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Easiest/your favorite home grown herbs/veggies

post #1 of 4
9/28/09 at 6:51pm
Thread Starter 
Its been a little while since I changed residences and I left all my home grown stuff there, so while contemplating getting back to having fresh stuff on hand without having to buy it every time. So what herbs, veg, and anything else do you grow at home for use in your kitchen?
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post #2 of 4
9/28/09 at 7:41pm
What climate are you in?

Here I have a pretty big rosemary plant that I have to trim back so it doesn't take over most of the raised bed it's in. So I have rosemary any time. Sage grows just as well here, don't even have to do anything but water it a few times in the summer. Oregano is another herb that once established, here in this climate, it needs little or no care. Spearmint does great too.

As for annuals, I plant basil every year, and some years it does great, other years it gets eaten up by bugs. Cilantro is really easy to grow.
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post #3 of 4
9/29/09 at 6:27am
How long a list would you like?

Among the culinary herbs I grow are: basil, mint, majoram, oregano, thyme, rosemary, sage, chervil, parsley, and tarragon. Filling that out are various greens, such as lettuces, arugala, spinach, sorrel, etc. And, of course, chives.

Medicinal herbs are a separate matter. Among those I regularly grow are lavander, echinacea, calendula, comfrey, sweet grass, tobacco, white sage, chamomille, yarrow, horehound, peppermint, catnip, and pennyroyal. In the past I've played with others, such as feverfew, milk thistle, etc.

Other herbs, which could also serve as either culinary or medicinal, are grown primarily as companion plants in the veggie garden. These would include borage, dill, hyssop, and others.

As to veggies, where to start? I grow only heirlooms, by the way. Will not put a hybrid in the ground under any circumstances. Usually there are several varieties of each type growing every year. And the types aren't always the same. But in my gardens you can count on finding:

Tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, various greens, a long list of alliums, cowpeas, both summer and winter squashes, both hot and sweet peppers, okra, eggplant, and roots like turnips and carrots. From time to time I experiment with others, and have grown my own rutabaga, kohlrabi, celeraic, etc.

And I'm sure there is lots that I'm leaving out.
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post #4 of 4
10/18/09 at 8:21am
Where to start:

Outdoor Herbs: Basil (4 varieties), Parsley, Cilantro, Oregano, mint (3 varieties), spearmint, Thyme (2 varieties), sage, and rosemary.

Indoor Herbs: Basil, parsley, cilantro, thyme, mint, rosemary.

Corn (several varieties), Peas, Beans, Beets, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Pumpkins and gourds (at least 5 different varieties – some are just for decoration, my wife loves them), winter squashes, bell peppers, honeydew, watermelon, cantaloupe, carrots, radishes, lettuce, Asparagus (perennial), Broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi.

Those are standards every year, and of course I experiment quite a bit too.

And I have my fruit orchard (Apples, pears, plums, peaches)
And my brambles (Raspberry 3 varieties, blackberries 2 varieties) and blue berry bushes 4 different varieties

I have a combination of terraced boxes, raised boxes and row style gardens. I spend about $ 800 amending all of the soil (we live on loam) and built two 5’ X 5’ composting bins. Watering is done by drip systems and crops are rotated yearly except for my corn patch, where I grow an over-winter crop that is tilled back into the soil after the spring thaw.

I use green sheets on the ground for melons and squashes and clear ventilated plastic sheets on top to increase production by keeping them warm since my primary residence and garden is in zone 5.
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