Give me some tips and ideas for my herb garden

mynameisguido

So, since in my area I don't have good access to places that sell fresh herbs, I've been thinking about planting some herbs to use for my cooking needs.

I've never grown anything in my life so I really, really, really don't know where to start. Any advice would be appreciated.

Xaquin

oregano will grow and spread like wildfire. Make sure and trim it a fair bit or it will overtake a garden. Rosemary and Basil are two of the best herbs to grow as they are always delicious in most any dish.

umm

hmmmm

how much space do you have to plant?

mynameisguido

I guess I should note that this is mainly for an indoor herb garden, so keep that in mind as well.

I have a lot of room in my back part of my kitchen (but I haven't checked to see if the lighting's any good). But I guess my space would be determined by what I planted in too, right? Not really sure about that either.

And potentially, once the door to the balcony is fixed I could have some outside room as well.

JebusUD

Rosemary isn't an herb but it is great. It is kind of a pissed off deserty plant, so it gets all woody, and you don't have to pay it much attention. A little bit of it goes a long way, so that is nice, however, it will take longer to get going than an herb. I have had mine for about a year and it is starting to get respectable, about 5 main branches each about 8 inches long, with little branches off each. Plus it gets pretty little blue flowers.

I just leave it in front of my sliding door all the time, not even south facing, and it does fine.

MetroidZoid

Considered a grow light? And I don't mean "Full spectrum, heavy-duty ballast, hip in all the trendy pot grower's circles" grow light. Something as simple as a hood the houses a couple of flourescent tube lights, hung at most a few feet from the plants, will help them greatly. Plus with daylight savings time ending (beginning?) soon, using a light and keeping their lit-up hours at a greater length will prevent them from going dormant.

As far as what you can grow, off the top of my head basil is one of the easiest indoor herbs to grow. Large leafed Italian / Sweet Genovese is the most common (my favorite too, big leaves are great in salads), but you can also grow red leafed varieties or lemon basil for a citrus-y kick. Thyme does well, as does sage; make sure you buy varieties listed as culinary varieties. Not that the ornamental ones aren't edible, they just won't taste right. Rosemary might be tricky; anytime you try to grow a normally large shrub on a windowsill can bring unexpected problems. It's possible, but you're probably going to be trimming it frequently and not just for cooking uses. Basically making a rosemary bonsai. However, rosemary can easily be grown outside (either all year or during the spring / summer depending on your area) in a larger container and it's a very care free plant. Other herbs off the top of my mind that might work:

Mint
Stevia
Watercress
Oregano
Cuban Oregano
Curry

Use a potting mix the drains VERY well. The chance of having to water a few more times than you might expect is worth the trade off of not having your plants keel over because they're in too moist soil. Especially things like sage that normally like arid conditions. Fertilizing is best in low doses and according to manufacturer's labels. Personally, I use Gardener & Bloome potting soil indoors and out, and Dr. Earth liquid fertilizer. Get it if you can, find an alternative otherwise. Pass on Miracle Gro, soils and fertilizers. Fox Farm would be another good product; I haven't used it personally but from what I've gathered it's the equivalent of what I use.

JebusUD

Basil is great. I think Stevia tastes awful without any kind of refinement, so I wouldn't bother with that.

Asiina

I've grown basil, thyme, and dill before. All are good, but thyme, if left to its own devices, will become ginormous.

agentk13

This might help.

Chervil seems like a good thing to grow.

FightTest

Chia has an herb garden. I don't think you can plant them on Obama's head but at least you're supporting the cause.