Starting a herb garden

dllive

Hi all

I have 2 belfast sinks. I want to turn them into herb gardens. I have some mint (which I know needs to be contained otherwise it will take over the whole basin) and some chives.

Wheres the best place to buy herbs? (I dont know anyone I can take cuttings from). Shall I have the same herbs in each basin, or different herbs in each?

Does parsely last for more than one year or do I have to keep buying it each year?

Thanks

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pollypenny

Any good garden centre.

I recommend oregano, grows easily on bad soil, Rocky even, and tastes of summer.

TheCyclingProgrammer

Parsley is biennial. Mine survived the winter but it’s tough and starting to bolt which is to be expected. I would sow new parsley each year and treat it like an annual.

Find a good local nursery or garden centre for starting your herb collection but I would take the time to sow seeds for any annuals as it’s much cheaper that way.

You should only need to buy mint once. It will spread out to fill its container pretty quickly and all you should need to do is dig it out and break up the rhizomes and replant.

I would also buy some woody herbs like rosemary, sage and thyme and look after them. You will eventually want to propagate new ones from cuttings as they get old but they should last ages, especially rosemary.

getmore4less

there is a lot of info on the Greenfingered board.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=134

LandyAndy

Probably best to avoid fennel because not only is it rampant and grows a very long root but it also self seeds everywhere. You do get an awful lot of seeds to use in your cooking though. :cool:

ka7e

Whenever I plant rosemary I end up with a huge shrub, even if it's roots are restricted. My current one was put in a dry, walled bed and is 5 foot tall and about 7 foot wide. I think it might overwhelm a small herb sink!

Nile

Hi, we move threads if we think they’ll get more help elsewhere (please read the forum rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board. If you have any questions about this policy please email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com.

I’ve moved your thread from the ‘In my home’ board to the ‘Greenfingered’ board, where it is better suited.

Regards

Nile

dllive

Thanks for all your comments. Very helpful.
Someone told me not to buy herbs/plants/trees from the big DIY stores becuase their life is usually very short. Im better off paying a bit more and going to a smaller, independant garden centre. Is there any truth in that?

unrecordings

dllive wrote: »

Thanks for all your comments. Very helpful.
Someone told me not to buy herbs/plants/trees from the big DIY stores becuase their life is usually very short. Im better off paying a bit more and going to a smaller, independant garden centre. Is there any truth in that?

I think that's mainly because they use the cheapest possible potting media to keep the plant alive. You just need to repot them - you can even get good results from those 'kitchen shelf' herbs that supermarkets sell.

Davesnave

dllive wrote: »

Someone told me not to buy herbs/plants/trees from the big DIY stores becuase their life is usually very short. Im better off paying a bit more and going to a smaller, independant garden centre. Is there any truth in that?

Depends. You need to distinguish between herbs that are perennial and hardy (go on from one year to the next) and those that are annual ( live for the summer, seed and expire) You do it by consulting a resource like this :

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=679

Anyone can spot a plant that isn't happy, so as long as you avoid those floppy, yellowing, over watered/underwatered ones on the Danish trolley, you should be fine. Personally, I prefer to support local garden centres, but I can be persuaded by good offers, like those in Morrisons, if the price is right.

halogen

I tend to buy my herb plants online or occasionally in the german discounters as I don't have access to a garden centre with a decent herb range.


Good drainage is essential as many commonly used herbs are mediteranian in origin and don't like wet feet.
I tend to only grow things that are hard to get in supermarkets... lemon thyme, orange thyme, chervil, celery leaves, lovage... I wish I could keep a tarragon plant growing though they keep dying on me and can't be grown from seed. Dill, which I love, never does well either.