POSTED: March 23, 2007 by Dianne
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I know it's not quite the same, but through the winter, or if your fresh herbs don't work out - you should try Toppits. I discovered them in the freezer section of my local Loblaws (or Zehrs) and they are mini ice cube trays of frozen fresh herbs. They have cilantro, dill, basil, ginger, garlic, etc. and they are almost as good as fresh when you're cooking with them. No need to defrost, you just pop them in the dish you're making, and each cube equals a tsp. I find them the most useful for cilantro, since I used to buy a whole bunch for one recipe and end up throwing out most of it after I was done. A wonderful invention...
[url]http://www.toppits.com/[/url]
The ones I bought weren't in pots, they were in bags sitting right beside things like green peppers. There are a few hydroponic types of produce being sold that can easily be planted. The nice part is they are ready to harvest from the day you get them, at least my lettuce was a good example of that. One head lasted me a long time when I just picked off the leaves I needed as it just kept growing and growing. The ones at the garden centre cost about the same and were a tenth the size.
I saw potted herbs in the Veggie Dept in the grocery store last week they were big enought to use now and if you pick them they will keep growing.
If this helps, strange but true, I discovered the best herbs come from the grocery store. When the nurseries had run out one year I spotted the organic variety being sold in the veggie dept of the grocery store, roots attached. They were twice as big as the ones usually sold at the garden centre, had better roots, and cost less too. I also bought lettuce that way.
I have found that the size of the pot makes a difference with the larger the better. They don't dry out as fast and the herbs can grow larger. they also do well mixed together in pots with flowers.
It's also nice if you can put them in some sun near a window or door so you can get the aroma coming in the house.
Try this link. I refer to it all the time and it is canada based.
[url]http://www.flower-gardening-made-easy.com/herbs-in-containers.html[/url]
A few years ago I made my mom a mothers day gift of a container full of herbs - it turned out really well! I used strawberry pot with the pockets on the side, and planted thyme, basil, oregano, rosemary, chives, and something else. She kept it in a sunny spot and it thrived - and looked pretty too. If I remember right, I don't think she did any fertilizing, and I just used a bag of regular potting soil from a nursery. She did end up transplanting the chives into her vegetable garden, as they seemed to grow the fastest, and she had chives the next few years (until the dogs dug them up!).
i love growing my own herbs too. herbs require at least 4 hours of sunlight a day..but really thrive in full sun. i like the look of clay pots, so that's usually what i use.....however they do dry out quickly, no matter how long you presoak them...so they need alot of watering. i just use bagged soil,,,the magic soil from dominion (loblaws) it comes with fertilzer in them that are time released...and it's worked well for me. however you can get fertilizers like pc's better then bone meal 16-6-6 that i use on my garden that does well too...i also toss it in my hanging baskets. i find with herbs they don't need much fussing, i just let them do their thing....which gives more time to do other things in the garden :)