Guest mcac Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 anyone with some tips for a herb garden? I started sweet basil, chives, oregeno and parsley. can i keep these year around in a windowseal container? any tips on drying them? sorry for all the questions, i have the room and i always wanted to garden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelnut Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 anyone with some tips for a herb garden? I started sweet basil, chives, oregeno and parsley. can i keep these year around in a windowseal container? any tips on drying them? sorry for all the questions, i have the room and i always wanted to garden. Oooh I love fresh herbs! Every year I plant more, lol! Lavender posted a good site for the perennials and the annuals. I don't think that I saved it though, I printed it out and put it with all of my garden things in the garden shed. I know that oregano, thyme and chives are perennial. I have to plant basil and parsley every year. I added rosemary last year and I think that it's perennial, too. I have to go up to the shed tomorrow and get that list! Oh, I forgot about dill. I CANNOT wait to get the garden started! And my flowers to bloom! And to sit outside until 9pm and it's warm and still daylight! OMG, do I have the winter dumps, ugh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Herbs like a bright, sunny area. The the more sun they get the more aromatic they will be. Pick them on a hot afternoon for maximum flavor. Basil in an annual and yes you can keep it on the windowsill. Oregano and chives can also be grown on the windowsill. They are both perennials and hardy around here. Parsley is a biennial. It will flower the second year and not produce many leaves. It doesn't grow well indoors. You can sow it outdoors very early as it doesn't mind cold. It will often stay green in the snow. Rosemary is a perennial but is not winter hardy in our area. Bring it in. Make sure you water it a lot. That is how I always kill mine. Just a suggestion, put your herb garden near the house. Mine is across the yard and I often forgo the fresh herbs because I can't leave the cooking. The easiest way to dry them is to clean them and put them on a tray in an airy warm area out of the sun. You can also dry them in the oven on low. I've never tried the microwave but it can be done. Most herbs freeze well. you can do them in small bags or put them in ice cube trays and add water. You can then just toss the ice cube into whatever you are making. I did try putting basil down in salt this year but wasn't impressed with the result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nails4u2c Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 A solar dryer works great and you would be surprised how quick they dry on a hot sunny day. here are plans for one. This really dries a small amount <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value=" name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> You can make the one below a little more permanent with wood boxes and it will dry a larger amount http://www.i4at.org/surv/soldehyd.htm http://www.pathtofreedom.com/pathproject/offthegrid/solarfooddryer.shtml I bag it and store it in the freezer, if I have the space to keep it bug free (it doesn't take up much space.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 That is more interesting than sticking them on top of the wood burning furnace on a tray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 I'm not sure which web site I posted before but here is a good one. All of the common herbs are on the first page. Anything else can be found by looking under its letter. http://www.backyardgardener.com/herb/ There are also links to windowsill herb gardening and drying. http://www.indoorherbgardentips.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelnut Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 I hate when the season is ending and no more fresh herbs. I do the Rachael Ray thing with wrapping them in paper towels and then in zip lock bags and they do last a long time. I also use the rest of my basil to make pesto, I make it and then freeze it in an old ice cube tray. Then I freeze the cubes. Lavender, that's the site, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 You're welcome! I have a jar of parsley in the fridge from last fall. Most of it is still green! It was all I managed to save from several large plants. The cold weather hit so fast I didn't get it harvested. Do you start it indoors or sow directly in the ground? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mcac Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 can i keep it in the fridge indeinatly. you guys really got me phyced now! Love this place!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eimilesmom Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 All of my herbs are up except for the mint and there is just no sign of it. The seeds were practically microscopic and I couldn't see what I was doing so hopefully I covered them up with soil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 I don't know about keeping parsley indefinitely in the fridge, as I usually freeze it, but it has been in there since October in a glass jar. Some of it has turned yellow there is still some that is green and usable. It seems to keep a loooooong time. It's been a long time since I started mint from seed but my germination tables say 7-14 days. I don't think it has to germinate in the dark so it shouldn't matter if you covered it all or not. Just keep it from drying out. I started redoing my herb garden last year. It is in an old barn foundation and the soil is terrible. Way too wet for a lot of the herbs. I'm building mounds so it drains better. It's slow going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSTeach Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 Just remember that some of the herbs tend to spread uncontrollably when you are picking the place for you herb garden outside. I have seen where they recommend putting up a barrier for plants like mint, etc, to keep them from spreading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelnut Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 You're welcome! I have a jar of parsley in the fridge from last fall. Most of it is still green! It was all I managed to save from several large plants. The cold weather hit so fast I didn't get it harvested. Do you start it indoors or sow directly in the ground? I plant it directly in the ground. We were thinking about a greenhouse last year, but didn't get around to it, maybe this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 With a grow light and a cool room you can grow herbs year round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelnut Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 With a grow light and a cool room you can grow herbs year round. Would our root celler be ok? It's no cool though, it's cold! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petee Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 About 60-65 degrees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 Would our root celler be ok? It's no cool though, it's cold! I used to start seeds in my "cold cellar". It was a room partitioned off from the rest of the basement, insulated and with a small window. I didn't let it get colder than just under 60 degrees. I used artificial light but never got around to buying the full spectrum grow lights. The florescent lights were fine for starting seeds even if the tomato plants were kind of purple. The lights had to be set an inch or two from the top of the plants. While this system works for seed starting I think you would be very disappointed in the quality of herbs that you could grow this way, except maybe parsley and then you run into the problem of the tap root. Most aromatic herbs like warmish, sunny conditions. A lot of our cooking herbs come from the Mediterranean area. Unless you can give them something like those conditions you are going to grow herbs that are relatively tasteless. Dried or frozen ones would be a better choice. There is a reason why they say to pick herbs on a hot, sunny day. That is when the volatile oils that make the fresh herbs so desirable are at their strongest in the leaves. You are better off with a warm sunny windowsill or closed in porch. Artificial light can be used to supplement natural sunlight in growing herbs but I wouldn't use it as a replacement if I wanted herbs that were worth growing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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