ruggr10
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Location: Brunswick, Maine

What Herbs Should I Grow?

Hi All,
I've never grown my own herbs (which seems like a sin) and my wife has decided that I will this year (of course she will then say it's "our" herb garden just like it's "our" veggie garden and "our" berry and fruit, but I digress).

What do you recommend?
I would like to spread these around from my veggie garden to my front yard with my ornamentals since I would like to mix in edible landscaping especially if they will attract beneficial insects. Chives are an idea and I have some seeds but is it too late to start them now?

I really have no idea other than reading online about the "must haves" but I am stuck on where to grow what.

Any help would be great. I'm afraid to mess up.

Thanks!!!!!

gumbo2176
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Location: New Orleans

First off, grow what you and the wife use in cooking. Most folks just have to grow Sweet Basil, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme, Parsley, Chives, Dill, some type or types of mint. These are what I now have growing in my garden and use them a lot in cooking. Of course they make more than I can use so my family and friends benefit.

There are so many herbs out there, but I concentrate on what I use. I don't see much sense in growing something that I get no use out of.

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lorax
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Location: Ecuador, USDA Zone 13, at 10,000' of altitude

Absolutely go with Gumbo's advice - plant what you use. I personally consider Parsley, Thyme, Dill, Oregano, Rosemary, several types of Basil, Lemon Balm, Cilantro, Chervil, and Mint (like Marlin, I grow this in its own pot) to be indispensable herbs, and to them I add Lemongrass, Lavender, and a few local more obscure things (like Epazote, Sanguarachi, Achiote, and several ginger-family things) because of what and how I cook. Because I plant a lot of garlic, I don't do Chives (the scapes of garlic are very similar in flavour) but if I suddenly was unable to plant garlic, I'd go for them as well.

You can absolutely add herbs into your landscape - particularly the broadleaf fancy basils are very attractive foliage plants (just clip the blooms off when they come to keep them alive and thriving). Thyme is a low-growing plant that makes a nice understory or bed edging. Parsley is a biennial in most climates and is very interesting to look at (but again, don't let it bloom).

I'd also reccomend you start with bedding plants - partially because it's your first time with herb gardening, and partly because it will speed up the time that you can harvest.

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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Definitely Dill and Garlic if you are going to be making pickles. If you didn't plant garlic last fall, you can do that this fall.

Dill is easy to grow direct seeded and fantastic in flower for attracting beneficial insects, and you can use the flowerhead in pickles too. They are attractive to Black Swallowtail as larval food, so if you have Black Swallowtails in your area, sow extra. Now I can't be sure about your area, but here, dill will self sow enthusiastically and come up on their own each spring as long as you let them go to seed and scatter the seeds when mature.

I've decided Lemongrass will be my "ornamental" grass. a couplw of years ago, I pushed some fresh Lemongrass from the grocery store in the ground where it tends to stay moist, and they grew into to 3-4 ft tall fountains. They multiply during the season so all you have to do is lift, divide, give them a good haircut, and pot them up in small containers. They will keep as houseplants over the winter in a sunny window and slowly grow out for you to harvest and use. Simply plant them out after last frost. :D

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hendi_alex
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If you have a naturalized part of the garden, plant some dill, cilantro, and parsley. Let all three bloom and go to seed. Maybe even help the plants to scatter some of the seed where you would like it in the bed. These plants will self sow and from my experience will give new plants that are more healthy and vigorous than the plants you might transplant to the location. I now have mostly volunteer parsley and cilantro therefore spend very little effort on new plants. These herbs do not tend to seed so much that it is a problem, and if you want to limit volunteers then just head the flowers.

Barefoot Herbalist
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Location: NE, GA - Zone 7

Rosemary is definately a must if you are trying to do some "landscaping" with herbs, and then sage loves rosemary so you might as well put them together (as comapnions), and anything you use plant it...one of my favorite books is Herbal Remedy Gardens & Herbal Tea Gardens, Dorie Byers shows you how to design your garden while getting the best use out of the space you have and the herbs you will use!!!

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rainbowgardener
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Location: TN/GA 7b

OP is in MAINE!! That is most likely zone 3 or 4!!

I think you would be best off growing the annual herbs.

Sage, lavender, rosemary, oregano etc would all need to come in for the winter and none of them are entirely easy to maintain indoors in the winter. Of those oregano might be the easiest to overwinter indoors. Or it grows fast enough that you can just grow it as an annual, starting over each spring.

But if you start with basil, chives, dill, fennel, annual chamomile, coriander/cilantro, summer savory, green onions, you will not have to worry about all the digging up, over wintering issues. Thyme is another perennial which grows fast and easily from seed, that can be grown as an annual. Parsley is a biennial that is also usually grown as annual.

For landscaping issues basil comes in red and purple varieties that are beautiful mixed in with greens. The dill and fennel are very feathery and pretty. The parsley has rounded leaves that also work very well as landscaping. The thyme is creeping, good for draping over hanging baskets or over retaining walls, raised beds, etc.

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NorthCoastGardener
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Location: Eureka, California

My favorite herbs to include in the garden are lavender and rosemary for structural garden plants, as well as using in borders sage and thyme, which is a great used as an edging plant. I have chives and parsley grown more for culinary uses, and use the rosemary, sage, and thyme for cooking as well. I'd like to set up a few containers to grow basil next.

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rainbowgardener
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Location: TN/GA 7b

That's really nice in your climate, but every one of those -- lavender, rosemary, sage, thyme -- the OP in Maine would have to dig up and bring in for the winter and try to keep them alive indoors all winter. Rosemary is not hardy in my climate. I keep trying to keep it alive through the winter. This past winter I worked very hard at it and managed to keep it alive, though not entirely thriving, all winter, only to see it promptly curl up and die when I tried to bring it back outside this spring.

So I really don't recommend them for zone 3-4 people unless they are really experienced at these things.



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