Herb lovers

[Jess]

So cool to finally have a herb section!
Who else is a herb lover on here?

[opabinia51]

That would be me!

[webmaster]

Well, me too because I like to take a snip here and there rather than pay four bucks at Whole Food. LOL

[opabinia51]

Mmmm, lavendar, thyme, marjaroam, (gave up on mint but it was nice while it lasted), sage, rosemary, lovage, curry (the plant). All herbs that I grow, very nice in soups, stirfries and just about anything.

Herbs are also good in the garden to help repel insects and to add flavour to foods.

Basil is great with tomatoes, adds flavour and if memory serves, helps to repel the hornworm.

Though, basil likes it hot and relatively dry so, the only luck I've had with basil is in my little greenhouse (exactly what franco has).

[Reptilicus]

I've planted parsley and basil this year. I still have dried basil from last year.

[opabinia51]

Years ago we had parsley in this sort of wild bed off our deck and it took over so we cut it back and threw the cuttings into the compost pile. (A pseudo compost pile)

Well, a week later our pile displayed several parsley plants! It was so funny. I've never had that happen since. But, it was fun.

[Grey]

I grow medicinal as well as culinary herbs. Big herb lover here.

[MotherNature]

I can't hardly cook without my basil plant!

[learningtogrow]

I just started growing herbs last night! I love herbs, especially basil, and I am so excited to cook with it, I love italian food, so this will be perfect!

Also, I am planting spearmint, oregano, chives, and rosemary. I can't wait until I can use them in my cooking and the mint in tea will be wonderful!

[doccat5]

I've decide I'm going to grow most of mine in containers this year, so I can bring them in in the winter for use and so I can "control" some of the rampant ones! LOL

[learningtogrow]

That's what I am doing as well, I am growing my herbs in containers, so they are easy to access when I am cooking and also so I can take them in when the weather starts to get cold again....

but I don't want to even think about cold weather ever coming for a long time....our summers don't last long enough...

[Garden Spider]

Herb Lover raising hand here!

I have Lavender, Rosemary, Thyme, Chives, and Sage year round in the kitchen herb garden. This year, I want to raise the bed, to help keep the dogs and weeds out. The Rosemary is huge--I may try a cutting as a backup, if the plant doesn't take to being dug up and transplanted.

[Jess]

Just a few then!
I have a garden that is more or less all herbs. The whole area is on a slope where originally there was a lawn and trying to mow it was life threatening. The soil was dry too so I just added some humus, topsoil and manure and planted up with as many hardy herbs as I could fit in there.
I think I am personally responsible for the bee population surviving and an increase in butterfly species!
Ok, that may be an exaggeration but I am supporting an incredible amount of wildlife in that area as well as having some very tasty meals. I even found the caterpillar of an elephant hawkshead moth in my marjoram one. Frightened the living daylights out of me. It looked like a snake!
https://www.wickfordwildlife.co.uk/Elephant%20Hawk%20Moth%20Caterpiller.jpg

[cwestcot]

I have just started my first herb garden and all I have is some rosemary (will add more plants soon). I love the smell and the taste. I havent really experimented with any of the others and honestly if I had them I wouldnt know how to use them. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks.

[opabinia51]

Oh, I'm doing the gentleman's yard right now. Wow, all of these herbs that his wife planted including a four foot high purple sage plant! Gorgeous. I was ripping out a bunch of weeds tonight and found two varieties of Marjoram, a mint plant and some herbs that I don't know the names of.

Wonderful!

He also has about 5 or 6 Rosemary plants. They are lovely! I like to pluck and dry the flowers of mine. Actually, I like to eat the flowers as is as well.

[poke]

oh how I love my little herbies
being brand new in this whole gardening world, I figured growing herbs would be my best bet... seemed easy enough and I can cook with my results! so far so good...everything is doing fine, especially the cilantro! WOW! I bought two plants from lowe's and planted my own as well...both are doing amazingly and are so tall and bushy. I think its almost time for my husband to make some of his salsa...mmm

so far the only thing I'm having any trouble with is the rosemary and the basil. basil seems sort of small for how long I've had it potted, but then again I may be harvesting more leaves than I should be I dunno. maybe I will leave the poor things alone for a while and see what happens.
the rosemary SEEMS healthy, but hasnt grown an inch in over a month. its still about 4 inches tall and planted in a window box. I assume it needs to be replanted into its own larger pot. but even still, I'm surprised its not even growing a little? any thoughts on why its so stunted?

either way...I love my herbs and I hope to keep everything alive!


see ya!

[cwestcot]

Poke, I have found that my rosemary loves the sun. I planted it a 2 months ago and it has tripled in size. Maybe if you move yours you would have better luck, I hope this helps.

[Jess]

I have just started my first herb garden and all I have is some rosemary (will add more plants soon). I love the smell and the taste. I havent really experimented with any of the others and honestly if I had them I wouldnt know how to use them. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks.

Most of the softer herbs can just be added to salads for a start. Marjoram, basil, parsley, chives, chervil, mint (small amounts) and fennel to name a few. Try different combinations or on their own. I tend to add chopped marjoram and chives to the dressing rather than the salad.
Fennel/tarragon are wonderful with fish.
Chervil with carrots.
Chives are yummy with eggs or anything you would normally add onion to as they are an allium.
Parsley goes with everything.
Basil with tomatoes is. Try it with any Italian dish too; pasta etc.
Mint has to go with new potatoes. Typing that makes my mouth water!
Does that help get you started cwest?

[cwestcot]

I have just started my first herb garden and all I have is some rosemary (will add more plants soon). I love the smell and the taste. I havent really experimented with any of the others and honestly if I had them I wouldnt know how to use them. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks.

Most of the softer herbs can just be added to salads for a start. Marjoram, basil, parsley, chives, chervil, mint (small amounts) and fennel to name a few. Try different combinations or on their own. I tend to add chopped marjoram and chives to the dressing rather than the salad.
Fennel/tarragon are wonderful with fish.
Chervil with carrots.
Chives are yummy with eggs or anything you would normally add onion to as they are an allium.
Parsley goes with everything.
Basil with tomatoes is. Try it with any Italian dish too; pasta etc.
Mint has to go with new potatoes. Typing that makes my mouth water!
Does that help get you started cwest?

Thanks for all of that info, it really helped. I have never heard of mint with new potatoes, my husband loves them.

[JPlovesflowers]

My husband calls them my "weeds", but he is certainly happy to help my by eating them in anything I prepare. My standbys are rosemary, thyme and oregano. I have them in a clay pot in a bed in full sun that gets hit by the sprinkler (in case I forget to water). I learned many years ago that they like full sun, but I had little success with them in flowerbeds, probably because I mulch very heavily and keep everything moist with irrigation. I read that they like to be neglected and that has worked well for me. The three I listed above last through the winter, they are actually 3 year plants, and then I plant cilantro, marjoram and basil during the spring usually. It is such a joy to be able to walk right out of the kitchen door and cut whatever I need to cook with.

[Jess]

My husband calls them my "weeds", but he is certainly happy to help my by eating them in anything I prepare. My standbys are rosemary, thyme and oregano. I have them in a clay pot in a bed in full sun that gets hit by the sprinkler (in case I forget to water). I learned many years ago that they like full sun, but I had little success with them in flowerbeds, probably because I mulch very heavily and keep everything moist with irrigation. I read that they like to be neglected and that has worked well for me. The three I listed above last through the winter, they are actually 3 year plants, and then I plant cilantro, marjoram and basil during the spring usually. It is such a joy to be able to walk right out of the kitchen door and cut whatever I need to cook with.

Do you have any idea how many times I have seen Cilantro mentioned and thought it was some wierd herb that only Americans loved as no one from any other country ever mentioned it? Well I finally remembered to look it up. Coriander!!!! Now it makes sense but I must say you are keener on growing it over there than we are over here. I have grown it a few times but it invariably runs to seed when I am not looking. I get a few leaves early on then the sun comes out my soil dries up and thats the end of my leafy coriander aka cilantro.
What dishes do you use it in?

EDITED to add.....glad your hubby likes the mint and potaoes cwest!

[JPlovesflowers]

Jess, I have been told (which means it may not be fact) that the plant is cilantro and the seeds are coriander. Not sure if that is true or not. I haven't had great success with it either. It is easy to get really nice cilantro (the leaves) in the grocery store and pretty cheap as well. Most people use it in salsa, although I have seen it much more in dishes over the past few years. My husband says it tastes like stinky feet....I wonder where his point of reference comes from, but he loves it in salsa. If I were to do a lime cilantro vinaigrette, he would probably turn his nose up at it. It is great for making sweet salsas with pineapple and mango, if you'll google for recipes with cilantro you should find a host of them. allrecipes.com is always a good site as their recipes are usually rated by the users. Let me know if you find anything interesting.

[Garden Spider]

I have just started my first herb garden and all I have is some rosemary (will add more plants soon). I love the smell and the taste. I havent really experimented with any of the others and honestly if I had them I wouldnt know how to use them. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks.

Marjoram and Thyme--with any kind of meat, fish or poultry. Also good in soups and stews.
Basil--great with shellfish (sautee clams or mussels in a little olive oil, white wine, and chopped basil). Add the large leaves to a salad, or use in place of lettuce in a sandwich. Make Pesto. Cut a crusty French bread roll in half, brush the cut side with olive oil, add sliced tomato, cover with fresh mozzarella cheese, and top with sliced basil, and pop under the broiler till the tomatoes are soft and starting to turn brown.
Rosemary--in mashed potatoes with garlic. Add to homemade bread for a yummy herb bread. Great with lamb or chicken. Add a sprig to your lemonade.
Oregano--any Italian dish. Bake cod or other white fish with onion and tomato, season with oregano. Do the bread thingy like for basil, only use oregao instead.
Lavender--Herbes de Provence contain lavender, and you could make your own mix. Cut several wands of lavender flowers, and put them into lemonade or iced tea. Add the flowers to sugar cookie dough.
Cilantro--any Mexican or Spanish dish. Make a bean salad with a can of white beans, a can of black beans, chopped bell peppers (green, red and yellow), chopped fresh tomatoes and scallions, and a dressing of white wine vinegar, salsa and chopped cilantro.
Sage--any poultry or wild game bird, and pork. Next time you cook the holiday turkey, loosen the skin over the breast, and lay large sage leaves in a herringbone pattern over each breast half. Makes a nice visual pattern when the bird is cooked, and adds good flavor to the meat. Boil the giblets and neck with fresh sage, let cool, chop the meats, and add this stock including meat to the dressing.

Make flavored butters with mixtures of herbs. Experiment to find the combos you like the best (I like margoram, thyme, and garlic).

[elementfiftyfour]

Any ideas as to what I can do with all my Borage? I have read that it is good cooked in with cabbage but that is about it.

Another suggestion for cwestcot as to using basil is to make a pesto sauce. Just mix sweet basil, garlic, olive oil and some parmesan cheese in a food processor and chop it up into a paste. It goes great on Pizza or Pasta.

[Jess]

Borage flowers are wonderful in a summer punch. The leaves chopped are traditionally served with Pimms in UK and the flowers as a garnish on top.
You can also use them in salads as they taste like cucumber. I mix chopped borage leaves and chopped chives to soft cheeses. If you have the patience the flowers can be candied too but I have never tried that.

[Jess]

Cilantro--any Mexican or Spanish dish. Make a bean salad with a can of white beans, a can of black beans, chopped bell peppers (green, red and yellow), chopped fresh tomatoes and scallions, and a dressing of white wine vinegar, salsa and chopped cilantro.

Now there is a good reason to grow cilantro again! That sounds so delicious Gardenspider.
Had to look up scallion this time!

[cheshirekat]

I have a very long list of herbs I have started growing this year; curly mint, pineapple mint, grapefruit mint, ginger mint, chocolate mint, mint julep mint, oregano, sweet basil, lime basil, spicy bush basil, lemon basil, cinnamon basil, lemon thyme, orange balsam thyme, coconut thyme, pink chintz thyme, bronze fennel, clary sage, common sage, rosemary, coriander, epazote, parsley, onion chives, garlic chives, French Tarragon, French sorrel, bay leaf, feverfew, betony, mullein, valerian, horehound, borage, bee balm, St. John's Wort, Grosso Lavender, Lacy Lavender, Rose scented geranium, Lion's Tail, speedwell, sunshine speedwell, salvia, patchouli, and that's all for now.

There are a few more herbs I'd like to get. I am starting to get into medicinal and culinary herbs so the my "want" list is very very long. And I'm always losing my lavender plants each year. I haven't kept one alive long enough to do anything with them. Maybe I'll be lucky keeping them in pots. Most of my other herbs are in pots except my bee balm and borage.

Growing my own herbs has totally changed two things so far. First, I love experimenting with different herbs for tea. I like the feverfew a lot. Betony is also supposed to be very good in tea but I just got it so I try to pamper it for a couple weeks before I have at it. The mullein and horehound is tasty with any kind of mint or with bronze fennel if you have a sore throat (allergy suffers). Having my own herbs has totally changed the word "salad" for me. A few years ago, I discovered I like salad with just olive oil. No dressings at all. Just olive oil and a few seasonings. I add cheese, shrimp, salmon, nuts, etc. for variety. But now that I have basil and oregano, WOW! I think I need a few more basil plants now so that I can skip the lettuce and just have basil and oregano salads. Honestly, if you have a lot of basil, try mixing a few different basil flavors with oregano, parsley, green onions, and maybe a bit of lemon thyme. Then, don't use a heavy salad dressing. Use something very light so you can taste all the fresh herbs. It is totally awesome.

I'm growing my own potatoes this year and hope to have a lot more herbs to make hot and cold potato salads and herb-topped baked potatoes. We love pasta, so naturally I'm trying to add herbs to nearly every meal. I'm also growing a few extra tomato plants this year so I can experiment with herbs and tomatoes. I'll have ten tomato plants so I'm sure I will be eating constantly. I hope there aren't any diseases I can get from eating a lot of tomatoes and fresh herbs.

In case you can't tell, I LOVE talking about herbs and reading about them. I've collected a lot of herbs this year but hope to have twice as many next year.

[iLLogicaL]

Herbs do seem like a great start to gardening. I planted my first garden last year, with flat-leaf parsley, chives, scallions and arugula. With my landlord's permission, I dug up four more tracts around our building and now have about 25 different herbs growing around the house, interspersed with sunflowers and calendula (which I guess is an herb, too).

I'm growing everything from seed, so I'm slowly learning the value of patience. The ones doing the best so far are the saltwort, cilantro, cutting celery, chervil, english thyme, and basil.

I've basically just got little parallel 1'x3' strips for each herb (not a big 'row' person), with a popsicle stick label to remind me what's what. If anything turns up fully bust, I'm planning to stick rosemary plants in the void, as they don't grow from seed very well (from what I understand).

Cool thread here, thanks to everyone for sharing!

[Lexy1700]

Cooking is one of my passions along with gardening, so it only made sense to start an herb garden! Its just a little patch I attatched to the shadier side of my vegetable garden. I made a little stone wall around it, and joined it to the stonewall I made around the veggie garden. Its very quaint. I started it last year, and its an ongoing experiment since I don't know the first thing about herbs, beside the fact that they smell and taste good. So far I have basil, rosemary, cilantro, thyme, and chives. Once I know I have the hang of those, I'll add more. Any suggestions???

[iLLogicaL]

Flat-leaf (or Italian) parsley is very easy to grow (though it takes a while to germinate) and is absolutely delicious. The flavor and texture is far superior to regular (curly) parsley. You'll find a bazillion uses for it once you get a taste for it. I put it on sandwiches in place of lettuce, on top of pizzas and pasta dishes, in salads, and if I have a lot I'll even make a salad consisting primarily of parsley. It just tastes like freshness, and I highly recommend it.

Pick it frequently, taking from the outside stems, and it just keeps growing and growing.

[JennyC]

Just planted herbs yesterday, in containers as I'm so late with it. That way, I can bring them in when it gets cold, to the enclosed porch where I'm setting up a seed-starting area. No critters allowed out there, as Dog #2 is a hound dog, and he chews everything he can smell (Including buckets of topsoil mixed with aged manure -- some went missing when I came inside for a minute!)

So I planted catnip (for my other babies), since the seeds I put out in the garden eiher didn't come up or were overwhelmed by marigold. Then a mixed pot of basil, marjoram, dill, and savory, and finally a pot of nothing but basil (yum!).

Assuming they do well in my homemade mix, I'll plant more as I scavenge more pots.

[cheshirekat]

Herbs are so yummy. I harvested a bunch for teas yesterday. Ran out of containers so I'll have to pick up some more. I'm trying to give my basil and oregano a rest - I just can't stop wanting to harvest them every day. I'm wondering if the local nursery has any new plants for Father's Day. I'd like more basil and another Stevia and more oregano and a different type of sage. I'm not all that impressed with the common sage. It's gotten quite big in it's pot so I better find some way to use it as a pest repellent or something. It's not likely to get eaten by me.

Gave my herbs extra water today as it is supposed to be very hot tomorrow. Moved some of my herbs to deeper shade so they won't wilt. I love the flexibility of container gardening.

[Jess]

I'm not all that impressed with the common sage. It's gotten quite big in it's pot so I better find some way to use it as a pest repellent or something. It's not likely to get eaten by me.

It does have a very strong musty smell and taste that is not overly pleasant in its raw state. Try it as a stuffing for meats such as pork or goose. It cuts the fat much as rosemary does with lamb. It is delicious in a winter stew and the tender new leaves can be chopped and added to butter.
It is also a great herb for women to use medicinally as it contains plant oestrogens. I eat a leaf a day but I gather from the Fathers Day comment that it would be of no use to you in that respect!

[cheshirekat]

I got an email from the local nursery that they were having a Father's Day sale. I was kind of surprised because the selection was fairly dismal after Mother's Day. I still think that the Mother's Day sale had a whole lot more bang and substance and fun. It was all that and more.

The Father's Day sale was all work and no passion. Much like a tool sale, with all the hedges and bushes in a row it was like a parade showcasing work. Noticed quite a few landscapers so maybe that was the reason. I'm not a male but I went because I wanted more tomatoes. However, I couldn't help but notice the feel and vibrancy for a sale was so low key. Gone were all the jazzed-up new hires because I guess Father's don't need help and there certainly weren't many that showed up.

The sage reminded me of fish and although I like fish, it was a taste that was off-putting and overwhelmed my taste buds no matter how little I used. Odd that I have liked the dried sage I buy and used it a lot - eggs, chicken and even potatoes and vegetables. The other salvias I have look a bit more tasty so I'm willing to try them if I can get over how pretty they are - I want to look at them not eat them. Maybe I'll find a tomato that will get me to like the taste of the common sage. Tomatoes enhance so many foods for me.

[iLLogicaL]

Sage tastes great on roasted chicken and in stuffing. Seems such a harmless taste, I'm surprised it's so off-putting to some people.

[Jess]

I'm not a male but I went because I wanted more tomatoes.

Oh! Sorry Cheshire. Hope you got the tomatoes.

The sage reminded me of fish and although I like fish, it was a taste that was off-putting and overwhelmed my taste buds no matter how little I used. Odd that I have liked the dried sage I buy and used it a lot - eggs, chicken and even potatoes and vegetables. Maybe I'll find a tomato that will get me to like the taste of the common sage. Tomatoes enhance so many foods for me

Funny how things can taste so different to different people. I am not overly keen on it off the bush but I love sage with sausages. No fishy taste for me. Can't stand the taste of lovage though unless it is in a soup. Tastes like there is perfume in it.

The other salvias I have look a bit more tasty so I'm willing to try them if I can get over how pretty they are - I want to look at them not eat them.

I couldn't agree more!

[applestar]

I like pineapple sage. Hummingbirds love the red flowers. I always get at least a 6 pack. They're not supposed to be hardy in this area, but I have ONE volunteer towards the back of the bed closer to the house, so maybe some reseed and survive the winter.

[petalfuzz]

It seems everyone is growing such variety!

I'm not growing any herbs this year, but will definitely do so in the future as I looked at the price of fresh herbs in the grocery store and totally balked! Yowza, I could buy a pack of seeds and have fresh herbs for years for the price of one bunch. Why-o-why?!

In the future, I want to grow:
cilantro
oregano
chives, garlic and regular
mint
rosemary
lavender
dill
basil

[cheshirekat]

Those are good herbs to start with. There are several different varieties of basil you will have a year to figure out which you like best; sweet, holy, columnar, cinnamon, spicy bush, lemon, lime, and pepper are the ones I am growing and can think of at the moment. (I'm a little addicted.)

Greek oregano, Italian oregano. (I think there is a Mexican kind also.)

Chives come in garlic and onion and regular.

Mints - let me count the ways - a ton of them. (Another addiction.)

[applestar]

In the future, I want to grow:
cilantro
oregano
chives, garlic and regular
mint
rosemary
lavender
dill
basil

Out of this list, MINT most certainly, and oregano most likely you can just root the fresh herb from the store without much trouble. Although I haven't tried with store bought, rosemary (woody and will need extra care -- definitely rooting hormone, good sterile soil, humidity cover) is also not too hard to grow from a cutting. Has anyone else tried growing herbs from the grocery store?

Not herbs but this link has other things you can grow:
[url=https://www.always-online.com/owens/plant/grocery.htm]Great plants you can grow from items you get at the grocery store[/url]
and this thread was an interesting read in another gardening forum, and there's a book recommendation for
"The After Dinner Gardening Book"
by Richard W. Langer..
Collier Books/Division of Macmillian Publishing Company
copyright 1969
(that I'd forgotten about -- I have to check it out)

Have fun!