What are your must-have herbs?

[Cobweb]

Elin by the Sea[/member]  You are quite right about lavender!  I’d been told it was hard to grow from seed but I got up this morning to find 8 teeny seedlings in my propagator.  I do love growing things from seed - it’s just magical.  ;D

[ThreeCircleTarot]

Yay an herb thread! Here's my patch:

 

 

I have lavender (protection, relaxation, dreams), chamomile (protection, prosperity), mint (prosperity), lemon balm (relaxation), and rue (protection). I've got no idea if the chamomile is going to take, it's in a pretty small container so I might end up transferring it... I've also got some cilantro and basil seeds to germinate but I'm pretty intimidated by germinating seeds so we'll see how that goes haha

 

Has anyone here grown blue vervain? I had a one-on-one consultation with my herbal medicine teacher over the weekend...it was great, really opened my eyes to some things...anyway she recommend blue vervain as a great herb for me to take and one that could also be a strong plant spirit ally for me so she thought having a plant around might be good for me. I buy most of my herb babies at the local farmers market but haven't seen any blue vervain there, at least not so far this year. So I might have to order a baby online, or otherwise order some seeds. I would love to hear thoughts if anyone has grown it.

 

This conversation with you all is so cheering!  <3

 

I've never grown it but I can get it cut and sifted at a local herb and spice store. It's apparently got a lot of correspondences. I've used it for purification.

 

Also curious, how do you use your hyssop? I know it's supposed to be a wonderful natural expectorant when taken as a tea, so it's good for colds. Do you also use it in cooking, salads etc?

 

Another herb good for purification.

[Cobweb]

ThreeCircleTarot[/member] Don’t be scared of germinating cilantro (coriander).  I’ve tried it for the first time this spring - on the recommendation of this thread!  :) - and had no trouble at all.

 

Now, basil, I do struggle with - I think I’m just that bit too far north and I don’t have a greenhouse or conservatory.  And my parsley seeds seem to have come to nothing, though I’ll give them another week or so to be sure.

 

On the other hand, someone told me that lavender was really difficult to get going from seed so I emptied a packet full into my heated propagater.  And it turns out that it’s really easy to grow,  and now I’m wondering what I’m going to do with about 70 lavender plants...  ;D

 

 

[ThreeCircleTarot]

Cobweb[/member] just learned coriander and cilantro are two words for the same plant -mind blown- I love coriander in a lentil stew  I make in the fall, now I really have a motivation to germinate these babies! Do I just poke some holes in dirt, put the seeds in, cover and water? Heated propogater sounds fancy! I never succeeded at growing lavender (I just love this herb) from seed but now that I think about it my apartment gets awful warm nowadays.

[EmpyreanKnight]

I just add basil to whatever I'm cooking (eggs, pasta, etc) and I'm good. I really like the flavor.

[Elin by the Sea]

This thread reminded me I need to get my herb garden started up again.  It's already midsummer and I never got to planting anything yet this year because I've been so busy with "Real Life" :( 

 

Basil, cilantro, parsley, oregano, rosemary, dill at a minimum.  Easy enough to get going, once I find the time...  And I'll start another batch of green onions too - they grow pretty quickly.  When you buy them at the store, cut off a bit of the white bulb end and plant it - eat the rest.  Should never have to buy green onions again :)

 

[Canid]

My Dad has chickens as part of a cooperative here in London! I adore the urban farming here, some people have chickens and beehives in their gardens in even inner city London at the highest rate for decades  <3 .

 

With the chickens, they will eat anything you grow and I strongly recommend you fence it off or build it as a raised bed above them. Perhaps spikey plants around it might stop them? I know in my Dad's enclosure they eat anything green, the grass is decimated every year and any vegetable put down they munch! everything ends up as brown mud :) One of the ladies at my Father's cooperative actually feeds some green veg and herbs to the chickens (grown elsewhere) because the more greens they get in the diet, the more orange the yolk of the eggs (she claims). So I think you have to stop them being able to get to the herbs if you want them to grow. Most herbs grow really well in pots and you can move them around.

 

We grow here the herbs Bookworm suggests and use them a lot everyday. I would also add Mint but it has to have a big red box flashing warning! Mint spreads and will spread and spread! It grows much better in a pot and it will fill the size of the pot you grow it in! But it's wonderful to have your own source (ours are well used for gin and tonics!). Also in the herbs, I would grow some lavender in them if you don't have any in your garden! I just adore it, the flowers and it's so drought resistant if you live in a place with not much rainfall and / or hot summers. The smell going past relaxes you but also can scare of pests from the other herbs (some of the more fragrant herbs also have that effect). All Lavender is edible but different varieties are more edible than others, sometimes you see "edible culinary Lavender" but it's a bit of a con! The variety most used in food is English Lavender, it is quite sweet in taste. Lavender has camphor in the oil and huge amounts of it are not good for you (but lavender has tiny quantities) but many people don't like the taste of camphor. English variety has the least amount of camphor but the French variety has some of the most! In French cooking they use a hybrid of their Lavender often called Lavandins, this is the one that is dried and part of Herbes de Provence you can buy to cook with which is a mixture of a blend of dried herbs. The herbs used are often  savory, marjoram, rosemary, thyme, oregano and lavandins. Personally I wouldn't use lavender for cooking but for the smell and cut it for the house and use it dried! Or just let it grow and leave it alone and see the bees come to it! So those are my ideas :)

Yeah, my ‘chicken run’ is bare dirt. You can’t grow anything. But I give them pulled up grass, sorrel, heal-all, etc. I haven’t let them really free range this year cause we got a new neighbor, he’s odd, to say the least, & I just don’t trust him. Although 4 other people on my short 1/4 mile road let theirs free-range, we had a sleepover once. Haha! But we have a txt alert system, for a hawk alert & such...it’s just, he got kinda snarky about the white chickens in his yard...I don’t have any white chickens, mine lay blue, pink & beige eggs. Sorry for the tangent, I just think he would have poisoned them or something till I told him they were Big Bad Joe’s white chickens, not mine.

[Purple Lyn]

this is a lovely thread. at the moment the only herb I  have is mint growing in a container because it spreads. today I planted some basil seeds in a container. its winter here in the Southern Hemisphere so I might have to bring the container inside for a while until the seeds start to sprout.

I want to grow some more herbs especially lemon balm or some other lemony herb. I'm thinking about the suggestions in this thread. thanks to everyone for making them.

lyn

[MysticMoonlight]

I love herbs and use them daily for cooking and other needs.

 

My must haves are:

 

Rosemary

Sage

Basil

Thyme

Lavender

Lemon Balm

Peppermint

[BlueDragonfly]

I love growing and using herbs in cooking!  I want to learn how to use them in making skin care and cleaning products.  I grow everything in pots, as a renter, I don't want to have to dig up the garden to take plants with me if/when I move.  I've got.....

2 pots of chives-one was supposed to be garlic chives but was mislabeled

Italian parsley

(2)sweet basil and I need to start a couple more

purple basil

(2)globe basil

English thyme, creeping thyme, lemon thyme

variegated sage

(2)rosemary, one large and one small

oregano

French Tarragon which I need to learn how to propagate from cuttings

spearmint

stevia

(3) pots of dill and will need to start a couple more for late summer/fall use, yes I use it alot.

Swiss chard

green onions

sweet marjoram

I'm getting ready to start some pots of lettuces, Swiss chard, arugula, spinach, radishes and more green onions for baby greens....which are surprisingly good in a quick saute of butter with some shallots and mushrooms over noodles!

 

I freeze many of my herbs rather than drying them, make compound butters and herb vinegars(small batches).  I'm hoping to bring in many of my pots this year for fresh winter use.  I picked up 3 practically new 2' grow lights at a garage sale recently and so will be converting a section of my plant stand for them.  I'll need to find places to relocate some houseplants!

[Elin by the Sea]

French Tarragon which I need to learn how to propagate from cuttings

 

 

I've managed to root tarragon in perlite before.  Use a really sharp and clean blade to cut about a 10cm stem off the parent and remove the bottom-most leaves.  Dip the end in rooting hormone (just a little bit) and stick it in a small cup full of perlite and spray it daily to keep it evenly wet.  Once it gets some roots going, you can plant in soil mix in your container, but should be kept indoors and warm during the first month.  Some people recommend placing a plastic bag over the perlite container while it's developing roots.  I guess it could help keep in moisture and warmth, but I never tried it yet.

 

Edit: Forgot to mention that I used a heating mat for seedlings when I did this.

 

[BlueDragonfly]

French Tarragon which I need to learn how to propagate from cuttings

 

 

I've managed to root tarragon in perlite before.  Use a really sharp and clean blade to cut about a 10cm stem off the parent and remove the bottom-most leaves.  Dip the end in rooting hormone (just a little bit) and stick it in a small cup full of perlite and spray it daily to keep it evenly wet.  Once it gets some roots going, you can plant in soil mix in your container, but should be kept indoors and warm during the first month.  Some people recommend placing a plastic bag over the perlite container while it's developing roots.  I guess it could help keep in moisture and warmth, but I never tried it yet.

 

Edit: Forgot to mention that I used a heating mat for seedlings when I did this.

Thank you for the advice!  I don't have a heating mat, but this time of year, it's warm on the plant stand by the dining room window(south-facing).  I'll try it.  Should I use a cup with no drainage holes to help keep the moisture in the perlite?  Will roots grow where the leaves have been stripped along the stem?

[Elin by the Sea]

Thank you for the advice!  I don't have a heating mat, but this time of year, it's warm on the plant stand by the dining room window(south-facing).  I'll try it.  Should I use a cup with no drainage holes to help keep the moisture in the perlite?  Will roots grow where the leaves have been stripped along the stem?

 

I used small coconut fiber seedling cups with perlite in them.  The nice thing about those is that you don't have to worry about drainage and you can plant the entire cup - it'll break down in the soil and the roots will come right through.  If you use them, it's not a bad idea to give them a "helping hand" by tearing up some of the fiber when you plant in soil.

 

Any other seedling cups should work fine too - all mine have drains.

 

Roots will grow at the bottom of the stem, but not necessarily the whole length.

 

Good luck :)

 

 

[BlueDragonfly]

Thanks Elin!  I'm going to trim up my basil plants and experiment with the tips for starts in the same manner, I think.  I know basil roots easily in water, but I haven't tried it with rooting hormone and perlite.

[SG]

Oregano, basil, and chives.  The mint returned but died out.

[Luna]

Oh, how I love herbal gardening!!! :) 

 

I must have rosemary, basil, thyme, sweet peppermint and sage in my herbal garden.  This is a definite must as I cook with these all the time.  This year, (and in past years) we do have lemon thyme as well as the regular thyme.  Smells heavenly!  There are many varieties of basil too--lemon and Thai Basil are two.  Our first 3 basil plants were attacked by some bug - happened to many people in our area growing basil...so we went out in search of more basil and could only find this one called Thai basil.  Still has that delicious basil aroma and taste, but its not as strong as the 'normal' basil.  However, when cooking with it, the basil flavor seems to be intensified and so I think its better overall!  Plus a beautiful plant.  the top of it flowers with these gorgeous purple flowers.  Very pretty!

 

Someone asked, (I think?) about how to use the herbs.  Well....

 

We also have lavender planted and love that as well.  I collect the flowers and make herbal bath salts with them.  I love to soak in a bath with them.  So relaxing!  Also just putting them around the home tied up, as they give off a delicate and clean aroma.

 

Then peppermint is great whenever!  First of all, peppermint plants do help to manage the elimination of spiders.  Spiders are good in the garden of course, but if you do not want them in your home--a peppermint plant and or spray is a good alternative to Raid and other horrible sprays.  A spray is a few drops of the peppermint oil to a bit of water in a spray bottle.  Shake well and then spray wherever you have the problem with spiders and other bugs too.  Also great to deter ants, aphids, beetles, flies, and fleas and more.  Plant in a pot and keep near your doors to the outside as well keeping them inside!  Peppermint is also good to deter mice and deer.  So be sire to plant in pots and place near things the deer enjoy nibbling.

 

I also love peppermint in drinks--Ice tea and more.  Its a wonderful tummy upset aid and good for indigestion and nausea.   

 

With the basil...well, I love to make a basil pesto.  Great on pasta and pizza!  Also in other dishes we make, as well as using the sage, rosemary and thymes in cooking pretty much anything.  All freeze well too, so you can have lovely fresh herbs in no time, in the cold, dark winter months.

[Elin by the Sea]

Thanks Elin!  I'm going to trim up my basil plants and experiment with the tips for starts in the same manner, I think.  I know basil roots easily in water, but I haven't tried it with rooting hormone and perlite.

 

Have you had any luck so far?

 

I'm disappointed in myself - I have almost nothing growing at the moment.  New job plus other time-consuming stuff going on in life and I haven't had any time for gardening.  :(

 

[Pixie]

I do container herb gardening, my yard is consumed by my boyfriend and I's vegetable garden, so the back porch is my place for all my potted plants.

 

My favorites are:

 

Rosemary, start with a small plant rather than trying to grow from seed, they're very difficult to grow from seed and take a really long time. Can be fickle and more difficult to grow than peppermint or lemon balm.

Peppermint, definitely keep this in a container as it will take over an entire garden very quickly.

Lemon balm, super easy to grow, extremely fragrant and an overall sweet herb to have packed with tons of magical energy.

 

I also have a small potted rose bush I adore, but it needs more TLC to get it to bloom, so I do not find it to be the easiest to care for.

 

Depending on where you live, it's best to bring all of them inside for winter, if possible, especially the Rosemary. You can look at your zone though to determine if they can survive outdoors, but remember that the hardiness is based on plants that are in the ground, not containers. It is much more difficult to keep container plants alive through a cold winter as the soil will freeze a lot easier than the soil in the ground.

 

I grow a variety of other herbs, such as oregano, basil, parsley, thyme, and so on. I find they're all relatively easy to care for in containers.

 

I have not had much success with lavender, unfortunately, but it is my ultimate gardening dream to grow my own lavender, they just don't do great in containers (in my experience).

[Elin by the Sea]

I have not had much success with lavender, unfortunately, but it is my ultimate gardening dream to grow my own lavender, they just don't do great in containers (in my experience).

 

I haven't had much luck with it in containers either, but there's different varieties of lavender; some might do better in containers.  It should grow well as it has a rather shallow root system.  I had some in the ground in my yard and I eventually removed it to replace with rosemary.  The stuff spreads out a good bit, but there wasn't much root for the size of the plant I dug out.

[BlueDragonfly]

Thanks Elin!  I'm going to trim up my basil plants and experiment with the tips for starts in the same manner, I think.  I know basil roots easily in water, but I haven't tried it with rooting hormone and perlite.

 

Have you had any luck so far?

 

I'm disappointed in myself - I have almost nothing growing at the moment.  New job plus other time-consuming stuff going on in life and I haven't had any time for gardening.  :(

I've had "some" luck with the basils.  I've got 2 purple and one sweet basil developing roots with the perlite, but not the french tarragon yet.  I'm going to try a piece in water, too.  I still haven't started my baby greens, but have the cutest little 1" tall dills. 

 

I'm sorry you haven't had time to garden.  There's still time to start some herbs and lettuces.  I would miss it desperately. 

[devin]

Not sure if anyone's mentioned it, but Sacred / Holy Basil (Tulsi) is a wonderful herb.

 

It's a perennial, makes good pesto, has powerful medicinal benefits, is always full of bees, insects and small birds (looking for the insects), and some crosses grow above head height!

 

I get why some Hindus consider it holy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[EtherealMoonRose]

My must haves are:

 

Basil

Rosemary

Thyme

Sage

Oregano

 

I use them all the time in cooking and witchcraft. My faves are probably basil and thyme  <3

[stephanelli]

I love having a herb garden.  My favourites and musthaves are basically the same although they all have different purposes.  These are the ones that work for me and grow well in my garden.

 

For herbal infusions:

Mint

Chamomile

Lemon Balm

Lime Balm

 

For cooking:

Basil

Thyme

Oregano

 

For aromatherapy and homemade soap/shampoos/salves etc.

Rosemary

Lavender

Marigold

 

For cleansing:

Sage

 

I love my herb garden - enjoy making one!

 

Sent from my Nokia 1 using Tapatalk

 

 

[Twilightlo]

I love thyme....I think it goes well with any meat and I just love the flavor.

[lemonbunny]

We grow chives (I think they are garlic chives), basil, thyme, lemon verbena, cilantro. In the past I've had sage and oregano too.