My neighbor is moving out of state and he gave me 2 window boxes with various herbs all mixed together. I love to cook and would love to keep these alive and well. I don't know anything about growing herbs. He had them in a sunny location. I would appreciate any help in the care of these plants. this may be a silly question but if I use fish emulsion with they all taste fishy? What kind, if any fertilizer do you use? Do you have problems with pests on herbs and if so what can you safely use to take care of the problem? Please help!
never grown herbs before
Do you know what kind of herbs you have? Different plants have different requirements. If you can't id them can you post a picture?
Applying fish emulsion to the soil won't make things taste fishy. I don't fertilize my herbs after the initial planting though most of mine are grown in the ground. You may need something for your containers depending on what you are growing.
Ditto! And, you can add water absorbing crystals to the containers to help keep them moister, as containers dry out so much more quickly than planting in the ground.
Please post a pic and we'll see what we can id for you...
Barb
Don't use pesticides on herbs if you plan on eating them. Most herbs don't get a lot of pests, but if you do have a problem, pick critters off and smoosh 'em rather than attempting to introduce some poison.
Herbs are generally pretty easy, and you'll love having fresh herbs for cooking!
A sunny location is good, and the moisture crystals that BassetMom suggested will help keep the soil from getting bone dry too quickly. Although many herbs are drought tolerant (basil is an exception), they will respond to watering by putting up lots of nice new growth. Good drainage is essential for most herbs, but if yours are in a container with potting mix (which doesn't compact the way garden soil might in a container), than you've probably got that covered. When you water, try watering near the base of the plants, as herbs generally like moist (not soggy) feet & dry tops.
I add a little time-release fertilizer when I plant herbs, but I don't give them regular foliar feeds with fish emulsion or miracle gro. You have to be a little careful with fish emulsion... a friend of mine just burned the foliage on her golden oregano, and she's pretty sure it was the fish emulsion she used on them while feeding her veggie garden.
Also, pinch back your herbs regularly to harvest them. The more you pinch, the more the plants will branch out and grow. If you look near the base of the leaves on many herbs, you'll see tiny leaflets that are just waiting to become new branches when you cut/pinch the stem just above them. With thyme, rosemary, and oregano, I generally pinch back 1/3 to 1/2 of the new growth. With basil, I leave 1 or 2 pairs of leaves per stem (count from the point where the stem branches off) and pinch off everything above that. If branches get too long, many herbs will put out flowers, which can be pretty but which can also make the leaves a little bitter.... regular pinching will discourage flowering.
Have fun with your new herbs!
I have a variety of herbs in containers and find they are very easy to grow and require very little care. When planting, I use a good potting soil like Miracle Grow or something along this line. If I plant things in the same container, I try to group them together ... such as grouping different oreganoes together, different basils together, etc. I don't use pesticides on mine either and find I have few pests. Once in a while I'll have someone munch on my basil and will usually have the catipillas come and strip the Italian parsley, but it will grow back pretty and full. (even if you do feel like crying) These are just suggestions, as I'm certainly not an expert. There are lot's who have been at DG longer and have more knowledge than me, but this works for me. Good luck with them! They are sooo much fun and delicious.
Thanks for all the great advice. I can't post pictures right now because I lent my camera to my brother for his vacation. I am keeping them in the long window boxes that they were given to me in. I've put them in a sunny location and I will try fish emulsion at 1/2 strength and hope for the best. No problem pinching back because I've already been using them for cooking.