Do you grow your own herbs?

swampwitch

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It seems everything grows well here! I love cooking with fresh herbs. We have a parsley "bush" that produces all year long. For some reason, I can't grow basil. I thought it was because I had it by the oregano and thyme (I know that some herbs do not do well next to each other), but it doesn't live on its own, either. The ends of the leaves turn dark and it dies.

We have lots of mint and catnip, though!

Do you grow your own herbs? Any tips on growing basil?

p.s. If you cook fresh foods with fresh herbs and a good quality sea salt, everything you make will taste very, very good!
 

pat

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Funny, I can't grow basil either! I do have a lemon thyme plant that has been neglected but growing well for several years (a favorite herb of mine), as well as a small rosemary bush


I did manage to grow chives well for a number of years, but it's at last bitten the dust (had a very large pot of it).

I agree that fresh herbs, bit of oil and vinegar and fresh grated parmesan and you can dress up any salad green or bit of chicken, seafood, beef
 

strange_wings

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I've grown a few different ones over the years. I have some basil currently growing in my baby turtle pen that's looking better - at first I thought it was going to die and the baby turtles were nipping off the bottom leaves..


There are some other herbs growing in some old whiskey barrels too, but not looking too wonderful.
Last year the parsley was eaten up by caterpillars. I didn't have the heart to pick them all off. Does anyone know what kind they are? - I suspect some sort of swallowtail butterfly. http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/DSCN1769.jpg
I've seen them all over other people's parsley, too, so if you're growing parsley be on the look out for them.
 

rockcat

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

I've grown a few different ones over the years. I have some basil currently growing in my baby turtle pen that's looking better - at first I thought it was going to die and the baby turtles were nipping off the bottom leaves..


There are some other herbs growing in some old whiskey barrels too, but not looking too wonderful.
Last year the parsley was eaten up by caterpillars. I didn't have the heart to pick them all off. Does anyone know what kind they are? - I suspect some sort of swallowtail butterfly. http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/DSCN1769.jpg
I've seen them all over other people's parsley, too, so if you're growing parsley be on the look out for them.
That happened to our parsley last year too! I mean every single leaf!

We (well, really my husband) grow herbs. Basil does well here in Florida. We had 2 plants, but one is missing as of Sunday.
Hmmm... not accusing anyone, but we live above an Italian restaurant.


The chives, rosemary, and catnip are doing really well. When the catnip needs to be pruned, my DH brings it in and Oliver is happy to do it.
 

weldrwomn

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I have Lemon balm, thyme, oregano, 3 different basils, catnip, and lavender.
I have to replant my rosemary every year because it doesn't like being buried under 1 - 2 ft of snow. This year, I am going to try growing it in a nice pot and bring it in over the winter.
 

addiebee

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Right now I have basil and thyme... porch pots facing west so they get lots of afternoon sun. The basil grows like a weed!!
 

white cat lover

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I have catnip, some mint thingy mom gave me, thyme, chives, erm...there are like 3 other things but I haven't a clue what they're called.
 

zane's pal

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I have oregano, rosemary, mint, lavender, and parsley (perenniel) and basil, chamomile, and dill (annual.) No catnip because (a) Zane is one of those cats not affected by it and (b) I don't want to have all the neighborhood cats in my garden. (If Zane were still an indoor/outdoor cat, perhaps, as he'd get plenty of exercise running them off.)

Basil needs lots of water. Most people who have trouble growing it don't water it enough.

For vegetables I have squash, cabbage, eggplant, tomatoes, and peppers.
 

rapunzel47

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We do our herbs in hanging baskets, mostly, so that I can have them close to the kitchen door: sage, 2 varieties; oregano, 2 varieties; mint; parsley; thyme. Also two window boxes with tarrgon in one and chives in the other. A couple of rosemaries in pots, as well as garlic chives. I've found that basil seedlings don't transplant well, and since it's an annual, I just buy a few pots of it, keep them in a nursery tray for watering, and pick to my heart's content all summer. They do fine. There's also lemon balm ALL OVER the garden! It was here when we moved in, and there was mint beside it, but there isn't anymore, since the LB has just marched all over everything. I don't even particularly care for it.
 

gailc

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I grow basil for a client. It seems to take forever to germinate so I end up forking out the $$ for seedlings. That year I had 24 basil "shrubs". The client needs 100 grams/week so I pick the leaves but have trouble once it starts flowering, BUT.... in the current Organic Gardening mag it state to cut 6 leaf nodes below the flowers and more leaves will be produced vs flowers!!

I have chives-NEVER GROW GARLIC CHIVES IN A GARDEN!! They seed all over the place and do not stay in a nice buch like regular chives.
I have parsley, dill self seeds. I have lovage but its a pretty strong flavor. I planted coriander but it died already so I have to replant. I have ornamental oregano's I don't think they have much flavor though. Have lots of creeping thyme too.
And in pots spearmint for mojitos and Kentucky Colonel mint for juleps!!
I have had rosemary in the past but when I bring in house for winter it dries out to often and usually dies.
 
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swampwitch

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Thank you for the basil tips and comments!

Originally Posted by strange_wings

...Last year the parsley was eaten up by caterpillars. I didn't have the heart to pick them all off. Does anyone know what kind they are? - I suspect some sort of swallowtail butterfly. http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/DSCN1769.jpg
I've seen them all over other people's parsley, too, so if you're growing parsley be on the look out for them.
Oh no! Beautiful caterpillar; poor poor parsley plant!

Originally Posted by Zane's Pal

I have oregano, rosemary, mint, lavender, and parsley (perenniel) and basil, chamomile, and dill (annual.) No catnip because (a) Zane is one of those cats not affected by it and (b) I don't want to have all the neighborhood cats in my garden....
I grow catnip in hanging baskets, otherwise all the neighborhood cats would destroy the plants. It's also handy to bring in for the kitties. We call it kitty salad.
 

menagerie mama

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We have an Aero Garden that came with herbs, but we opted to try tomatoes first, since it seemed easier. I will do the herbs next, but I plan to grow herbs in my garden when we get a house.
 

crazyforinfo

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We have basil (two in the ground doing horrible but 2 in a pot doing great), dill, thyme, chives(not growing or dying), rosemary(very slow growing), catnip (hanging basket), parsley & lemon verbana.

We have 5 peppers plants-1 in a pot and 4 in the ground. There are 6 tomatoes plants-lemon boy and a few others. We already have tomatoes starting and one pepper thanks to the heat.
 

peachytoday

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I grow lots of herbs. regular basil, thai basil, tarragon, oregano, two types of mint, lavender, rosemary, thyme, flat leaf and curly parsley and others. The garden this year will have roma and grape tomatoes, three types of heirloom tomatoes, six types of peppers, green beans, potatoes, beets, pickling cucumbers, a couple of squash and carrots. Probably some other stuff. I have to decide soon. The strawberries and asparagus are almost done. The blueberries and blackberries are coming along.

I am really lucky. Even though I live outside of a major city, my parents, who are close, have ten acres of full sun. We have a huge garden there. I grow the herbs in pots at my house where the soil is so bad I need containers. But the herbs thrive in pots. And I like picking them fresh for dinner. My pots are really big. Some of the hardier herbs like the mint and oregano in the ground.
 

jellybella

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I have basil, rosemary, thyme, sage, cinnamon basil, thai basil, pineapple sage and oregano.

Basil is very fussy about the water and sensitive to temperature swings. My basil has grown like crazy this year, but our sudden heat wave (90s) made it flower early. I am pinching off flowers like crazy!
 

jcat

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DH is an avid hobby gardener, so we have just about every herb you can imagine, and are the neighborhood "catnip dealers". Basil doesn't do too well outdoors here, but thrives in the greenhouse, planted right next to the south side of the house, or in a sunny window. DH waters it a bit every day.
 

rockcat

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Originally Posted by jcat

DH is an avid hobby gardener, so we have just about every herb you can imagine, and are the neighborhood "catnip dealers". Basil doesn't do too well outdoors here, but thrives in the greenhouse, planted right next to the south side of the house, or in a sunny window. DH waters it a bit every day.
I love to give away catnip. I put it in a baggie and write HOMEGROWN with a Sharpie on it!
 

jcat

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Originally Posted by Rockcat

I love to give away catnip. I put it in a baggie and write HOMEGROWN with a Sharpie on it!
I probably should do that, but the cats around here come and help themselves. Our yard is a real battleground sometimes, although there's plenty of catnip to go around.
 
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