Growing Herbs from Seed - Is it worth it?

BargainHunterCat

Hi everybody,

I love my fresh herbs & I'd love to grow & sell them to make some extra cash. I was thinking though, is it hard to grow herbs from seed? Also is it cost effective or would I be better off starting with decent plants & splitting them/taking cuttings?

In the past I've grown my herb collection by rescuing those poor floppy herb plants the supermarkets sell in the vegetable section with a best before date on them (can you imagine giving a plant a BBE?!), repotting them and giving them lots of TLC which they have all responded well to. (Ex hubby used to call our garden my herb rescue centre!)

Also, can anybody recommend where I can find a supplier of good organic seeds/seedlings please?

Many thanks,

BHC

mikeywills

Sounds like you have green fingers to me, I have come across these when looking earlier on for seeds for my veg plot. I haven't tried them myself so cannot vouch for them.

https://www.poyntzfieldherbs.co.uk

kethry

basil and coriander grow really easily from seed: i know this cos i did it a week ago. the biggest problem with coriander is stopping it running to seed, which means you have to stay ontop of it and harvest it like mad. (what a shame for a coriander lover!)

i'm also growing parsley, chives and mint. the parsley and mint have both germinated, but the chives have yet to show. give it a go - you can buy packs of herb seed quite cheaply in wilkos, so experiment - just buy a few pots, some seed compost, follow the instructions for each seed, and cover the pot with a clear plastic bag, and pop on a sunny windowsill.

good luck!

keth
xx

BargainHunterCat

mikeywills wrote: »

Sounds like you have green fingers to me, I have come across these when looking earlier on for seeds for my veg plot. I haven't tried them myself so cannot vouch for them.

https://www.poyntzfieldherbs.co.uk

Wow the web site is fab, I might have to arrange a trip up to Scotland to visit them...:D

carolbee

have you got someone you could share a packet of seeds with? or look up seed exchange on the net. if you are in the south east corner of uk PM me and i can give you some chive plants

kippers

Hi

I grow herbs in my allotment & they are easy to grow.

There are two types of coriander, one for seeds (used in indian cookery etc) and another type for leaves (used in salads etc, this doesn't go to seed half as quickly as the other). If it doesn't say 'for Leaf' on the packet then you can be certain it is the first one that goes to seed very quickly.

Mint is easy to grow but is very invasive and its roots will spread and spread, so make sure you grow it in a pot and not straight in your garden

Fresh Basil is lovely and i froze loads last year chopped up in ice cube trays with a little bit of water. I added it to loads of things when cooking, straight from the freezer.


Anyway...good luck!

jennifernil

Most herbs are easy to grow from seed. But I would concentrate on growing them for yourself, it is very difficult to make any money from growing plants these days, unless you have lots of friends to sell them to.

I have been growing up to 20000 plants per year for the last 14 years and selling them for charity, and , after deducting costs and looking at the time involved, I reckon I have not earned more than £2 per hour for my labour.

lovebug_rita

Just a quick question, for a large window type box planter, how many seeds would I need to try to grow corriander and mint ... ie half and half ?

Carmen

Rita, I was just going to ask that :rotfl: I want to grow coriander,basil,chives and parsley, will they all get along together in a window box?
Carmen x

roses

I am trying to grow herbs at the moment but it is bloody difficult! They wilt once they reach 2-3 inches when I have them inside on my window sill but the day after I put them outside, they all died!

Kay_Peel

I was interested to see that Bargain Hunter Cat rescues those sad, floppy specimens sold in supermarkets.

Any tips? How do you do it and what TLC do you give them?

KP