The ideal herb garden

[wildernesse]

The farmer's market is enticing me with all sorts of plants for my little pots, and I'm being very indecisive (although I really know I'm going to buy two lantanas, so I'm not sure what my problem is). I have recently been hit with the idea that we could have a lovely herb garden on our little deck, but I will never make a decision on which herbs I should get. All will be grown in containers. What would you buy for your ideal containerized herb garden?

Right now, I'm with rosemary, Thai basil, and some kind of mint.

[livius drusus]

If you have space and sun enough, I vote rosemary, chives, Genoese basil, Italian parsley, sage, oregano and tarragon.

Chives are delicious in all fresh salads, either in the dressing or just tossed in with the goodies, as well as rocking the potatoes. They're also a handy onion substitute when you're out.

Thai basil doesn't make very good pesto so you have to have the traditional Genoese kind too just in principle.

Italian parsley grows like the weed that it is and you can use it pretty much in everything. It lasts cut in the fridge for ages and is easily dried. It's wonderfully hard to kill, too, which saved my bacon when I first started growing herbs.

Sage... I haven't had a sage plant since my sweet baby was so brutally stolen from my porch a few months back, but I truly loved that little guy. It's just delicious, especially crisped for a minute in brown butter and served over fresh pasta.

Oregano is an asset in any tomato sauce. It grows vigorously too. I had a crawling varietal and was soon glad it lived in its own pot.

Tarragon is drastically underrated. It has an anise-y scent and tastes amazing with eggs and chicken. Srsly. Best. Deviled eggs. Ever. It loves rain. It's like a jungle plant after a nice shower: so green and lush.

It goes to sleep after first frost, so you can cut it way back and hang the trimmings upside down in your linen closet for deliciously fragrant sheets and towels. Then in the Spring it bursts to life twice as lush as it was the first year. Tarragon makes you feel like a master gardener, I swear.

[wildernesse]

Those are good suggestions, thank you! What kind of pots do you grow your herbs in--regular terra cotta?

[Crumb]

This is the second year that I have had a potted garden. Some inside, some outside. The chives flourish outside. We have onion and garlic chives. The garlic chives are from last year and they survived the snow and frost out in the window box.

The only spice we have that wasn't mentioned is Thyme. (We have rosemary too, not sure if that was mentioned.) My gf uses the thyme for pizza, pasta sauces, eggs, potatoes and it grows great in our sunny window. (though I let last summers die out by not watering it over the winter.) Fresh basil is really the best though. It is delicious! :yum:

Apart from herbs we grow a single potted tomato plant and we planted some strawberries in some long pots this year.

I just use the cheap plastic pots. :shrug:

[biochemgirl]

Mmmm...basil! I second the chives, basil and oregano as well. I seem to use them all the time.

The mint should do beautifully. I made the mistake of planting it in the ground a few years back and it totally took over. In a pot is definitely the way to go with mint! Do it for the mojitos alone! :giggle:

Also, I got a bay laurel tree, for bay leaves, last year. I put it in a pot and left it outside during the summer and brought it in during the winter. It is thriving and it's great to have it to throw in soups and stews. I plan on using some when I make black beans tonight. :yum:

I think I will try adding the tarragon to my little herb garden this year.

[godfry n. glad]

Mint will do fabulously well in pots.

I do sweet basil every year.

I recommend the plastic pots that look like terra cotta. You can get them bigger and they're still easy to move around. (A lot cheaper, too.) I grew eggplant in a pot last year. The rosemary should be singular (don't get more than one!) and have it's own pot. It will look like a small evergreen in no time....with beautiful litte lilac blue blossoms. It's perennial, so you'll only need to plant one and keep it trimmed back.

I see no need for Italian parsley, but some cilantro would be a real benefit if you like Mexican flavors. :innocent:

Tarragon is a waste of time, in my estimation, but that's highly subjective, because I dislike the flavor. :whup:

Otherwise, liv's list is a good one. Oregano comes in variant colors. Perennials like the chives should have their own pot.

You can do onions and garlic, too...alum, with big blooms. :yup:

(This year, I'm doing taters in a trashcan....you can see it on the Obsessed with My Tiny Garden thread.)

[Watser?]

Mint will do fabulously well in pots.

Mint will do fabulously well outside of pots too, which is why it is a good idea not to grow it outside of pots. You end up with a lot of it otherwise.

[Shelli]

:chuckle:

[godfry n. glad]

Mint will do fabulously well in pots.

Mint will do fabulously well outside of pots too, which is why it is a good idea not to grow it outside of pots. You end up with a lot of it otherwise.

Oh, I know. I still wonder why there is grass and not mint. Trees and not mint. Why is the world not covered in mint?

[Plant Woman]

You can grow chives almost anywhere. Mine are in the shade of an apple tree and it doesn't seem to phase them. If you cut the blossom just as it is beginning to open, take the little florets off the stem and toss them in a salad. Not only pretty, but you get a mild onion flavor in the salad.

An annual to grow is dill, which is great fresh with potato salad, thrown in mashed potatoes and of course for pickling.

My preference for herb pots are the real terra cotta. They breathe and visually they are nice on a deck. Use an organic potting soil and organic fertilizers for those rare herbs that want ferts. Most Mediterranean herbs do not need fertilizer.

[wildernesse]

I feel as if I should skip work tomorrow and run to the farmer's market and buy a bunch of herbs and potting material.

Of course, those feelings could also be influenced by the fact that I ate the last of the strawberries tonight and can only think of the giant buckets of strawberries that await me there. In fact, I could go by there in the morning and buy a bucket and take them to work. . .if I get out of voting early. Hmm.

What was this thread about? Herb gardens? What?

[godfry n. glad]

Oh...If you plan on growing cilantro and actually use it, you might want to plant a new small pot every two weeks for a couple of months. It will "bolt" (blooming and going to seed) quite quickly, and once it does so, the leaf becomes very bitter (basil will do the same, so don't let it flower).

If you can't stop it from blooming, then let it seed out and collect the seed....which is coriander.

[wildernesse]

Well, I did buy four little pots of herbs. Peppermint, parsley, chives, and Thai basil. I will likely go back and get more, because I go to the farmer's market every Saturday morning. . .and buy some dill and spearmint and regular basil and tarragon and. . .who knows what all! Woohoo! I am very proud of myself for buying and not just looking (like I am for the hanging basket).

[wildernesse]

I put a picture of my three pot herb garden up in the gallery. Woohoo!

http://www.freethought-forum.com/forum/gallery/files/1/2/5/smallherbgarde.JPG