Herb garden (box)

Chubacheroo

I was just thinking about growing some herbs for cooking today. We only have a small windowsill (we're in a flat), so it would have to start off small. I know it's winter as well. Does anyone have any useful tips for a mini-but-useful windowbox herb garden?

jcr16

i'm thinking of growing some herb's. not sure which ones tho. prob the ones i use most which is parsley , corriander , thyme and mint. i not sure where to grow them tho. when wwe first moved into our house nearly 3 years ago the lady who lived her before had loads of herbs planted and without really thinking we dug them all out when we started to re-develop the garden. then we started veg patch, but that went all pete tong. our garden is huge , ( huge as in takes nearly 2 hours to cut grass , huge ) but i don't know where to start with growing herb's. so any advice for me also would be excellent.

tawnyowls

Pal wrote:

I think the problem with supermarket herbs is that they are grown very intensively (i.e. constant chemical fertilisers) and crammed into very small pots to make them look good on the shelves. Unfortunately without the chemicals the pots are too small for the plants to live very long.

And in fact, they're often just a bunch of seedlings crammed together, not a decent plant.

You can generally pick herbs up very cheaply (more cheaply than supermarkets) at a nursery/garden centre, or even at charity plant sales or car boot sales. Most herbs will cost you under a quid for a small pot, and you'll get a healthy plant.

Watch out with mint - it's very invasive, and ideally should be kept in a separate pot, otherwise it'll take over your herb box.

harpo1 wrote:

Have you thought of one of those strawberry pots to grow your herbs in. Basically a big pot with slots in the sides to plant into. They are cheap at this time of year.

This worked well for me, but get a piece of plastic pipe from somewhere (Freecycle or the local tip are good places) bore holes down its length put it in the middle of the pot, pointing upwards and fill it with gravel, then fill in around it with soil. When you water, fill the pipe and it'll water evenly all the way down, otherwise you'll drown the top plants and shrivel the bottom ones.

jcr16

what about growing from seeds is this any good ?

hubby and i have been discussing this and came up with an idea. we have lots of ceramic large planter on the patio. could we grow some herbs in these ? as we have 4 cats and they wee in the garden , so was thinking if herb are higher up then they wouldn't ( hopefully ) we over ther herb's.

tawnyowls

Yes, you can grow from seed. Some herbs are easier than others. Coriander, dill mint, parsley are usually very easy. (Need to make sure coriander and dill aren't placed near each other - they cross-fertilise and the resulting babies aren't as good.) TBH, because of the cost of the seeds (usually at least £1/packet), it's probably better to use plants for the perennial ones (as you'll only need 1 or 2 of each of these and they're usually the harder ones to germinate) and grow the annual ones from seed.

Pretty much any of the herbs can be grown in containers. Sage and rosemary make big plants, so may need a container to themselves.

LJM

my cat always jumped in/on or used to sleep in my plant pots and used to attack the xmas tree but i was told once to sprinkle pepper where i dont want the cat to be and it works

dannahaz

HI Anna

What a lovely idea.

Some herbs are annuals (they die each year and need replanting), and some are perennial. Some of the perennials are also evergreen, which means they don't die back in winter.

Rosemary is a perenniel evergreen, and it can be a bit of a thug...It grows well and will overshadow your box. It might be a good idea to plant this little one in a pot on its own. As it grows you can repot it. It is a really pretty plant in its own right.

Thyme can also be a perenniel evergreen, and is pretty harmless. Lots of varieties.

Mint is an absolute thug of a plant and will take over anything you plant it in. If you want to include it in your box then don't take it out of its pot - you need to constrict the roots somehow.

Bay is a lovely evergreen which grows quickly and can be shaped. This would be nice in its own pot too.

loren83

what kind of feed should I use? And whats best for inside as I don't have a garden?

tawnyowls

As it's inside, you'll probably find a combination of slow-release granules, and in the summer, a liquid feed suitable. You need to buy one suitable for food crops.

As mentioned, rosemary, bay and sage can get very big. You could grow mint, as long as it's in its own pot. Otherwise, good ones are parsley, coriander, thyme and basil. Depends what you're most likely to use, really.