apple mint both have some sort of disease :cry: ). Regular and garlic chives are coming in. Too early for basil (but with the heat we've been having I probably should have done some early seeding). I've never had much success with dill or cilantro though I keep trying. And I've said somewhere on these boards before, I found that I hate the taste of fresh oregano, so although it comes in like a weed, I no longer grow it.
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post #3 of 71
3/13/07 at 8:34am
I grow 2 or 3 different basils, rosemary, coriander (cilantro in the USA?), flat-leaf parsley, sage, 4 or 5 thymes, 5 or 6 different mints, oregano and chives (are they classed as a herb, I wonder?!)
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post #4 of 71
3/13/07 at 10:19am
It's better if I say I *try* to grown my own herbs. While I lived in the S.F bay area it seemed that I couldn't fail no matter how hard I tried. In St. Louis however, I have quite a difficult time growing many herbs.

I bought a small book at the Missouri Botanical Garden over the winter called something like "Growing Herbs in the Midwest", perhaps it will give me some insight for this years season.
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post #5 of 71
3/14/07 at 8:44am
mochefs,

Which herbs did you grow in the West and what you are having trouble with in St. Louis?

There are many herbs you can grow with success in the midwest.
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post #6 of 71
4/18/07 at 10:09am
basil, mint, and a small bay laurel tree. Nothing else seems to want to cooperate.:cry:
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post #7 of 71
4/18/07 at 11:10am
is it just me or are rosmary bushes taking over the world?
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post #8 of 71
4/18/07 at 12:58pm
Thread Starter 
I hadn't noticed particularly, Fadeaway. But I can understand why it would seem that way. All those "tabletop Christmas trees" they sell around the holidays. People transfer them to their gardens, and there you go.
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post #9 of 71
4/19/07 at 9:37am
Unlike Phoebe as much as I like so many of them I generally stick to the ones I will be able to use. With that in mind I grow/grew Spearmint, Chocolate mint, peppermint, pineapple mint, basil, Thai basil, woody thyme, silver thyme, purple sage, rosemary and oregano. I have had great success with all of them and even won a few awards :D
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post #10 of 71
4/19/07 at 10:29am
Rosemary, thyme, some Basil, Marjoram, and a nice bay leaf shrub.

Stay away from peppermint! It's a weed. If you want it, grow it only in separate pots, or it'll take over your garden.
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post #11 of 71
4/19/07 at 11:48am
Any mint can be invasive.

Sink a gallon pot in the ground with two inches of the pot above soil level. Fill with two to three inches of gravel, then potting soil (not top soil) and plant the mint. It will be much more easily contained.
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post #12 of 71
4/19/07 at 12:51pm
Thread Starter 
"It's a weed."

A weed is merely a plant out of place.

An invasive plant (which, as, as Mudbug points out, includes all the mints) is only a weed if it's growing uncontrolled where you don't want it to be.

By the same token, most of our favorite herbs could be called weeds, because they grow wild and uncontained all over the Mediterainian basin.
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post #13 of 71
5/22/07 at 7:38pm
My father has a backyard garden of herbs. He loves to cook and whatever he needs, he just picks 'em up from the backyard.


___________________
Kelly
Volkswagen Pheaton Price Guide 2007 by Volkswagen UK
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post #14 of 71
5/23/07 at 11:17pm
We moved into a very herbaceous garden (ok we moved into the house, not the garden) and I recognise mint, sage, garlic chives, parsley, but thats about it. There's a multitude of things yet to be identified, but I'm a bit wary of thinking I've identified something then poisoning someone! I think I'll just use the ones I know to be on the safe side :)
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post #15 of 71
5/24/07 at 8:31am
I am growing sweet basil, cinnamon basil, and greek oregano in a planter on my deck. My yard is too shady to plant much that requires a lot of sun (13 trees!). I did plant onion chives, rosemary, and lavendar in my backyard. I'd also like to get some dill, parsley, and mint.
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post #16 of 71
5/26/07 at 11:27pm
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
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post #17 of 71
5/27/07 at 8:06am
Thread Starter 
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.
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post #18 of 71
5/30/07 at 5:08am
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.
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post #19 of 71
6/26/07 at 11:49am
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.
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post #20 of 71
9/2/07 at 8:29am

aero grow garden herbs

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...
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post #21 of 71
9/2/07 at 9:35pm
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
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post #22 of 71
9/7/07 at 2:11pm

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
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post #23 of 71
9/13/07 at 7:40am
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.
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post #24 of 71
9/13/07 at 5:41pm
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.
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post #25 of 71
9/13/07 at 7:23pm
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.
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post #26 of 71
9/14/07 at 4:24am
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.
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post #27 of 71
10/8/07 at 1:47pm
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.
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post #28 of 71
10/8/07 at 5:34pm
Thread Starter 
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.
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post #29 of 71
10/8/07 at 5:38pm
That sounds like a good idea. It would be nice to have a wider array of herbs available in a small amount of space.
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post #30 of 71
10/8/07 at 5:56pm

critters

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.
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