|
Post by spindrift on Feb 5, 2009 10:48:18 GMT
Now is the time to sow parsley seeds. I have bought a seed tray, I have compost in the shed and I'm ready to plant them. Parsley takes a notoriously long time to germinate. I expect to have a surfeit of seedlings that I'll pot up and give to friends. Everyone likes parsley. Not only does it add appeal to a cooked dish, it is bursting full of vitamins and minerals and keeps on growing until the autumn. Who else grows herbs?
|
|
|
Post by palesa on Feb 5, 2009 10:59:40 GMT
I am trying to grow my own herbs!
I have rocket, cilantro,basil, lavender, rosemary and mint.
I have never grown parsley, I should give it a go.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2009 11:00:55 GMT
I managed to keep parsley alive for its two-year lifespan in a pot on my windowsill once and generally had enough to use when needed. No parsley now, but I have a pot of mint still alive, which is the only thing that has survived the rigors of this winter.
|
|
|
Post by happytraveller on Feb 5, 2009 11:46:52 GMT
I always grow herbs in summer. I have to keep them in pots though as my yard is too small. I grow rosmary, parsley, chives, oregano, basil and this, I dunno what it's called in english. There's nothing better than a risotto with a big hand full of chopped herbs thrown in.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2009 12:51:27 GMT
It appears to be the flat leaved variety of parsley
|
|
|
Post by happytraveller on Feb 5, 2009 12:57:34 GMT
No casimira, it has a completely different flavour. It's a great herb. I'll look it up, hang on...
It says lovage (lovisticum officinale). Ever heard of this ?
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2009 13:42:37 GMT
Ah,lovage,vaguely familiar with it
|
|
|
Post by spindrift on Feb 5, 2009 15:03:00 GMT
Glad to hear there are lots of green fingers around here. I'll plant basil seeds soon.
I don't intend to keep my parsley indoors. I will plant it out in my little garden; hopefully the cat won't dig it up (or worse).
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Feb 7, 2009 19:59:00 GMT
Lovage needs an extended, hard cold season to thrive, Casimira. You can just forget about it!
The traditional time for planting parsley is Good Friday, why, I know not. There's the saying that it takes so long to germinate because it has to go to the devil and return three times. I suspect these Christian-related superstitions are outgrowths of something much older.
On a practical basis, here is a good tip for germinating parsley: put the seeds you're going to use in a shallow dish & pour hot -- almost boiling -- water over them. When the water is cool, pour it all off, then plant the seeds.
Whenever you soak any seeds, get rid of the soaking water. It contains anti-sprouting elements that occur on the seed naturally. If you pour that water on the place you've planted the seeds, you are undoing what you did with the soaking period.
|
|
welle
member
Offline
om sweet om
|
Post by welle on Feb 8, 2009 21:05:11 GMT
Wow, I'm very impressed with everyone's knowledge here!
For herbs, I grow lavender, rosemary, sage. My basil died, I'm not sure why. It did not get any frost.
I love gardening.
The herb in the pic above I thought was cilantro at first, but it looks more like lovage when I googled it. I don't think I've ever had it.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Feb 8, 2009 21:09:56 GMT
Welle, basil isn't very happy below 45°F/8°C. It could have dipped below that one night long enough to do in the basil. Also, I've had basil from nurseries -- not started by me from seed -- just up & die for no reason I could determine.
|
|
welle
member
Offline
om sweet om
|
Post by welle on Feb 8, 2009 21:13:27 GMT
That might have been it-it did get cold earlier in the winter for a couple of nights.
And yeah, I did not grow them myself but bought the plants in a pot in a grocery store. My plants tend to have to fend for themselves, maybe they missed the fertilizer.
|
|
|
Post by spindrift on Feb 8, 2009 21:46:58 GMT
I've observed that some people can grow basil and some people can't. As for myself, indoor plants all die on me in a short time. I've given up with them. My outdoor plants all thrive. Strange. Bixa - thanks for the tips...I do soak sweetpea seeds before I sow them.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Feb 9, 2009 4:04:48 GMT
The one I can't grow is fennel -- and I really love it! It hates me. I plant it, it sulk, then just croaks.
|
|
|
Post by palesa on Feb 9, 2009 4:48:53 GMT
Well, have you tried talking to your fennel?
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Feb 9, 2009 4:53:10 GMT
"Grow, damn you, grow!"
My grandmother told me there was an Irish priest in our town who grow beautiful roses. Whenever anyone asked him for the secret, he would tell them the usual stuff about deep watering, manure, etc. Then she caught him one day cursing them in Gaelic.
|
|
|
Post by palesa on Feb 9, 2009 5:01:54 GMT
That is funny.
I think I had fennel growing in my garden last season. I took a packet of mixed herb seeds and planted them in a flower bed that I had not yet decided what to plant in, so i threw this packet ofseeds and had tons of different herbs, being the retard that I am, I really hardly knew one from the other.
*I know I am not a retard, but sometimes it feels like that as I learn to grow my own veggies and herbs.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Feb 9, 2009 5:19:09 GMT
You must have a green thumb! I hope some of those herbs reseeded themselves.
I like the taste & look of fennel. I had an herb gardening friend with exquisite taste who used to grow yellow-gold colored calendula together with bronze fennel. Talk about a great combination of colors and textures!
|
|
|
Post by palesa on Feb 9, 2009 5:23:32 GMT
Ah, caledula, I haven't got that in my garden here, used to have it in our prevoius home. That combination sounds very pretty.
Calendula is very good for skin ailments as well. I used to soak the leaves in alcohol for extended periods and add it to a base cream, wonderful for almost any skin condition.
|
|
|
Post by palesa on Feb 9, 2009 5:28:55 GMT
Talking about reseeding, the rocket is growing like a weed, I now have about 50 plants, no exaggeration around my garden.
I will try making basil and rocket pesto, only do not have enough basil, but my MIL has lots of basil, so I should try and get some of hers.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Feb 9, 2009 6:13:21 GMT
Yeah -- I actually pulled up lots of rocket & put it in the compost. I think the reseeded stuff is more robust than the original plants from seed -- like it's acclimated or something.
Whenever my grandmother got basil from the garden, she'd take whatever excess there was after seasoning the food & stuff it into little plastic medicine bottles. Then, in the winter time she always had some fairly fresh-tasting basil to use.
|
|
welle
member
Offline
om sweet om
|
Post by welle on Feb 9, 2009 12:32:23 GMT
Fennel is one thing I will not grow in my garden-I despise the taste.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2009 12:51:12 GMT
Likewise welle. I do grow the bronze fennel for the the Black Swallowtail butterfly as it is one of their larval foods.(as is dill,parsley and members of the carrot family).
|
|
|
Post by missalaska on Feb 20, 2009 11:05:06 GMT
;D Yesterday I picked up a load of herbs from someone on the exchange website I'm on. I got exciting stuff like lemon verbena and a curry bush. I thought I was getting curry leaf but it looks totally different.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Feb 20, 2009 17:47:32 GMT
|
|
|
Post by missalaska on Feb 24, 2009 14:58:14 GMT
Yes it is a Helichrysum italicum. She told me curry leaf on the email!! Was right confused when I went to get the herbs, but I understand from googling that it doesn't transmit much flavour. But it look nice in my new patio area.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Feb 26, 2009 7:46:34 GMT
You must have quite a nice herb garden, MissA. Do you keep them all together, or spread them thoroughout the garden?
|
|
|
Post by spindrift on Apr 29, 2009 14:43:54 GMT
It's now approximately 10 weeks since I sowed my parsley seeds in a seed tray. Hundreds germinated. This week I planted out 48 seedlings which show their first 'true' leaves. Unfortunately there was a mighty thunder storm yesterday and rain came down in sheets followed by huge hailstones. My little seedlings are unbowed but their compost is soaking. I hope it dries out in the sun or they will rot. When I transplanted them I noticed how very long their roots were....far more developed (of course) than their leaves.
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Apr 29, 2009 14:49:49 GMT
Yaaay, you, Spindrift! I think the soaking compost is a good thing, since your little guys are so recently transplanted. They should develop bunches of feeder roots quite quickly.
|
|
|
Post by spindrift on Apr 29, 2009 14:55:25 GMT
I'll take a picture of them soon. They don't look too good at the moment.
|
|