Herbs and stuff

Figgin' A

Figgin' A

Well-known member
Over time I got better at growing my herbs and this season they've been growing especially nicely. Most are on a fairly small patch, but coexisting nicely, from basil to parsley, to coriander, to sage, oregano and more. Only French thyme got wiped out for some reason. I'll try it at a different location next year.

But that brought a small problem - too much of them herbs. Dill is everywhere. Literally, it grows on the patch, along the fence, and other unusual places, like from a crack of a piece of an old 6x6. I now get why they call it dill weed. My wife has also been complaining that my herbs got too bushy and encroach on the walking space. So, today I harvested a good half of them, washed, tied into bunches and hung to dry. Well worth the effort. I find that these home-grown and dried herbs tend to be much more aromatic than anything store-bought. Most of the time.

Anyone else doing this?
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I grow way more than I ever use. I’ve been harvesting throughout the season by tying and drying. First on the clothesline (weather permitting) but birds would be pecking and depositing on the herbs. Resorted to hanging bunches in the sunroom. Took just over 2-weeks to dry for processing and storage.
 
I grow oregano, thyme, basil, cinnamon basil, mint, lemongrass. I also tried to grow chives, dill and cilantro here, not much success though, compared to other places I grew them before. I probably need to establish them early enough in the season before the heat kicks in. I also have lemon balm near the windows. I used to grow perilla (purple) but not sure where I put the seeds. These spread quickly like mint if not pruning regularly.

I usually interplant herbs with other crops like tomatoes, berries or figs. I was guessing sometimes, the critters miss the figs because they were surrounded by onions or green onions or shallots.

I make pesto ice cubes and use the herbs in cooking. As for mint, I just eat it as I walk past it daily to keep the bush in check. I do the same with the Moringa.
 
I've got a cute little basil plant from a friend. I had lavender and Corsica mint, but a malfunctioning irrigation setup while I was out of town killed those off. Thank goodness my figs all made it! 12 days in Texas summer with no water! I'm astonished. The herbs for sure kicked it though, as did a few flowers, half my roses, my pawpaws, most of my young guava trees...rip. 😅 I'll plant more once I move.
 
bushdoctor82 said:
I grow way more than I ever use. I’ve been harvesting throughout the season by tying and drying. First on the clothesline (weather permitting) but birds would be pecking and depositing on the herbs. Resorted to hanging bunches in the sunroom. Took just over 2-weeks to dry for processing and storage.
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Yeah, I had a feeling you'd be doing this :) As soon as I hung my herbs outside, I saw quite a few wasps checking them out. A couple of flies too. I left them there for a few hours to let the water run off, then moved them inside and hung them above my grow table, which is vacant right now. Hung them right off the LED bar lights. Quite convenient and not interfering with anyone or anything.
 
grasshopper said:
I grow oregano, thyme, basil, cinnamon basil, mint, lemongrass. I also tried to grow chives, dill and cilantro here, not much success though, compared to other places I grew them before. I probably need to establish them early enough in the season before the heat kicks in. I also have lemon balm near the windows. I used to grow perilla (purple) but not sure where I put the seeds. These spread quickly like mint if not pruning regularly.

I usually interplant herbs with other crops like tomatoes, berries or figs. I was guessing sometimes, the critters miss the figs because they were surrounded by onions or green onions or shallots.

I make pesto ice cubes and use the herbs in cooking. As for mint, I just eat it as I walk past it daily to keep the bush in check. I do the same with the Moringa.
Click to expand...
That's a cool idea. Sometimes it works so well that I go like - whoah, you could do that? This year I had too many onion seedlings and they looked too good to throw away, so I planted 4-6 in some of my 20-gallon containers where I grow tomatoes. What I discovered for myself was that tomatoes and onions love growing together. We kept harvesting green onions from those planters for two months, then finally mature onions. The bulbs weren't as large as in my onion patch, but I liked the fact that we could harvest green onions for months and let those in the onion patch fully mature.

Dill and chives thrive here, but cilantro is also very temperamental. It doesn't like hot weather. Mine all bolted quickly in summer. I seeded it 3-4 weeks ago and it finally looks great and we started to harvest it little by little. Usually we get quite a bit in the fall and end up harvesting a bunch of seeds at the end of the season. I love using coriander seeds in cooking and baking.
 
StrangeCharmSam said:
I've got a cute little basil plant from a friend. I had lavender and Corsica mint, but a malfunctioning irrigation setup while I was out of town killed those off. Thank goodness my figs all made it! 12 days in Texas summer with no water! I'm astonished. The herbs for sure kicked it though, as did a few flowers, half my roses, my pawpaws, most of my young guava trees...rip. 😅 I'll plant more once I move.
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Yeah, gardening is not easy... so many things can go wrong and you need to be on top of things constantly. Sometimes, they can go from good to bad in a matter of a few days or even a single day.
 
Frankly I'm just excited my figs survived. Even if everything else had been a wash, the figs pulled through, and one of my white madeira babies put out six adorable little figlets after losing most of its leaves to the great drought. And my monsteras made it, and my okra decided it loved the dry weather and put out a few pods for me. I brought the basil home with me, a birthday gift from a friend I visited on the road trip. The garden goes on lol even if not all the plants survived. I've learned a lot from this first year of really growing things.
 
Figgin' A said:
That's a cool idea. Sometimes it works so well that I go like - whoah, you could do that? This year I had too many onion seedlings and they looked too good to throw away, so I planted 4-6 in some of my 20-gallon containers where I grow tomatoes. What I discovered for myself was that tomatoes and onions love growing together. We kept harvesting green onions from those planters for two months, then finally mature onions. The bulbs weren't as large as in my onion patch, but I liked the fact that we could harvest green onions for months and let those in the onion patch fully mature.

Dill and chives thrive here, but cilantro is also very temperamental. It doesn't like hot weather. Mine all bolted quickly in summer. I seeded it 3-4 weeks ago and it finally looks great and we started to harvest it little by little. Usually we get quite a bit in the fall and end up harvesting a bunch of seeds at the end of the season. I love using coriander seeds in cooking and baking.
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Full size onions grow like centerpieces, take a lot of space but the smaller onions like dancing onions, shallots can be planted pretty close to other plants. I usually harvest green onion stalks one from each plant so the damage to each is small and they have plenty of time to recoup. It takes a little more time though. Because of the way I cut them, they keep growing throughout the season. Plus, the dancing onions spread on its own.

I tried to put cilantro in the coolest, shadiest area but they still bolt in hot weather. Dill and chives usually grow themselves, cilantro too in z6b and z10b I lived before. I probably need to establish them early in the season to handle the heat. Don't think I have used coriander in baking but often in curry and spice rub for meat.
 
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