I’ve got so much basil started, geno and purple mostly. my cilantro i just direct sowed. plus started oregano and thyme to give away- mine survived the winter in the ground. my French tarragon finally lived through a winter in a shallower pot, i am starting to think to maybe try a root cutting into sand to propagate more.
i have seed for a lot of other herbs but haven’t started yet. Rosemary I’m still waiting to see if any sprout. my live plant died, arp variety, i should have protected it more over the winter.
lavender survived. celeriac roots are huge, i may leave them to collect seed this year.
new for me this year will be lovage, good king Henry.
Our favorite around here is the pineapple sage. It is so sweet and aromatic. Goes good with salmon, chicken, or pork. Gets lost in beef flavors. The blooms are lovely too, large trumpet shaped flowers that is irresistible to the humming birds. They check them repeatedly while in bloom.
It usually dies here in Seattle from the cold, so not cold hardy at all. Sometimes the root ball puts up fresh growth but the tops are always toast. The last couple years I just dig it and drop a cut up root ball into a pot. Then tuck it into the greenhouse for the winter. The best part of this is I get spring blooms too, it flowers on short day cycles on the spring growth as well. The spring hungry humming birds are quite thankful for this when I leave the greenhouse open or drag it out for the day.
Just started a 4-cell of basil last week (big giant leaf variety)will probably start another of those in a couple of weeks along with some more green onions. My basil approach as of late is start some of those and supplement with one of those monstrosities you get from the grocery store to get a head start. I usually eat a lot of basil.
Last year’s chives are doing great and I’ve got another 4 cell that are maybe 2-3 inches tall. Some will go in the ground soonish.
I got some nursery starts of lemon thyme (3), rosemary, sage, and parsley and am trying it in the retaining wall facing the kitchen window so there’s a strong reminder to go get herbs. Otherwise we forget. I don’t think there’s enough light or soil, but if it works it’ll be a home run. Sage already has p mildew and the rosemary looks pathetic but the thyme and parsley are doing nice
Rosemary seeds are very slow to sprout 2 to 4 weeks at average. Could take longer. This is our first year growing them by seeds, before we bought actual plants.
We have long grown basil, Italian Parsley, and mint. We also have Oregano, although I am not happy with those plants, I am hoping to try a different variety, and if I can by rooted cuttings this time.
Oh good reminder, I’ve got garlic and bunching onions sizing up as well. First time for both, other than randomly sticking a sprouted garlic clove in the ground and harvesting it like chives.
I got the sixer of onion sets shortly after we moved in and was shocked at how much they stuck in those little cells. Turned out to fill ~60% of the 4x8 bed I made.
I love red mustard greens, unfortunately we’re banned as my son is super allergic to mustard
I have just read that red mustard seeds are a lot like horseradish and wasabi. If you like those sort of things, I think that you should save the seed, although they do have to be dried just like the mustard seeds from the store were dried.
I myself do not think of onions as herbs, although I guess the green part is herb like. We grow red onions every year, we have seeds for 5 varieties right now, sometimes we grow yellow or white onions as well. We have grown chives here, although they don’t grow as well as the onions do here.
just watched a vid on youtube about planting herbs and leafy greens in shade to keep them more tender, tasting better and grow 2xs longer before bolting. it was a game changer. never thought this was possible. im putting a large bed on the north size of my house. i always thought you couldnt plant anything there but now i know you can. also less prone to drying out.
I have my greens all in a former chicken run under a 15-20ft tall fig tree. In the winter they get great sun + chicken manure and in the summer they get shade. Or at least that’s the idea, just moved here in October so we’ll see how well it actually works
I’ve been trying to start a few different herbs with no luck so far. Spilanthes, wormwood, valerian. I have a lot more to try, but so far haven’t had the ability.
I love growing mint. We use a lot of it for iced tea and mojitos. It does really well late fall through early spring but it really struggles with the heat the rest of the year.
I have somehow kept a few parsley plants alive for 2 years. I have pineapple sage, tulsi, lavender, rosemary. Haven’t actually figured out how to use it much yet but i also have native wild garlic and society garlic.
I have some Chives (garlic and common) under some trees that have already begun to grow again this year,
Also have some Bee balm coming back (not sure it quite qualifies as an herb but I’ll let you all be the judge).
Have some Basil starts putting on some leaves under grow lights currently (Thai and Holy: opted not to grow the dark opal basil I have the past this year since I find I specifically look for it the least often of the 3 when cooking various things, but I am keeping my remaining seeds in my fridge so I’ll re-evaluate next year of course).
Also started some more creeping Thyme (though not really as an herb -more as a ground cover).
Have some Roman Chamomile seeds I need to go out to sow in the near future too.
The main thing other than Rosemary that I’ll be adding new this year is Lovage. Hoping it satisfies the niche of celery for our needs as it may prove to be a less finicky plant to grow (read: neglect) at my place. …need to decide where to plant it out still though as if it does get 4-6feet tall in a few years it won’t be ideal to have in some places I’d otherwise set aside for Herb gardening.
Have some established Garlic chives, green onions, variegated spearmint, Mushroom herb plant, curry leaf, stevia, majoram, rosemary, thyme, yomogi, parsley, fenugreek and a really big not bronze Bronze fennel. Coming back from the cold are my french taragon, African tree basil, holy basil, cuban oregano and confetti cilantro. Started from seed some Dukat Dill, chervil, Butterfly papalo and dark opal basil. Just started some anise, cumin, licorice and cinnamon basil. Have a couple more basils to start soon and probably want to get 2-3 more parsleys going. The goal one day is to replace my whole spice cabinet with herbs and spices saved from the garden.
That’s what i always hear about mint but it hasn’t behaved that way for me here. The cooler months it can act like that for a little while but summer really knocks it back and it just barely survives.
Rosemary is the one I keep coming back to. Lost mine over winter last year which was gutting, had it for about three years. Started a new one from a cutting this spring and it’s taken well so far. Also doing basil and coriander again but the coriander always bolts on me before I get much use out of it.
