Growing herbs

[multipoodles]

I'd like to grow some herbs, I'm good at ignoring the garden and my fingers are definitely not green, but I do use a lot of herbs and they are so expensive to buy and don't keep very well.

I would like mainly to grow coriander, dill, parsley, celery and maybe some rosemary and tyme. Now if anyone has experience of these tell me what to do, where to plant them and what are their requirements. At the minute I would probably use some sort of container but that means they could dry out if not watered correctly and that will add more stress! If I stick them in the garden, husband will mow them down and we don't have a greenhouse any more.

Suggestions please :)

A container is a good way to keep them manageable and easy to find. Some are less water-dependent than others.... woody herbs like thyme and rosemary for example. Mine live in a the biggest pot I could get, filled with compost and kept in a semi-shady place so that it doesn't get frazzled in the sun. If you want a tip... those little growing herbs you can get in supermarkets are a really good short-cut. Water well, remove from packaging and sink into the compost. Job done. :)

I'm really a bit rubbish at gardening too. But I have some herbs that grow without interference - I have two bay trees (from a friend) and a rosemary bush (pot from garden centre planted out) growing happily in the ground, between two compost bins. I never do anything for them apart from chopping them down now and then and begging the neighbours to please take some.

And I bought a pot of sage last year from Wilkinson (Wilko is good for pot plants) and put it in a bigger pot and that kept me supplied with sage till the winter. I expect if I actually planted it out or even watered it it would have survived. Ditto the oregano. The thyme drowned. Note to self: planters without holes = planticide.

And I have a lemongrass plant - put fresh lemongrass from supermarket in a glass of water till roots grow. Put in compost. It grows indoors in the winter but can live outside when it's warm.

And I have a couple of clumps of garlic chives - one in the ground and one in a pot. They are perennials. You eat, they grow, almost before your very eyes. They are brilliant.

This is making me feel quite good about my garden.

Sorry, got a bit carried away and didn't answer your question at all.

I had one good year of coriander - north facing window sill, plenty of water. Bad experience of parsley. No experience of celery or dill.

Personally, I haven't cracked coriander or attempted dill. Parsley is relatively easy but my main tip is grow it in a large container and get yourself a couple of plants to pot - it only takes one barbeque to decimate your crop!

Thyme and rosemary are easy and don't need a lot of water. I grow thyme in strawberry planters which works well as it stops it getting too damp. Rosemary just smack in a large plant and you're good to go.

If you are growing herbs, I'd also recommend mint for the sheer joy of how easy it is. Put in put. Keep wet. Mint abounds.

Rosemary and thyme look after themselves, so do sage, chives and mint. Coriander needs looking after as does, basil and dill. If you can get parsley established it will look after itself as well.

But my mint always dies off. Why why why?

I don't know why. My mint dies back every winter and comes back with a vengeance and takes over.

Dill isn't too bad, doesn't need much care. Rosemary, mint and Thyme can certainly be pretty much ignored (mint doesn't survive the winter, but will come back from roots like crazy)

mint needs lots and lots of water. It dies back the moment it doesn't get enough (and briefly, while it's too cold). So if it starts to die back, cut the brown bits out and then water. Aggressively.

I knew a women who kept hers under a dripping tap. Most impressive mint I've ever seen.

Oh WOW you are all so professional in the old herb department, makes me feel a bit inadequate really! Looks like I couldn't get this wrong even if I tried. I got a pot of coriander from Tesco last week for a few recipes and I have been cutting it back (really not much left) but keeping it watered and it is still alive!!

I'll nip down to the garden centre this weekend as I am sure the stuff from Tesco won't last too long and not a great range anyway. :)

Thank you..

Coriander doesn't last that long because, once cut, it doesn't grow back the way parsley and other herbs do. But, if you put the remains of your growing coriander in a big container with some fresh compost and keep it watered, it should keep going.

Noone has mentioned basil which is what i use most. Mine always dies after abit. If i made a herb garden in a big pot in the garden would i need to bring it in over the winter?

celery is quite tricky to grow and a fiddle. I've never had any success with it. Also, I think that technically it's a veg rather than a herb. Celeriac on the other hand is quite easy.

I've been told basil is an annual and you need to keep planting new ones to form a good supply. Friend told me to grow from seeds. I've got some started from febrary and is still now sad little seedlings. Is there a way to get them to grow faster?

OneLittleBabyTerror Grow them indoors, with lots of lights, constant high temp, CO2 pumped in and you'll get them to grow faster... they'll be a shop which sells all you need somewhere around. They will nod and wink quite a bit when you tell them you're growing basil though, and the police will be very shocked when you actually are.

mint needs to go in a container or they spread like crazy and drown out all other herbs and flowers and grass my parents have five different mint varieties, one as delicious as the other.
the other herbs they have planted in an old bathtub, pebbles and sand at the bottom half, compost/sand on the top. they have (I think) sage, oregano, parsley, ipecac (boak), basil, chives. some need sowing each year, but it looks very pretty and smells delicious.

oh, and they have woodruff as well, which gives a delicious may punch.

". Mine always dies after abit"

Basil does. You can keep it going indoors for quite some time but, eventually, the stems get woody and it's not so lush. I find the supermarket growing basil transplanted into a much bigger pot and kept well-watered lasts for a long time on the windowledge

I will try that with the basil.I always find it a bit hit and miss sometimes lasts ages sometimes not.
I actually freeze fresh herbs and break off what i need,i have no idea if you can do that but it seems ok.

OK think I am I going with some on the kitchen window sill, clearing the tat off it now in preparation for my herb babies. Also will put some in a larger pot outside. So I need advice here, what herbs should I grow on the window sill and what ones should go outside?

I'm getting very excited about my new responsibility! :)

Sage grows easily, and self-seeds, and the bees love it.
Lovage is good, grows tall, can be microwaved to dryness, and is lovely in dips with fromage frais and a good dollop of garlic mayonnaise, but crap if you hate celery.
Thyme is good, as is lemon thyme
Have grown dill fairly easily, but haven't had much success with either coriander or parsley.
You can grow horseradish, too, but it needs a bottomless bucket like mint, or it will get everywhere.

Basil and coriander on the windowsill, rosemary, chives, sage, oregano, thyme outside.

Rosemary, thyme, oregano grow in the mediterranean, so love full sun, and aren't bothered about the soil quality.

Chives will grow anywhere, and the flowers are pretty. Fennel is big and architectural, smells fab but self seeds everywhere.

Parsley apparently likes its roots cool, but its leaves warm. The best I ever grew was planted alongside spinach, and really took off when the dinach went a bit wild. We moved It to our herb bed that's in full sun and it died.

I am discovering how virulent mint is. I was warned, but past failures made me a bit blase about it!

The best job in the garden is pruning the herb bed, the smell is fantastic :o)

thyme, oregano and chives are all good for the bees as well!

i am a terrible gardener, but have found mint, chives, and sage easy to establish from seed. I've planted them our in the garden and basically ignored them, and they've thrived - they would be fine in pots.

I have struggled to establish parsley and rosemary from seed, but have had great success in getting some little plants from the garden centre and planting these out.

i try to grow basil every year, and fail. i think it's too thirsty for the generally level of neglect i offer.