Growing your own herbs, etc.

For some reason unbeknown to me, I, a city girl through and through, have been wanting to maybe start growing my own herbs, perhaps even carrots and strawberries.  I have NO idea how to go about this other than show up at B&Q and buy seeds, pots and soil.  I really can't explain why I suddenly felt this desire and I have been trying to overcome it for a while now but I think I'm just going to give in.  We only have a few months left here so I don't want to grow anything that is not going to be ready my late July which sort of limits my choices (I would assume).  Another problem is, they'd have to be grown in pots on my balcony or small pots by the kitchen window because our garden doesn't really get a lot of sun.  I know this may be a bit weird but I was wondering if any of you currently do this and whether you had any tips for me.  TIA

June

I buy herb plants from the supermarket and keep them in pots in my kitchen.  Cheating, I know, but I've managed to keep mint and basil plants for a year/six months.

Tomato plants would be quite easy to maintain too.


Vicky

I grow all sorts of stuff in pots! Tomatoes are really easy - and there's nothing like going outside to pick your own lunch! I also do parsley, basil, thyme, sage, mint, rosemary, lemon balm, etc. in pots. I haven't had much luck with my coriander, but everything else has been easy. If you want to grow things from seed, you need to start ASAP! Time's running out! Otherwise, wait a while and buy small plants from your garden centre instead.

I grow stuff in pots!
garlic, mint, rosemary... and last summer i grew chillies!

I have been growing my own herbs and chilies for the past few years.  I have no green thumb, tend to kill most plants, but the herbs seem quite hearty. 

They are all in pots so I can chase the sun with them.

I have no green thumb, tend to kill most plants, but the herbs seem quite hearty. 

It's seriously difficult to kill herbs! And things like mint and lemon balm really run riot if you plant them in a bed. A couple of years ago, I planted ordinary mint, lemon mint and chocolate mint, and it was everywhere!

(Because I know someone will ask, the chocolate mint didn't taste very chocolatey. I have had pineapple mint, though, it has a weirdly pineapply flavour!)

It's seriously difficult to kill herbs! And things like mint and lemon balm really run riot if you plant them in a bed. A couple of years ago, I planted ordinary mint, lemon mint and chocolate mint, and it was everywhere!

(Because I know someone will ask, the chocolate mint didn't taste very chocolatey. I have had pineapple mint, though, it has a weirdly pineapply flavour!)

I bought a pineapple mint plant a few years ago and it was sort of odd, but had pretty little red flowers on it at the end of the season.  Mint does go everywhere and is very hard to get rid off if you plant in a bed.  My mom made the mistake of planting some years ago and it still won't go away.  I've also heard oregano does the same thing.

Chives are great and are pretty quick growing and can be trimmed off when they are still pretty young and they just fill in where you've cut.  I love fresh chives on baked potatoes or in with pasta.

This page has a list of herbs that do well in windowsills:
http://www.organicgardening.com/feature/0,7518,s1-5-71-1338,00.html

Thanks guys.  Matt bought a potted parsley plant yesterday and we'll see how that goes.

Today, we went to Homebase and bought a strawberry pot, compost and 8 strawberry plants (1 for each hole and 2 for the top) and I am going to plant them tomorrow.  If all goes well, we should have home grown strawberries this summer!  This is the first time I do anything like this so I am following a Good Food article and hoping for the best!

I think once I get to the US I'll give other things a try.

June

I was just going to say... no matter what, always plant mint in pots and not in a bed! I'm growing chamomile and mint in pots in my window and it seems like the chamomile is really thriving. I've already gotten 10-12 flowers from it to dry for tea (only ten years until I have enough to make one cup! haha!).

.... I'm growing chamomile and mint in pots in my window and it seems like the chamomile is really thriving. I've already gotten 10-12 flowers from it to dry for tea (only ten years until I have enough to make one cup! haha!).

That's too funny!

Well, I planted the strawberries.  Let's see what happens.  I have tons of compost left so I think I'm going to plat carrots tomorrow, if I can find containers that are deep enough.  Someone make this stop!!!   

June

I just planted some carrots and if all goes well, we should be eating them in about 12 weeks.  I'm looking forward to seeing how all this planting turns out!

June

We grow rosemary, coriander, basil, dill and oregano in windowsills.

Also alpine strawberries.

We grow tomatoes in the IL's garden and courgettes, as we have no garden or balcony.

It's easy peasy and fun!

We're on the wait list for an allotment.

We grow rosemary, coriander, basil, dill and oregano in windowsills.

What's your coriander secret? Mine either gets devoured by slugs, or else fries in the sun.

We're on the wait list for an allotment.

We've been wondering if the same sort of thing exists in the US.  We are planing to rent at least for the first few years but I think I'd like to grow more things and I doubt the landlord would appreciate me digging up the garden!

June

What's your coriander secret? Mine either gets devoured by slugs, or else fries in the sun.

Well, ours is indoors, so so far, no slugs!

We used a peat free organic compost.  I put a shallow layer of compost, then some shards of broken pot, like I did w/the strawberry pot (at my IL's), then just topped up with compost and threw in the seeds.

It's in a northern window, but we keep it fairly dry, as we do with the rosemary (even though that's in a south-facing window, we found it grew better when it was kept fairly dry, as opposed to the basil).