Herbs in Containers ?

[AlittleSalt]

I did see Ferry~Morse packs of seeds for Garlic Chives. I'll buy some today. I did not see any Bergamot and Wild Fennel seeds. And hibiscus flowers are too pretty to eat but they do sell them at the local flea market at times.

I planted 6 cells each of:

Basil - Sweet
Catnip
Cilantro
Chives
Dill - Long Island Mammoth
Oregano
Sage - Broad Leaf
Thyme - Common
And 12 cells of Rosemary - Rosemarinus Officinalis

[MissMoustache]

How about adding Chervil and Savory? (I forgot those until I went to plant my own herbs today!)

[SueCT]

You can grow quite a few herbs in a small outdoor space, too. Mine is right outside the back door and the herbs grown right over it out onto the cement patio when rain washes a little soil onto it. They will find any little crack in the patio and grow right through it, especially mint and chives. I have had them growing under the patio table, lol. I wonder if you could grow many of them even in the heat of summer if you put them in a spot with morning sun and afternoon shade and kept them watered. Purple basil is fun because it makes pretty herbed vinegar and adds a bit of color when chopped up.

[AlittleSalt]

The Chives, Garlic seed pack that my wife brought home tonight - the flowers look a lot like the wild onions we have growing here. Every early spring - they are all over the place. I saw some flowering a couple days ago. I was going to take pictures today, but it was drizzling most of the day.

As long as they germinate, (I don't count chickens until they hatch) I want to plant some chives and garlic chives in containers and some out in an area that gets morning sun. The afternoon sun here in Texas is brutal on plants - and us. I have to provide mid-day shade for pepper plants here.

We made six large raised beds that get shaded by oak trees from 2pm through sunset. We built the beds in late 2015 - early 2016, and have only grown in them last year, but they didn't need added shade.

[montanamato]

Marjoram is super easy and gorgeous, I grow it with flowers too.

[Labradors2]

Robert, be warned. My fresh (saved by myself and stored under optimum conditions) Garlic Chives took forever to germinate. I think it was at least three weeks.....

Linda

[Csross]

Re: Garlic Chives
I grew them from seed for the first time last year. They took a long time to germinate (don't recall how long exactly), but they also grew very slowly. Even after planting out, they were fairly thin and pathetic all summer. I was outside this weekend and now see that they're all doing wonderfully, a big thicket of wide grass-like blades, much more production than I got all last summer.

So just to manage your expectations, at least here in Maryland they are a perennial and don't really start thriving until the second year.

[AlittleSalt]

Thank you for the heads up on the Garlic Chives. I planted 12 cells of them yesterday.

[AlittleSalt]

I just checked and Basil and Thyme are up this morning. I planted them 4 days ago.

[AlittleSalt]

Tomorrow is watering day. They are still very small and in the starter cells. I'm guessing they need a lot less water than they needed when I planted the seeds. (A lot like tiny tomato and pepper plants with only cotyledons.)

We have grown herbs from seed in the past, but I think it was more by luck than anything else. We planted the seeds outside like you would beans and squash. Most of the time without anything coming up.

This year, planting them in the cells, almost every seed has germinated of many of the varieties I started. The ones with the tiny seeds, there might be 10+ plants germinating per cell. I have big fingers and those seeds are tiny.

I have so much to learn, and so many questions about starting and growing herbs. It is a whole new chapter in gardening that has opened up to me. But first, they look thirsty, so my thoughts are to bottom water lightly. If I am wrong, please point me the right direction.

[Father'sDaughter]

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

We have grown herbs from seed in the past, but I think it was more by luck than anything else. We planted the seeds outside like you would beans and squash. Most of the time without anything coming up.

This year, planting them in the cells, almost every seed has germinated of many of the varieties I started.

I found the same with almost everything I grow -- direct seeding often didn't work. It was when I started seeds for transplanting that I was finally successful in growing lettuce, basil, sage, parsley, thyme, etc. The only direct seeding I do now is with beans.

Glad you're seeing success!

[AlittleSalt]

As I wrote about having more questions:

Today, I moved our tallest tomato plants off the shelf they have been on to outside where they will be planted soon. They are not coming back inside. That frees up a shelf just for the herbs. This shelf is 4' tall x 4' long x 21" deep/wide. It has two 4' fluorescent fixtures with daylight bulbs.

Some of the herbs (Dill and Cilantro) are growing tall and lanky. The others look like peach fuzz in comparison. Would it be better to lower the lighting to just above the Dill and Cilantro? Like we do with tomato plants.

I hope these pictures show up well here. In the first picture, you'll see a few cilantro growing sideways. Catzilla jumped up on it. (I think I just named our cat)

[Father'sDaughter]

I would definitely drop down the lights.

[SueCT]

I would drop the lights, too. By the way, I have had great luck direct seeding only a couple of herbs, dill and cilantro. The dill comes up fairly quickly. The cilantro I sprinkled around the tomato plants hoping to get a second crop after the first bolted and went to seed. It was a major flop. Until the next year. I almost ended up with a cover crop of cilantro, lol.

[AlittleSalt]

I potted up the lanky dill and cilantro plants. I put them into 2" transplant cups. I'll find a sunny place without a lot of wind and see how they do. I'm going to plant more cilantro seeds today and wait to see how the dill does in the 2" pots before planting more dill seeds. We use a lot of cilantro. This planting of them will be to pot them up for growing inside.