Herb garden

[Rachel Ferguson]

I am keen to start a herb garden, but am a little unsure what's the best way to go about it. Can I simply get a wooden trug and plant what I want in there and pop it in the garden? Will the plants survive the winter? Are some herbs more hardy than others?

 

[lovinglife]

I know some will reseed themselves, such as dill if left to go to seed, not sure about some of the others...

 

[ChanellG]

The plants will survive winter if you protect them when temperatures reach freezing. You could always start indoors and expand to outdoor plants when things warm up. Here's a link that might help: http://www.motherearthliving.com/gardening/kitchen-garden.aspx

 

[Pat]

Chanellg thanks for the link. I have been using more herbs in my cooking and have begun to want fresh and would like to try growing my own. I really like the smell of rosemary.

 

[Junkbots]

Herb gardens can be simple but there are ways to maximize the effect of your input that translates directly to the quality fresh herbs we all love you much. I would suggest considering an herb spiral. Such a design is built with a gently sloping spiral which, through the passive force of gravity, disburses water to plants according to their individual requirements. It sounds a bit complicated but once you have it built, it's as easy as putting plants that require little water (such as rosemary, oregano, and maybe sage) at the top of your spiral, and planting herbs that require a lot of moisture (such as mint and marigold) at the bottom. Zealous space maximize-ers and permaculturalists like placing a very small pond at the bottom of the spiral for growing watercress. To better visualize this design head on over to good ol' google and search "Herb Spiral".

 

[Pat]

Thanks for the information on the spiral herb garden. I have not heard of this type of garden, as you suggested I looked on google for more information on the how to's of the herb spiral, this link has instructions on building a spiral, it is useful and attractive. I will be busy this spring with this new adventure.
http://www.gardeningtipsnideas.com/2007/05/how_to_make_a_herb_spiral.html

 

[maddie]

Most herbs are self seeding or can be grown from cuttings.. Growing a herb garden can be the easiest way to start gardening. That is how I started my little kitchen and balcony gardening. Cilantro, fennel, dil, etc can be let to go to seed.. while peppermint, rosemary basil can all be started from small cutting in container and shifted indoors for winter where you can still harvest fresh herbs for your everyday cooking provided you give them adequate lighting. A normal tube also would do

 

[ChanellG]

Chanellg thanks for the link. I have been using more herbs in my cooking and have begun to want fresh and would like to try growing my own. I really like the smell of rosemary.

You're welcome! Maddie's right; an herb garden is one of the easiest things to get started with. It's so rewarding too because you can immediately reap the rewards. I love the smell of rosemary also, though I rarely ever cook with it. I love when it's pruned to look like a mini Xmas tree.

 

[Pete]

When I am looking to buy herbs for a meal I always buy the potted plants from our local supermarket and end up taking cuttings and plant them out in pots and place them all around the garden. Not all of them take but quite a few do, if you want to do something a little easier why not pick up a herb garden kit and grow them on your window sill just do a quick search at Amazon and you will see what I mean.

 

[ChanellG]

When I am looking to buy herbs for a meal I always buy the potted plants from our local supermarket and end up taking cuttings and plant them out in pots and place them all around the garden. Not all of them take but quite a few do.

I've yet to have luck with cuttings; I've only ever grown them from seed or purchased them already growing. A lot seems to depend on the time of year it is that you are trying to grow the new plant.