Herb Garden Gal

There may be times when you want to start herbs for your kitchen herb garden from seed.

Sometimes, it’s the only way to grow the herb variety you really want.  Either because the herb is offered by a seed company in seed form only.  Or it’s a prized variety grown by a relative or friend.

Growing herbs from seed is also economical if you grow more than a couple of plants of a particular herb. For the cost of a nursery plant, you can purchase a packet of seeds and grow dozens of plants for your culinary herb garden.

Even if you add the cost of potting mix for starting seeds indoors, you end up ahead.  You can save money on starter pots by using small plastic containers such as yogurt containers, and punching holes in the bottom of them for drainage.

Herbs that are easy to start from seed:  basil, chervil, chives, cilantro/coriander, dill, fennel, parsley, salad burnet.

Starting herbs from seed is relatively easy.  You can either,
1.  Direct sow your herb seeds into your garden, or
2.  Sow your herb seeds in small starter pots, then transplant young plants to your garden.

1.  Direct sowing your herb seeds.

Plant your herb seeds directly where they will be growing in your culinary herb garden, whether it be a one-herb pot, large pot with multiple herbs, or a garden bed.

Advantages of planting your herb seeds directly where they will grow are:

• It’s less work than transplanting your herb plants down the road
• You can achieve a natural effect in your culinary herb garden by scattering the herb seeds throughout your herb garden — dill, leafy fennel and cilantro are particularly adept herbs for scattering throughout a garden.
• Herbs can be easily incorporated in any culinary vegetable garden.  My dad was an avid gardener, and he always grew dill weed amongst the cucumber plants.
• The young roots are not disturbed, so the herb plants that grow should continue to grow and thrive — no transplant shock.

2.  Sow your herb seeds in starter pots.

Advantages of planting your herb seeds in starter pots, then transplanting them :

• You can get a head start on the growing season.  First tomatoes on the block?  How about the first basil on the block to go with those tomatoes!
• Herbs that take long to sprout and grow into sizeable plants can be started indoors and transplanted to your culinary herb garden when the weather warms up.
• You can plant the young herbs where you want them.  Tuck a few herbs in-between other plants in a kitchen garden, or arrange them neatly in a more formal garden setting.
• If you are creating a potted arrangement, young herb plants provide instant visual appeal.

There’s nothing like the faith of putting a small seed in the ground, and the satisfaction of raising that small seed into a healthy, thriving plant!  Enjoy the journey, and let me know how it goes!

Warm wishes,  
Barb – Herb Garden Gal

Copyright © 2010 www.HerbGardenGal.com  All rights reserved.

You’ve decided on the herbs you want to grown in your herb garden.  Now, it’s time to go shopping.

Here’s what to look for to ensure you buy the healthiest herb plants at your local garden center.

1.  Choose lush and perky herb plants — be sure to stay away from wilted herb plants.  Wilted herb plants are stressed and may not grow well when you bring them home.

2.  Choose herb plants with healthy green foliage, and few to no brown leaves.  Herb plants with yellowing leaves, large numbers of brown leaves, or leaves with dry brown edges should be avoided.

3.  Choose the shorter bushy herbs, rather than the tall lanky herbs.  The tall herbs may have grown lanky reaching for sunlight, and are not as strong as their stocky cousins.

4.  Avoid overgrown herb plants — the ones with lots of floppy foliage spilling over the edges of the pot.  These plants are tempting, because they often appear lush and healthy.  Problem is, they’ve overgrown the pot and the plants may have difficulty adapting to their new environment when you transplant them to your garden.

Be especially cautious of full grown dill, cilantro, and basil herb plants, as they may be close to sending up flower spikes, which will drastically shorten your enjoyment time of the herb.

5.  Avoid pot-bound herb plants.  Check the bottom of the pot.  If there is a mass of roots growing out the bottom of the pot, or wrapped around the bottom of the pot, the herb plant has overgrown the pot, and has a slimmer chance of growing well when you get it home.

6.  Avoid herb plants with signs of disease, or insect damage.  Tell-tale signs are:  mottled dying foilage, holes in the leaves, black areas or spots on the foliage or stems, moldy looking leaves, sticky leaves or stems, leaves that are curling and turning yellow.  Check both the top of the plant, and the undersides of the leaves for damage, and insects.

Be especially careful if you are purchasing the herb plant to be grown indoors.  Any pest brought into your home will multiply quickly and also spread to your other indoor plants.

Enjoy your herb garden shopping trip!

Warm wishes from the Herb Garden Gal,
Barb

PS – Leave a quick comment and share your herb shopping adventures.

Copyright © 2010 www.HerbGardenGal.com  All rights reserved.