Herbs in Containers ? - Page 6

BajaMitch · March 25, 2017

Rosemary is my favorite herb. God made it to be used with poultry. It is fantastic and a must with pork. It works really, really well with a light touch on white meat fish. It is a natural herb to use with any kind of lamb meat.

I am the cheapest member of this forum and I look for the cheapest, lowest costing way to do everything in my life. My mission with regard to container tomatoes is to develop the optimum recipe for grow media and ferts in the smallest Self-Watering container all at the lowest cost...I am very close. But, with regard to a rosemary plant, Buy one and then plant it in the dirt in your yard. It is extremely hardy and will produce all the rosemary you will ever need for cooking for life once it reaches a shrub that is 1 foot in diameter. Keep trimming every four months to keep it that size. Rosemary is a gift to man kind.

BTW, if you unwisely decide not to grow one of your own, don't worry. When ever you need rosemary to cook with, grab a pair of scissors and walk your neighborhood. Before you get half way down the block, you will see a rosemary bush in someone's garden. Politely walk up to the front door and gently ask if you can cut a few twigs of their rosemary bush to complete a meal. You will always find rosemary in some one's garden wherever you live in this USA. Once, at my daughters house in Long Beach CA, she was fretting about not having any rosemary for the preparation of a roast chicken dinner she was hosting. She reluctantly followed my advise, we got a pair of scissors, walked down her street, saw a rosemary bush within 5 houses, and I cut a few twigs as the plant was at the sidewalk. We walked back to my daughter's house on the other side of the street and saw two more rosemary bushes. My daughter now lives in Orange County in a townhome. Her town home is at a corner and the entire green belt that surrounds her house is one giant rosemary thatch. It is my contention that God is messaging to us all to use more rosemary in our cooking...and I am not a religious guy at all. You can trust me on that.

Oh yeah, don't grow cilantro for yourself. Buy it from ethnic food markets...$.33/bunch. Too delicate to grow, too long to grow, you'll never have enough on hand on an ongoing basis if you grow it yourself. And, don't plant mint in a garden. Mint is evil, it will grow into everything around it and take over and it is as hard to weed it out as it is to weed out evil in our society...actually, impossible to weed out either.

Grow mint in shallow containers and learn to make Mojitos and Mint Juleps with it. Put plenty of it in home made Pho and use it as garnish at every opportunity. Put in in all your umbrella drinks as a garnish as well as with most all desserts. Using mint in this way will elevate your stature as a kind of gourmet among friends and family.

AlittleSalt · March 25, 2017

I just counted and have 20 rosemary seedlings in 12 cells growing.

SueCT · March 27, 2017

I look forward to seeing how the cilantro does for you indoors. I love it but since it is a cool weather plant it goes to seed before the tomatoes are ready, and I have never succeeded in having much of it available when I need it the most. Maybe I will try it after I move my tomatoes outside.

WilburMartin · March 28, 2017

cilantro is going to be tough - if you get the seeds out in Jan, you might get a harvest. In MS, I have had no success with cilantro; it needs cooler weather than I can give

with MS heat and humidity, basil grows like wildfire, same with flat leaf parsley and chives, oregano, too

thyme has been difficult, as well as taragon

Rosemary does well, but too bad I just don't like it

Worth1 · March 28, 2017

Cilantro should be started in the fall here.
At about 35¢ a bunch it is practically free.
Two options are to blanch and freeze it in cubes and the other is to dry it.
Fresh your just going to have to buy it.
The problem with that is when you get a hankering for the stuff you have to go to the store.
The good thing about the stuff is there isn't one part of the plant that cant be eaten from the roots to the seeds.

In all honesty I would spend the money on the herbs that are expensive not cilantro.

Worth

Cole_Robbie · March 28, 2017

I get $1.50 to $2 for cilantro sprouted in 4" pots. It brings more money as a plant than as a cutting. I'm sure it's not as cheap or common here as it is in Texas.

AlittleSalt · March 28, 2017

The reason why I want to attempt growing cilantro in the house is out of curiosity. We also love the way the plants smell.

Cilantro is dirt cheap here at the grocery stores.

Rockporter · March 28, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deborah

And mint only in a pot by itself!

And left on concrete, away from any soil if at all possible. My neighbor is in a battle with the neighbor down the road, because her mint has made it to her yard. I sure hope it doesn't come my way, lol.

Rockporter · March 28, 2017

I'm planning my herbs and flowers in pots now. I just washed all my pots with a soap and bleach solution, then filled them about 2/3 ith potting mix. I'm topping them off with my mels mix and deciding which plants are going where. I do know the rosemary is going into a 5 gallon bucket.

I have also decided that by planting most of my herbs and flowers in containers it will free up the garden bed for other veggies. I can also move the flowers and herbs around the garden depending on what is planted where to bring those beneficial insects where I want them, lol.

My attempt of having some control over the onslaught of the bad guys I am already dealing with. I have leaf miners and white fly on my tomatoes, and I found a cut worm in my onion bed.

Rockporter · March 28, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worth1

Cilantro should be started in the fall here.
At about 35¢ a bunch it is practically free.
Two options are to blanch and freeze it in cubes and the other is to dry it.
Fresh your just going to have to buy it.
The problem with that is when you get a hankering for the stuff you have to go to the store.
The good thing about the stuff is there isn't one part of the plant that cant be eaten from the roots to the seeds.

In all honesty I would spend the money on the herbs that are expensive not cilantro.

Worth

Yeah, it's cheap for sure. I was never able to use enough of it to even buy a bunch because it would go bad in the refrigerator. Now, I grab a mason jar, put some water in it, add my cilantro and cover with a ziploc bag, leaving it open for air. Put it in the refrigerator and even two weeks later I am still cutting pieces off of it for one recipe or another. You can do that with other herbs too, but I will be growing it in the garden now, to bring in the good bugs, lol.

SueCT · March 28, 2017

Not much is cheap here in CT. Cilantro is about 1.50-1.69 a bunch. Not a huge amount, but certainly not 0.35. The problem is I spend the money on it, only use a few tablespoons chopped up and it goes bad before I need it again. Anyway, salsa with fresh tomatoes is worth it.

Rockporter · March 29, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by SueCT

Not much is cheap here in CT. Cilantro is about 1.50-1.69 a bunch. Not a huge amount, but certainly not 0.35. The problem is I spend the money on it, only use a few tablespoons chopped up and it goes bad before I need it again. Anyway, salsa with fresh tomatoes is worth it.

If you do what I laid out above, you will be able to use most of your bunch of cilantro before it goes bad. I also dry off the inside of the bag before I put it back onto the cilantro. It's the humidity the water provides to the cilantro which keeps it fresh in the fridge.

Deborah · March 29, 2017

Good add-to keep pots of mint on cement. I love mint but it sure can be a bully!

FarmerShawn · March 29, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deborah

Good add-to keep pots of mint on cement. I love mint but it sure can be a bully!

I grow my mint in hanging baskets. It grows well, is easy to harvest, stays in control, and smells divine as you brush it on your way by.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

AlittleSalt · March 29, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deborah

Good add-to keep pots of mint on cement. I love mint but it sure can be a bully!

Quote:

Originally Posted by FarmerShawn

I grow my mint in hanging baskets. It grows well, is easy to harvest, stays in control, and smells divine as you brush it on your way by.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Positives - There are reasons to like mint. Taste and aroma are the most obvious. Mint will also grow directly under large trees.

Negatives - There is also reason why some/probably most people won't grow mint in-ground - it is invasive.

I grow mint because I like the fact that it smells and tastes so good, and because it is invasive. I like biennials and perennials. I want this 10 acres to grow things that you can reach down and eat.

I looked up Mint https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mentha

Mint is also not affected so much by RKN.

March 25, 2017	#76
BajaMitch Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: California Posts: 84	Rosemary is my favorite herb. God made it to be used with poultry. It is fantastic and a must with pork. It works really, really well with a light touch on white meat fish. It is a natural herb to use with any kind of lamb meat. I am the cheapest member of this forum and I look for the cheapest, lowest costing way to do everything in my life. My mission with regard to container tomatoes is to develop the optimum recipe for grow media and ferts in the smallest Self-Watering container all at the lowest cost...I am very close. But, with regard to a rosemary plant, Buy one and then plant it in the dirt in your yard. It is extremely hardy and will produce all the rosemary you will ever need for cooking for life once it reaches a shrub that is 1 foot in diameter. Keep trimming every four months to keep it that size. Rosemary is a gift to man kind. BTW, if you unwisely decide not to grow one of your own, don't worry. When ever you need rosemary to cook with, grab a pair of scissors and walk your neighborhood. Before you get half way down the block, you will see a rosemary bush in someone's garden. Politely walk up to the front door and gently ask if you can cut a few twigs of their rosemary bush to complete a meal. You will always find rosemary in some one's garden wherever you live in this USA. Once, at my daughters house in Long Beach CA, she was fretting about not having any rosemary for the preparation of a roast chicken dinner she was hosting. She reluctantly followed my advise, we got a pair of scissors, walked down her street, saw a rosemary bush within 5 houses, and I cut a few twigs as the plant was at the sidewalk. We walked back to my daughter's house on the other side of the street and saw two more rosemary bushes. My daughter now lives in Orange County in a townhome. Her town home is at a corner and the entire green belt that surrounds her house is one giant rosemary thatch. It is my contention that God is messaging to us all to use more rosemary in our cooking...and I am not a religious guy at all. You can trust me on that. Oh yeah, don't grow cilantro for yourself. Buy it from ethnic food markets...$.33/bunch. Too delicate to grow, too long to grow, you'll never have enough on hand on an ongoing basis if you grow it yourself. And, don't plant mint in a garden. Mint is evil, it will grow into everything around it and take over and it is as hard to weed it out as it is to weed out evil in our society...actually, impossible to weed out either. Grow mint in shallow containers and learn to make Mojitos and Mint Juleps with it. Put plenty of it in home made Pho and use it as garnish at every opportunity. Put in in all your umbrella drinks as a garnish as well as with most all desserts. Using mint in this way will elevate your stature as a kind of gourmet among friends and family. Last edited by BajaMitch; March 25, 2017 at 06:29 PM.

March 28, 2017	#79
WilburMartin Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Mississippi Posts: 169	cilantro is going to be tough - if you get the seeds out in Jan, you might get a harvest. In MS, I have had no success with cilantro; it needs cooler weather than I can give with MS heat and humidity, basil grows like wildfire, same with flat leaf parsley and chives, oregano, too thyme has been difficult, as well as taragon Rosemary does well, but too bad I just don't like it __________________ "Ain't nothin' in the world that I like better than bacon and lettuce, and home-grown tomatoes." - Guy Clark (RIP), "Home-Grown Tomatoes"

March 28, 2017	#84
Rockporter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Texas Coastal Bend Posts: 3,205	I'm planning my herbs and flowers in pots now. I just washed all my pots with a soap and bleach solution, then filled them about 2/3 ith potting mix. I'm topping them off with my mels mix and deciding which plants are going where. I do know the rosemary is going into a 5 gallon bucket. I have also decided that by planting most of my herbs and flowers in containers it will free up the garden bed for other veggies. I can also move the flowers and herbs around the garden depending on what is planted where to bring those beneficial insects where I want them, lol. My attempt of having some control over the onslaught of the bad guys I am already dealing with. I have leaf miners and white fly on my tomatoes, and I found a cut worm in my onion bed. __________________ In the spring at the end of the day you should smell like dirt ~Margaret Atwood~

March 29, 2017	#88
Deborah Riding The Crazy Train Again Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: San Marcos, California Posts: 2,562	Good add-to keep pots of mint on cement. I love mint but it sure can be a bully! __________________ "The righteous one cares for the needs of his animal". Proverbs 12:10

March 25, 2017	#77
AlittleSalt BANNED FOR LIFE Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 13,333	I just counted and have 20 rosemary seedlings in 12 cells growing.

March 27, 2017	#78
SueCT Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Connecticut Posts: 1,460	I look forward to seeing how the cilantro does for you indoors. I love it but since it is a cool weather plant it goes to seed before the tomatoes are ready, and I have never succeeded in having much of it available when I need it the most. Maybe I will try it after I move my tomatoes outside.

March 28, 2017	#80
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	Cilantro should be started in the fall here. At about 35¢ a bunch it is practically free. Two options are to blanch and freeze it in cubes and the other is to dry it. Fresh your just going to have to buy it. The problem with that is when you get a hankering for the stuff you have to go to the store. The good thing about the stuff is there isn't one part of the plant that cant be eaten from the roots to the seeds. In all honesty I would spend the money on the herbs that are expensive not cilantro. Worth

March 28, 2017	#81
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	I get $1.50 to $2 for cilantro sprouted in 4" pots. It brings more money as a plant than as a cutting. I'm sure it's not as cheap or common here as it is in Texas.