DH WOULD LIKE TO START GROWING HERBS.....

[lissiethevampireslayer]

we have a piece of soil in our back yard that is currently not being used, dh would like to start growing herbs, but which ones? or would veg be better? we are gardening virgins, so be gentle please!

hiya!
how much time do you want to put in to it? do you have time for weeding or do you prefer someething that looks after itself?

he will look after it, (along with ds)

I have a little herb garden, and it's v. low maintainance and very useful!
Top herbs for using are sage, Thyme, a bay tree, rosemary and marjoram. These are pretty hardy, I plonked them in a couple of years ago and they are still going stong. More seasonal are parsley and basil (best for a window sill in winter)
Mint is a good one (for adding to Pimms!) also pretty hardy but speads like wildfire given the chance, so plant it in a little pot in the ground- helps contain it.

A good way to start is to buy small plants from nurseries (usually v. cheap, a pound or so) then grow some others from seed (parsley, corriander etc) next spring/summer

dh grows mint which is nice chopped up in buttered baby peas. Grow in a pot though as it can get quite vigorous.

the best advice i have seen for this is to look at what you actually eat then work out how to grow it. no point in tons of mint if you only eat parsley. also different plants do well or just die - i cannot grow tarragon or dill but basil in abundance. but that is gardening generally, it is experimental.

are the areas sunny? veg really should be a sunny spot, and most herbs prefer the sun too. mint doesn't mind the shade, ditto rosemary. i'd add sage and tarragon to the list of essentials. tarragon can be a bit tricky. personally i never find i can grow enough parsley to make it worth my while.

rosemary, sage, bay are perennial and evergreen so useful during the winter.

mint, tarragon, thyme, marjoram/oregeno (same plant i think) come back but lose their leaves in the winter (although mint freezes a treat).

parsley biennial.

basil/coriander annual.

i always add some flowers alongside the herbs as a kind of companion planting. marigolds best but hopeless if you have slugs. nasturtiums good too and edible (leaves and flowers).

thanks all, the area is quite sunny, but we would like to get them nowish, is that practical?

bump

you could maybe get a few perennials in pots (depending what's around in the garden centres) but don't try planting anything out now they won't put down new roots until the spring and could rot in the ground.

you can prepare the ground over the winter - do some deep digging, improve drainage, add organic matter which will rot in over the winter. if it's basically good you can just spread a mulch (e.g. compost) on the top and the worms will work it in without you having to dig. you could also plant a green manure like clover to fix nitrogen in the soil (not sure if it's too late to be sowing now?). there are winter veggies like (?) leeks and cabbages, not sure when exactly you sow them but just grab a seed catalogue which will give you all the timings. you could also have a go at bringing on some plants indoors on a windowsill, but generally you'd be planning, choosing and preparing up to christmas and starting to sow early spring.

most herbs will do nicely in a pot, if you would prefer to use the plot for a few veg?

Not a lot you can plant from seed this time of year, but you can, as others say, usually buy herbs to plant out. In addition to rosemary, bay, chives, thyme, parsley, basil and corriander, I have: Savoury (woody perrenial, great with chicken, in soups or even a few leaves in a salad,) salad burnett (very pretty, fern like leaves, which taste of cucumber), fennel (big and showy, liquoricey-flavour, nice with fish), tarragon (great with chicken), hyssop - great for herbal teas, and butterfly and bee-attracting, sorrell (very tart and citrus, good in soups and salads), lemon balm (sharp lemon scent, attractive leaves and flowers, great in cold drinks or as a tea), peppermint, morrocan mint, borage and lovage. Most of these are in pots.

Next year you could grow - in not much space - a couple of broad beans, runner beans, lettuces, tomatoes, courgette, chard, spinach, spring onions - all pretty easy.

If you have enough space, please do grow veg. You'll never look back once you start. Tell hubby to look at websites or get a book. You do need to educate yourself a bit on this.

Herbs like mint, rosemary and bay should go into pots because they spread their roots and need dryish soil.

Create a raised bed for your veg as it looks neater in a garden and is easier to manage. You can protect the crops more easily if you need to put polythene over, or netting and it's easier to get at the weeds. Make the beds around 1m wide so you can reach. Four beds is best (one for roots, one for brassicas, one for legumes and one for salads, one for squashes.

Rotate crops - grow tomatoes, peppers and courgettes through the summer then replace with cabbage, brussels, onion and spuds in the winter. Root veg like carrots and parsnips can be planted through the summer and stored in a box over winter.

Herbs like basil and coriander need sun and warmth, so plant them in between peppers and tomatoes.

Make sure you feed the soil well with well-rotted compost.

I only started a year ago on an enormous allotment. I planted a huge variety of stuff which was fiddly but was a good learning process but because I did small quantities of each, it meant that any failures were small (and believe me this year there were many failures).

Best of luck .

had to rush off last night but see that you've had some answers. Frosts will start fairly soon so it is too late to grow much now, but borrow a gardening book from the library to see if there is anything? Can't rememember now what you can grow in UK this late in the year. We had our first frost overnight sit is all downhill for us already! Best to work the soil ready for spring planting now. It sounds boring but will be worth it when you eat tour own veg next year. A barrow load of manure would be a good start if you live near any farms?

strange typing on my behalf there - sure you catch my drift though!

You can also buy manure pellets for smaller gardens etc. A website like Marshalls is a good place to start looking, as they have info on when to plant things.