Herbs from seed

[bigt1888]

this is my first real season growing and i really want a large herb bed.

i did grow some herbs at the tail end of last year with some success but they were merely supermarket herbs that i planted out to prolong their lifespan

this year i want to get started early and get the herb bed going as soon as i can as i use loads in cooking and the money saved would me quite useful....

any suggestions that i could grow from seed indoors as soon as poss to plant out later would be appreciated

[stella]

I manage to grow parsley from seed and keep it growing (although slowly) all winter. I start the seed off on damp kitchen towel in a warm place and then pot it up. Simples

[binley100]

I've had success with sowing, origano and sweet marjoram from seed and they've overwintered . My thyme and chive are ex supermarket ones from about three years ago.....sage and rosemary were both bought as small plants but have grown big and I regularly take cuttings off them ....Last year I found that Dill grew quite easily but is an annual so if it flowers collect more seeds..

[valmarg]

Well, if you can get a rosemary plant and put it in a sheltered spot it should be OK as it's a perennial.

Thyme and sage are also perennials, so once you've got the plants they should increase each year.

Parsley is a biennial, so you get a good crop one year, and also the next year, but after that you will need to succession sow.

Mint can be a real thug, insofar as if it escapes from a pot it will invade. My favourite variety of mint I have I bought from Waitrose. It is a very strongly scented mint. I used the tips to root it and have quite a good bed (in pots).

French Tarragon can only be grown vegetatively, ie the seed you buy is Russian Tarragon, which is much coarser, and not so finely flavoured. What I have done in the past is to buy a bag of French Tarragan from a supermarket, and used the shoots as cuttings. I have managed to root plenty so that I have a good supply of plants.

Oregano/Margoram are good for italian tomatoey sauces.

Chives are an easy perennial oniony flavoured herb, easy to grow.

Hope this helps.

valmarg

[Scarlet]

I sowed my parsley this week 'though I usually wait a while for basil and coriander.

[Florence Fennel]

I sowed some coriander in pots last weekend to keep indoors, I shall sow some direct outside in Spring when the weather's warmer. I could do with a field of it, my daughter uses so much.

[bigt1888]

I sowed some coriander in pots last weekend to keep indoors, I shall sow some direct outside in Spring when the weather's warmer. I could do with a field of it, my daughter uses so much.

same here... i make a curry at least once a week and feed the whole office with it

[Kristen]

Not so much for planting out, but I sow 3 or 4 pots of Basil each year - two in the greenhouse "recovering", and one being mutilated in the kitchen.

[cupcake]

I sow coriander and basil every 3 weeks from the begining of march onwards. Dill will self seed, but keep it away from fennel. Didn't know about growing tarragon from cuttings, thanks. I've always just split the plant up in spring, but I have a feeling I may have lost mine to the frost this year. I have more marjoram than you can shake a stick at!

[valmarg]

I. Didn't know about growing tarragon from cuttings, thanks. I've always just split the plant up in spring, but I have a feeling I may have lost mine to the frost this year.

I shouldn't give up just yet. OH was ready to chuck some pots out of the greenhouse. They were looking a bit 'past their best', but I noticed they were starting to sprout.

valmarg

[MrsMcGregor]

Thanks for the great tip about rooting the supermarket tarragon - i'll try that - in a few months time.

[jimfin]

Coriander

I tried growing Coriander last year with not much sucess. Any tips on how to make it grow better? I have a propagator and small plastic GH

[Florence Fennel]

same here... i make a curry at least once a week and feed the whole office with it

My daughter tells me that she only needs half the quantity of my home grown coriander for her curries as it has more taste than supermarket bought. I don't have any real tips for growing it, other than it really doesn't like to be transplanted, so sow it where it's going to stay! It's also quick to bolt in the sunshine, but I collected the seeds, so win, win.

[valmarg]

Oh I forgot, Lemon Grass. You buy a pack of stalks from your local supermarket. Put them in a jam jar of water. Wait until they start producing roots. Pot up in multipurpose compost. They will start to produce side shoots.

I also forgot that I hate fresh coriander. I love seed and ground, but fresh yeuk. Soggy mouldy cardboard.

valmarg

[valmarg]

Thanks for the great tip about rooting the supermarket tarragon - i'll try that - in a few months time.

I've also done it with two other herbs.

If you buy a pot of basil from a supermarket, cut out the tips, and put in a basin of water. Taking out the tips will encourage the plants to bush out, and the tips will root quite quickly.

You pot up the rooted tips, and you can keep your basil plants goint throughout the year.

The other herb I did was mint. My plants had escaped out of their containers and were overtaking the greenhouse so had to be zapped.

I bought a pack of mint from Waitrose. As you do when desperate. I don't know how to explain this, but it was the strongest smelling mint. I have rooted it, and hopefully next year I shall have a wonderful harvest.

I have made mint jelly with it, and it smells wonderful.

valmarg


valmarg