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Post by daylilydude on Jan 30, 2011 22:45:13 GMT -5
Do you have one or do ya just grow them in the garden with the other veggies? Pics would be nice, to see how you designed it?
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Post by sorellina on Jan 31, 2011 8:27:33 GMT -5
Ciao all-
Most of the herbs I grow can tolerate partial shade. These are in what I refer to as The Herb Garden, a spot under the Italian Prune Plum tree. There I have the perennial herbs: Greek, Italian, and Sicilian Oreganos, French Tarragon, Lovage, Orange Balsam, Lemon, Silver, and English Thymes, Garden, Dalmation White, and the annual Pineapple Sage, annual Mexican Oregano, and annual Gorizia and Barbeque Rosmaries, English Lavender, Common Chives, and occasionally, annual Lemongrass.
Basils need full sun so I always put them in the 2 raised beds in the back of the garden alternating with nasturtiums.
The spot in front of the main tomato bed as we call it used to be the area where Duane would grow arugula and some other salad greens. It came to be known as The Lettuce Garden for a couple of years. After attending a couple plant swaps put on by some local folks from GW (and knowing very little about perennials in any form), a few invasive plants made it into this bed. It is now known as The Invasives Garden. This is where the Yellow Yarrow is, the White Woodruff, some of the Naturalized Garlic, the Anise Hyssop, more Lovage (LOL), the Tansy, the Horseradish, and even some Yellow Loosetrife (thanks Keith for IDing that one), and also some Blue Borage that I purposely planted there, lol. All that stuff can go ahead and encroach all it wants. It has to fight with the Thornless Blackberries on one side and the also encroaching Strawberries, which I hate because they never produce fruit. There's also a walkway on one side, the tomato raised bed on the other, and some also encroaching Golden Raspberries. No mint in that bed, but still, lol at me and my "let's see what happens if" way of planting.
There's also a small spot along our driveway where I've planted a few of the perennial flowering herbs: Variegated and Kew Red Lavender, Pink and Red Bergamot, and on the other side, there's some Purple Echinacea.
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Post by coppice on Feb 2, 2011 16:33:58 GMT -5
Back when I was more diligent in my search for anti-spasm herbs, some needed full shade, um like skullcap. They went into discreet beds.
Most culinary herbs like full sun, but don't get too diligent at feeding them. Save yer poo for hoggy plants like asparagus or onions. Mulch yes, regular watering yes.
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Post by nofeargardener on Mar 15, 2011 13:07:27 GMT -5
We've got a basic herb garden going - visible from our kitchen window. We regularly use things like oregano, basil, sage, thyme, tarragon, rosemary, etc. There's nothing like cooking with your own herbs. As far as the design goes, I gravitate toward the basic wheel design. We've got a "design element" in the center of it. It's a large post with a copper rooster weathervane on top. herb-garden-plans by NoFearGardening, on Flickr
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Penny
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Posts: 245
Joined: December 2010
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Post by Penny on Mar 16, 2011 6:54:20 GMT -5
I plant some in amongst my tomato plants, and some are in pots.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Mar 18, 2011 23:09:11 GMT -5
I have herbs all over my gardening area! Plus in pots and hydroponics indoors, for the winter. The one thing I keep by itself, as I'm sure most do (or should!), is mint. And it comes up every season, with little attention, though I do have some strips of T-tape in the patch, in case it gets dry in the summer. I also have chives, garlic chives, Thyme scented oregano (aka spicy oregano), tarragon, and thyme in some windowsill boxes (with a drip watering system around the deck) around my deck, and these come up even after winters down in the single digits several times (not the coldest, but it's still super cold for things in pots!). I also grow basil, Thai basil, and lemon basil in windowsill pots on the deck. It's nice being able to get all those herbs right when I need them, just a few steps from my kitchen! The rosemary and marjoram are out in the garden, and every season I root some Asian herbs I get at the market, and plant them in various areas around the garden. The only herb I have not really been able to grow well is cilantro, as it bolts way to fast for me. I think it needs more sun, or at least a longer day, as I have done some experimenting indoors under light on a timer, and the longer it is on, the slower it is to bolt, and at 18 hours, I get a lot of harvest from the plants, with them growing back many times, before they bolt.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Joined: January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2013 13:07:07 GMT -5
Hello Guys for preparing an herb garden is a excellent winter weather action and can be almost creating the lawn once springtime comes. You should take into consideration such factors as how much space you have for the lawn and the quantity of sun the area gets, what type of herbs you like and which ones you would like to try.Thanks a lot!!
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Post by ladymarmalade on Dec 26, 2013 9:45:10 GMT -5
Last fall DH cleared out a space around our deck where I plan to put my herb garden. I'm dreaming of spring and fresh herbs! Yesterday I made stuffing and had to use store bought sage because my sage plant is under a good 14 inches of snow and I was not about to bundle up to dig some out. Lol.
Anyway, it's a goodly sized space, and I'm hoping to be able to space out the perennial herbs in just the right way so that the annual herbs will get planted in-between them each year. I don't have my list quite yet- I have a really good garden center where I usually buy my herbs already started. They tend to get in some of the more unusual ones, and every year it seems what they offer expands.
The basil, however, may go in the community garden plot- hopefully it will be a critter deterrent over there. I also want to grow plenty of it, as we really enjoy pulling pesto out of the freezer all winter long.
I'm hoping to plant for sure: Rosemary Thyme Sage (this will be transplanted) Tarragon Summer Savory Oregano Borage Lovage Chives Lavender Marjoram Genovese Basil Thai Basil Lemongrass
I do have a few books on herbalism that I plan to consult and add a few more of the unique herbs if I can find them. More than likely it will be a walk down the herb aisle where I grab one of everything and then look them up when I get home.
Hey, Christmas is over, time to think spring right? It's so far away here in the frozen tundra.
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Post by izitmidnight on Dec 26, 2013 11:10:56 GMT -5
Wow! Would love to check out your herb garden this summer!!
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Post by bestofour on Dec 26, 2013 13:33:27 GMT -5
I live in NC so some of my herbs can live outside all year round. I have a rosemary that is several years old and gigantic. I planted sage in a pot in the summer and it's still alive and well. I never use sage just thought I'd try it. Mint also grows here like a weed if not contained. I plant basil in the garden with tomatoes, dill beside the squash and thyme in the window boxes. Also have a gigantic pot of lavender that is probably 8 years old and lives outside all the time.
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Post by izitmidnight on Dec 27, 2013 0:03:33 GMT -5
Hey bestofour, isn't great here in the Carolina's to be able to grow a lot of things year round!
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Post by ladymarmalade on Dec 27, 2013 9:14:36 GMT -5
It sounds so lovely to be able to keep herbs all year round! I hate that I have to purchase rosemary every year- or grow it in a pot and move it in. The problem with the pot method is the bugs that end up in the house as result of that pot.
The mints I grow will definitely be in containers- they also are weeds here. My community plot has lots of rogue mint growing in it, and it is suprisingly difficult to just pull up. I've definitely taken advantage of it and used it- even dug up a little to have on the deck. But it's not the most flavorful mint, so I'll be looking for a few more interesting ones.
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dogfish
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Posts: 56
Joined: January 2014
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Post by dogfish on Jan 3, 2014 9:09:13 GMT -5
I have one raised bed (3 1/2 ft X 14 ft) that is entirely herbs. Most reseed themselves(dill, cilantro, borage) or are perennials. I pot the rosemary and bring in the house for the winter. It is a 50 - 50 weather the sage makes it or not. Just the basil, lemon balm and tarragon that I have to start from scratch every year.
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mohoghead
Junior Member
Posts: 26
Joined: February 2011
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Post by mohoghead on Jan 25, 2014 9:30:11 GMT -5
We have always grown culinary herbs and have some designated beds around the house for the more used ones, Oregano, Thyme, Lemon Balm, ETC. for the more tender ones they grown in the greenhouse. Our new goal is medicinal herbs. Thanks to a friend from Ashville who went and got her degree from the Appalachian school of holistic herbalism. She has now moved here. She is a herbal wild crafter and we are growers so we will team up. Now our next project is to remove the front yard and put in a herb garden. we enjoy eating outside as the weather permits so there will be a sitting area in the center to dine amongst our food. So any how just read a blog about growing our own ginger, so will find some fresh tuber to get started with, next will be turmeric.
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Post by bestofour on Feb 4, 2014 10:32:42 GMT -5
mohoghead, I just heard this week about using oregano oil for whatever ails you. Where do you live, if you don't mind saying. I'm interested in learning about medicinal uses for herbs. Can you enlighten me just a little. Seems like modern medicine is killing us all. dogfish, my dill and basil will reseed but that's about it. I have a really hard time getting parsley and thyme to start from seeds. They come up and then dampen off (I guess cuz they die). I over wintered parsley once but it didn't work this year.
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Post by ladymarmalade on Feb 4, 2014 10:38:22 GMT -5
bestoffour, I have a book called Grow It, Heal It from Rodale Books that is a fabulous introduction to medicinal herbs. It features 50 herbs, tells you how to grow them, harvest them, and prepare them for administration. It also comes with safety guidelines for each herb. It's a fascinating book that I haven't really dug into yet.
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Post by bestofour on Feb 4, 2014 10:40:24 GMT -5
I'll see if I can find it. Thanks.
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Post by bestofour on Feb 4, 2014 10:57:06 GMT -5
I can get it on my Kindle for $11.00 or go to Home Depot and pick one up for $23.00. It got mixed reviews on Amazon so I think I'll go to Home Depot and look at it to see if I'm going to be able to understand it or grow the herbs mentioned in it in my area. I don't do many house plants because we don't get a lot of sun inside.
Thanks.
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Post by paulf on Feb 4, 2014 12:06:13 GMT -5
We have three raised beds, 4'X8', where all the herbs go, both the perennials and the annuals. I built portable hoop houses for those raised beds to get a quicker start.
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mohoghead
Junior Member
Posts: 26
Joined: February 2011
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Post by mohoghead on Feb 7, 2014 14:57:15 GMT -5
Lesson learned don't use spell check it just erased my reply I spent a lot of time writing. Anyhow we live in east central Missouri, zone 6a, We make and use a elderberry syrup every morning to ward off winter illness's, worked so far. Here is a list for you to look for: The complete book of herbs by Lesley Bremness The Green pharmacy by Dr. James Duke Herbs for Health and Healing by Kathi Keville The healing power of kitchen herbs by Jill Henderson, Jill also has a web Blog called Show me oz and on facebook under the same. she writes on herbs in different periodicals, Acres magazine, Llewellyn's herbal almanac. I will pay more attention to this thread if you have anymore questions. But remember to cook with lots of Garlic, Onions, Turmeric, Ginger, rosemary and of course oregano. mohoghead, I just heard this week about using oregano oil for whatever ails you. Where do you live, if you don't mind saying. I'm interested in learning about medicinal uses for herbs. Can you enlighten me just a little. Seems like modern medicine is killing us all. dogfish, my dill and basil will reseed but that's about it. I have a really hard time getting parsley and thyme to start from seeds. They come up and then dampen off (I guess cuz they die). I over wintered parsley once but it didn't work this year.
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Post by bestofour on Feb 7, 2014 20:37:27 GMT -5
Thank you for this great advice. Neither my husband nor I like garlic. Just the smell of it makes me a little sick on my stomach. Believe me I've tried and garlic pills have a terrible garlic after taste. I'm going now to check out Jills blog and Facebook page. Thanks again.
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Post by izitmidnight on Feb 12, 2014 21:27:02 GMT -5
Just thought I'd share my two year old rosemary bush photo
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mohoghead
Junior Member
Posts: 26
Joined: February 2011
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Post by mohoghead on Feb 13, 2014 8:10:52 GMT -5
That looks great, your a USDA zone 7?
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Post by izitmidnight on Feb 13, 2014 9:34:35 GMT -5
Yes, zone 7 with a rare snow blanket!
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Post by sorellina on Feb 16, 2014 11:25:24 GMT -5
izit, I was going to say your herb garden looks like mine, but I can't even see mine. In fact, I can't even see the boundaries of the bed. Your herb bed looks like mine does after our first snow, usually in November.
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Post by horsea on Feb 17, 2014 2:09:41 GMT -5
We have three raised beds, 4'X8', where all the herbs go, both the perennials and the annuals. I built portable hoop houses for those raised beds to get a quicker start. That's lots of herbs. Anyway, can you possibly direct me to super ultra simple instructions for making a hoop house to be placed over raised beds? Cheap and using cheap materials. Instructions a dumb girl can understand and follow. Thanks.
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Post by izitmidnight on Feb 17, 2014 9:39:56 GMT -5
I used PVC flex pipe and cover with plastic or netting depending on the season.
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Post by paulf on Feb 17, 2014 16:18:02 GMT -5
Like Izit our hoophouse is made from flexible plastic electrical tubing (8 foot length for 4 foot wide bed) held in place on the raised bed lumber by metal strapping screwed to the wood. Heavy translucent plastic is draped over the hoops that are set 2 feet apart. The long edges are weighed down with 2X4s. The plastic needs to be long enough to cover the ends. As the temp rises inside the house, the sides can be rolled up as far as you want and propped open. Cheap materials and easy to do, just go slow and it figures itself out.
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Post by horsea on Feb 17, 2014 18:05:30 GMT -5
Thanks to the both of you. I agree, simple construction & other projects tend to "figure themselves out".
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Post by bestofour on Feb 20, 2014 10:06:36 GMT -5
rosemary is so hardy. Mine is outside in a gigantic pot and it was bent over with heavy snow but it's popped right back up now.
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