growing herbs
 

hi guys

just wondering if anyone knows anything about growing herbs i would love to do it instead of always buying,
what time of yr is best and what can i grow? could i grow ginger/mint/parsley/thyme in my own garden?

Ginger I know nothing about, but the rest should be fairly straight forward. Mint should be grown in a pot, as its roots take over whatever space their allowed to occupy.

You could also try growing rocket, sage, chives... They're all easy to grow, and can provide enough for your day-to-day usage in very little space.

growing herbs
 

I think the spring is the best time to sow them. My son grows many of them: as chives, mint, dill, and as the song says "parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme." They are easy to grow, need very little space(apart from the mint which can take over if you don't confine it to a pot, you can plant the pot in the soil) and it is a delight to be able to pick your own herbs when they're fresh

I grew parsley and mint in pots indoors. They grew very well, but the parsley and coriander got greenflies all the time.

Just read a good book about growing and using herbs: Alan Titschmarsh: Growing and using herbs.

Regards,
p

Lottoloopy
 

It's a good idea to buy the seeds online and propogate them yourself indoors, then you can plant them outdoors in the late spring. Try lemon basil it's fab with pasta.

many thanks for all the advice, i cant wait to grow my own stuff as i love using herbs and they are expensive to buy fresh

herb plants
 

Hi Jennifer,
I have rosemary and thyme young plants that you are welcome to if you could call in on one of your trips, they are cuttings from the plants I have in the garden. I also have a rather poorly sage cutting, if it's still alive later in the year you're welcome to it as well. As for the parsley you'd be best off growing that from seed.
Toddler

Thank u for the kind offer Toddler, i will send u a pm now

Experiment with herbs
 

Hi, I think that growing herbs is really rewarding: less backache than vegetables and it makes such a difference adding fresh herbs when cooking.

I would really recommend that you experiment. Rather than grow lots of , for example, rosemary, start lots of half trays with different herbs. I got a lot from www.seedaholic.com last year and was really impressed. I am growing three types of basil alone, Lemon, cinnamon and greek, Each one came with a comprehensive information sheet and I the prices were good. I think that they're an Irish comapny too.

You could try cheating - buying pots of herbs in supermarket, dividing them into smaller clumps and planting them outside.
I did that with a pot of chives a few years ago, and they are still happily producing.
I saw ginger roots for sale in B and Q last year. Never tried growing it though.

herbs
 

I bought bay leave plant in lidl 3 years ago and now its a nice big tree higher than my garden fence. I did same with rosemary

Herbs
 

It was written on a post before but I can really recomend the www.seedaholic.com website for buying seeds. I have been growing herbs from seeds bought there and none of them have failed. You are given great advice on how to plant and care for them. Growing herbs is very rewarding and the results are great. Good luck.

i grow herbs its great. always start going them inside. now is a great time i've started last wk. keep inside till end of may would be good. they look great in pots. i've use anything to hold them, even a washing door!

Tip
 

When propogating the seeds...start them off on a sunny window ledge indoors and cover the top of the pot with clingfilm...this will help germinate the seeds faster and give you a larger crop yeild...

Hope it helps...

and as for mint...never plant it in the ground....it goes everywhere!

I'd recommend watercress though...really easy to grow and so tasty in salads during the summer.....nice peppery taste.

Good luck with the green fingers!

what to do when you have too much
 

I've a large herb garden....all growing in pots thankfully, really handy for winter, can take them inside so they don't get frostbite and i've fresh herbs all year round....

but what i do is every now and then during the summer when there's more than i can use, i harvest as much as i can, chop them finely and leave on a baking tray in the oven on the lowest heat overnight....come the morning you have lovely dried herbs ready to go into their little pots...great use for leftover jam jars....just don't forget to label them!

Plus your home will smell just scrummy as a result!

Let me know if you try this or if you have any questions