Indoor Container Herb Garden

[Lorelai]

Hi everyone! This new seed has a question. Or, okay, a lot of questions!

I'm really new to gardening. It's really BF's realm of expertise, but I'd like to get my feet wet, so to speak. And since the kitchen is my realm of expertise, at least so far as he is concerned, I thought a culinary herb garden would be just the place to start! We have a few windows with great southern exposure, so I thought I could grow some herbs inside where I'd have easy access to them. The containers will have good drainage, and the soil will be supplemented often with compost and/or worm castings from our worm bin.

We do plan on companion planting basil in our greenhouse with the tomatoes (here in the Pacific Northwest, where it is so often cloudy and/or rainy, the greenhouse is a must if we want tomatoes to actually ripen). I was thinking about trying to grow a basil plant or two indoors, just as an experiment, in addition to what will grow in the greenhouse. We have plans for garlic too.

Other than basil, these are the herbs I'm interested in, based on what we like to eat:

Rosemary
***So tasty with roasted potatoes, among other things.
Oregano
***I've gathered that this should be grown in its own container, because it spreads. But what kind? Greek, Italian, are they the same?
Thyme
***Again, sooo many to choose from...
Marjoram
***How different is it from oregano? Does it have a place in my Italian seasoning?
Parsley
***Italian flat leaf? Curly? Does it matter? I do like Italian food... but I also make a lot of homemade stock.
Cilantro
***Black bean dishes and salsa. Yummy!
Sage, perhaps?

The question is, what kinds should I get? I'll admit to being more than a little confused, with all sorts of different types of thyme or oregano to choose from at Home Depot or wherever. I want to know what types are generally considered best for culinary uses, and what names they might be advertised under. The books and websites are slightly confusing, primarily because there's just so much information. BF and I do plan on visiting our local nursery later today, so I'm sure I can answer some of these questions there, but I'd like to hear first from experts who aren't trying to sell me something.

Also, which will grow well together in containers? I thought perhaps rosemary and thyme would do all right together, with oregano and basil in their own containers, though I've seen basil planted in combination with other herbs before. Thoughts on any of these matters would be much appreciated! I realize this kind of turned into a long post, so bear with me...

 

[AmyRey]

Greetings, new seed!

 

[wifezilla]

I got Greek oregano because that is all the store had. I have now had the plant for 4 years and I love it. It does spread, but it isn't obnoxious about it. Love the flavor.

Thyme... I have tried fancy varieties but they never seem to do well. Just plain old thyme grows great. My lemon thyme kept dying.

 

[joz]

If you want to get REALLY baffled by variety:

http://www.cooksgarden.com/herbs/

But they do have pretty good descriptions of flavor and habit, so you can make some decisions about what you might want, what you can buy at Home Depot, and what you HAVE TO HAVE from a specialty online distributor. Any funky little garden center or nursery should have sufficient variety, however. More interesting than Home Depot, but not so much as to be overwhelming.

I've started with the basic versions of each, and have been very happy with them. I've not had enough room to experiment with odd varieties, and have not been willing to sacrifice the standards to try something different (flavored thymes, mints, sages).

My herbs in containers have taught me:

Basil will do well indoors, and every time you clip it back (to a leaf node), two new branches will start. You can hack it way back, and it'll just keep going. If you have to prune it (if it gets huge, or tries to flower - don't let it bloom!) and don't have any use for basil that moment, you can put the trimmed bit in a glass of water, wait for it to root, and stick the clone plant in a new pot.
Home Depot basil is fine and tasty.

Rosemary likes sandy soil that drains really well. If your rosemary starts to look like it's not getting enough water (yellow, dry), it could be due to overwatering. The roots will drown and die, and the plant can't take up water. Get a bigger plant to start, so you can use a bunch straightaway. Bigger pots are better.

Oregano and thyme: Easy. Tasty. I love thyme in my scrambled eggs. Thyme will root anywhere along the stem, so if you want more, spread out the wee branches and poke 'em into the soil and water well, and they'll all develop roots and beef up your plant. I think Oregano does the same.

Parsley: Flat leaf is supposed to be better for culinary purposes. Difficult to start from seed, but healthy transplants do well.

Cilantro: Fiddly. Bolts quickly. Best method is to sow seed every couple weeks so you've got consistent pre-flower growth. Good luck. I have friends who've put it in the ground and sown regularly with much better results than I've ever gotten in a container.

Sage: Easy indoors. Great on pork. I always want more of this than I have.

Others you didn't mention but that are excellent to use and easy to do inside in pots:

Texas Tarragon. Easier than French, tastier than Russian. AKA Mexican Marigold. Grows like mad, and is difficult to kill off. Tasty.

Chives. Both standard chives and garlic chives are great.

Lavender, for Herbs de Provence. Has the same issues as rosemary, I think.

Fernleaf Dill: Smaller variety, tender, tasty, good size for window containers - max 24".

I've also managed tiny tomato plants in pots in windows (with a light). Tom Thumb and Silver Fir tomatoes are teenytiny plants (~14" max) that make teenytiny tomatoes.

 

[thistlebloom]

Wow Joz, you're a well spring of herb info!

And welcome to TEG Lorelai!

 

[tinychicken]

I have not grown herbs indoors. I tuck them around the house as part of the landscaping. They are easy to get at and most are attractive.

As for the herbs you mentioned, I grow rosemary. The variety I like is called Arp. It is very cold hardy and at my elevation (1000 feet) we get some cold snaps in the winter. Arp always survives.

I think I have Greek oregano, but I can't be sure. Use tons of it and it dries well.

I have plain old French thyme. I believe it's supposed to be sweeter than English thyme.

Marjoram is a new one for me to grow. It's been described as a cross between oregano and basil. I have dried a few leaves and it smells divine. I plan on buying a few more plants.

I always grow the flat leaf parsley. It is not difficult to get the seed to germinate as long as you keep it moist.

I have a book called "Growing and Using Herbs Successfully" by Betty E. M. Jacobs. It is full of info on growing, propagating, and harvesting herbs.

I will be planting some basil if the weather ever warms up. I also like chives and garlic chives. A bay plant is also one of my favorites. That would do well in a pot indoors.

Out in the main garden area, which is fenced, I also grow garlic and saffron.

I would also be interested in which herbs do well indoors. I have 2 sliding glass doors with an eastern exposure, but don't know if they would provide enough light during our rainy Pacific NW winters.

 

[Lorelai]

Thanks for the warm welcome and the responses! We went to our local nursery yesterday, and I ended up coming out with a Mother's Day gift, but nothing for myself! I wanted to do a bit more research before I bought some starts. I figured buying the starts would get me ahead of the game and make me feel accomplished, but then I could start some from seed as well.

What they had:

Dwarf oregano (employee said it would be more aggressive), Greek oregano, and Italian Oregano. The Italian seemed more upright than the Greek, which to me seemed to grow more like thyme.

Italian parsley, which I think I will go with. That will go outside, I think, around the border of our garden. Will it grow on an incline, do you think? Our garden was improvised from a blackberry hill (when our duplex was built, the topsoil was shoved into a pile and left like that... technically it's an abandoned alleyway that we've adapted into garden space). Our soil is kind of clay-ish.

A few types of rosemary, including the Arp variety mentioned up-thread. I bought one of those for my stepmom's little herb garden, because it's said to be really hardy. For myself, in an indoor container, I'm thinking about creeping rosemary. What do you all think? I might also plant an Arp rosemary outside, just to see how it does.

Basil. It bolts. Does this happen to basil grown indoors as well? I'm now thinking that any basil grown in the greenhouse, companion planted with the tomatoes, will bolt super fast.

Regarding Thyme... still unsure. The nursery had mostly lemon thyme, and I'd rather have a regular thyme, like the kind that would go in Italian seasoning.

They had golden marjoram, which doesn't seem like the dried marjoram I have. Anyone have experience with this one?

We have some chives outside somewhere. I've never really used them in my own cooking, but people on here seem to rave about them (yep, I've been catching up on some older threads). I'm also checking out the cook's garden website... hopefully that will help with my confusion and dilemma! Thanks to you all for putting up with my ramblings!

Also, I would love to see pictures of your herb container herb gardens, especially if they're windowsill gardens!

 

[digitS']

Lorelai, I grow lots of basil and keeping it from flowering is mostly a matter of harvesting it before it can.

If basil has suitable conditions to grow, that is usually what it will do. If it becomes stressed, it may respond by quickly going into the flowering stage. But, you should be able to prolong its production by going down 2 or 3 sets of leaves and clipping off the growing tip. Of course, the most fragrant parts of the plant for kitchen use are those immature flowers.

You may want to have sweet Italian basil AND some Thai basil. You should be able to find seed for both of them. Basil is easy to start from seed and you can do repeat sowings. Fusarium wilt can be a problem for the seedlings but there are some really good varieties that have bred-in resistance. I have completely given up growing lettuce-leaf basil because it is so vulnerable to that problem but the others are strongly resistant.

Welcome to TEG, Lorelai !

Steve

 

[HunkieDorie23]

I am fairly new to growing herbs but I am learning. I grow two types of basil, lemon and sweet or genovese. This year it is sweet basil. It is so much better fresh then the dried store version. Lemon is my favorite so far but there are so many I haven't tried.

I grow common thyme, it is wonderful. I would love to try french thyme also, I just need to get some seed. I have seen it on a couple of sites.

I have mediterrian oregano (my first is three years old) which I think is the same as greek oregano. It is so easy. Mine isn't spreading out of control like many people talk about. The first year I thought I was doing something wrong because it never got big enough to harvest. I was shocked to find it regrew the next year. Then I realize my chickens were eating it. I moved it and it did much better last year.

Last year I grew marjoram and I really loved it.

I want to try sage but I haven't found it in the stores.

I also growing flatleaf parsley and this year I am trying cumin. I prefer it to cilantro.

I am trying to grow garlic and shallots this year. I love growing a garden but now that I am growing herbs I love my garden even more.

I have been wanting to grow an english tea garden but I am not sure what type of plants to grow. I gave up caffine for lent and I prefer sleeping at night so I am hoping to figure it out this summer.

I think if you are starting out and you don't already have a favorite variety of herb just go with the basics and add others in later. You can go wrong with the basic.

Rosemary is kinda hard unless you live in a warm climate. I have heard that it is better to grow in pots so you can bring it in in the winter. I know last year tthey had very nice rosemary plants at lowe's. They were already in the two gallon containers. I almost bought them but I am not Impulsive it took me two years before I bought my first garlic bulb.

 

[Lorelai]

You all are so helpful! :happy_flower

I've pretty much decided on Greek oregano, thyme that isn't lemon (maybe French, from what I've read on here), rosemary (perhaps a larger plant so I can harvest right away... I was pretty set on getting the upright rosemary, but I'm somewhat curious still about creeping rosemary and haven't heard much about it. Maybe I'll start a new thread, or try to hunt down an old one), and Italian flat leaf parsely. Will cilantro do all right outside, maybe in a place that gets some afternoon shade? I've heard it's kind of picky. I'd like to grow Genovese basil too; I think I'll try growing one indoors for fun, and the rest outside. Oh, and marjoram, can't forget marjoram!

I'm also thinking about trying to start some of our chamomile seeds in a container... it's my favorite stand alone herbal tea (and my favorite combinations almost always use it as the main/base ingredient), and perhaps a good place to start for that future tea garden. After seeing the neighbor's lovely lavender plant, I'm tempted to try one of those too. I get headaches fairly often (I blame the braces and rubber bands associated with said braces), so herbal teas have become my friend! I've read that lavender is soothing for headaches.

Now to go to the store and find some starts so I can actually feel as if I've made some progress...