Grow Your Own Magazine

Can anyone give me help re growing herbs, particulary parsley? I have grown from seed and they are initially successful but then they seem to have a green layer on the soil (in pots) and then flounder. Even my basil, which grows ok indoors, fails in the greenhouse after a while

I have successfully grown veg, but seem to be a disaster with herbs - please help!

Did you notice green(ish) layer on top of the herb soil ? I think it is a moss or algae thing (don't know the right term for it), it grow because your soil get continuously damp. The green thing won't harm your herb but the soil seems to be lack of air and thats that harm your herb. Try not to over water it.
When your herb seedlings are still young, try to keep them indoor as the temperature in your green house may be fluctuating too much and get too cold at night, they can't take it.

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I grow, I pick, I eat ...

Many thanks! They are ok indoors, it is the greenhouse that they flounder although this happened in the summer too. Think I might be guilty of overwatering yes - oops

Thanks again

Overwatering!! Also parsley is completely hardy so doesn't need to be in a greenhouse.

Moss/algae = over watering.
Water your plants from the bottom, not the top.

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I came, I saw, I planted

thanks so much - will pot up tomorrow
Cheers

Hi Tracey

I'm also guilty as charged. I have found the same thing happens to me when I water the plants in the greenhouse. I usually take water from the waterbutt, if I water from tap, I don't get the same result, they seem to be ok. Wonder if its something in the water from the butt.

They say that parsley can only be grown by good men and wicked women - I've got lots of the stuff

Soooo? Which are you ?

Depends whose asking

Well, I'm a good man who has a wicked woman.

Some simple hygiene measures would seem in order for waterbutts if you ask me. being a nurse one perhaps sees it more clearly but I tend to think that collecting rain water in a butt means you get some contamination unless you are very careful hence algae spores are easily spread to your plants from it.
Therefore the butt needs to be covered and perhaps adding a small amount of bleach when it is full may help reduce the problem. Similarly a watered down solution in all your watering equipment would help. I have recently bought a pump siphon as I realised a similar problem was occurring in my GH because I dont have a tap (using a 100 plastic bin actually) . The aim being to avoid contamination by submerging a watering can in the butt. However if one is collecting off of a roof the spores are everywhere...

i thought it was only the person who wears the trousers in the home can grow parsley but im liking your version

My can of Jeyes says to add a capful to a full water butt. Would this be enought to kill anything harmful and also dilute enough that the seedlings won't suffer? (No tap on my allotment either!)

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You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
Max Ehrmann, Desiderata

blog: http://allyheebiejeebie.blogspot.com/ and my (basic!) page: http://www.allythegardener.co.uk/

Would you really water your plants with bleach or Jeyes?

I wouldn't. Has anyone actually been harmed by using water from a water butt (obviously you wouldn't drink it). I doubt it. Wash your hands after gardening and there should be no problem with hygiene. (Your chopping board has more bacteria than your toilet seat ... and probably more than your water butt)

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I came, I saw, I planted

Can we start on the butt double entendres yet, please?

Yeah but no but yeah but no but....
I take it that's what you mean ?

That's just what I was thinking. Hygiene gone mad.

I feel a bit misunderstood. Let me expand.
Well folks your tap water at home is treated with chlorides which is just diluted (stress diluted) bleach. It is a good cleansing agent and the reason why tap water used for watering produces less algal problems is just because of the chloride. You can smell it as it leaves the tap...
At horticulture school we were taught to rinse all garden implements, watering equipment and pots in it before use and I have never had any problems using it to do this or keep algae from forming in the water butt.
Jeyes fluid is another matter and I am not sure about its uses and would not like to comment further without research.
I do not consider this as "hygiene gone mad" as it reduces problems like the one this thread started on (algal problems on parsley) and also damping off etc. I wasn't overly concerned for the gardener although there is a potential risk of Legionnaires Disease from potting mixes/composts and is a water borne bacteria (mostly resident in air conditionning systems).
Good gardening in my view is about giving your plants the best opportunity to thrive and not just chancing it. Obviously there are limits to how much trouble one takes and one can only decide that for oneself.
I was after all only suggesting a small amount like a capful (10ml) which in 100L is not going to harm plants any more than tap water would, similarly the dilution of Jeyes that was suggested is similar.
I hope this dispels the misunderstanding that seems to have evolved.