We like Asian cooking. I read an article by Jim Long of Longcreekherbs about growing green pepper basil (Ochimum selloi), vietnamese cilantro (Polygonum odoratum) and Kaffir lime tree (Citrus hystix). He didn't list suppliers. Does anyone know a good place to get the above? We have grown lemmon grass for some time. It is pretty and smells great, besides good in Thai dishes. Has anyone had any luck with growning ginger or galanga?
Beckiem
Thai & Asian cooking
try the garden watchdog.
I found the kaffir lime at Acorn Springs Farm: http://www.acornsprings.com/
They have a pretty good reputation according to GW comments.
I didn't get any hits from Plant Scout on the other 2 you mentioned, but did want to note that PF gives the spelling for the green pepper basil as Ocimum selloi, which may help in your search.
Hopefully somebody else will have more to offer you in your search!
hi beckiem- i just got my first kaffir lime-through nichols nursery- but it was drop shipped from acorn, i think, mentioned by critterologist!- we'll see how it does in a pot. I was intrigued by the basil, and saw two references to nurseries on google- it looks like it has some interesting healing aspects ( good for stomach aches?) but it is actually in native to Brazil...not Thailand... anyway, I decided I'd like to find some too!
For citrus trees, I like Four Winds Growers, here in California.
I got a Meyer Lemon of theirs a couple years ago and a friend shipped Kaffir Lime trees from them to her Mom in Colorado. They have a ton of interesting varieties and great customer service.
http://davesgarden.com/gwd/c/649/
You might dmail JaxFlaGardener: he's growing grocery store ginger right now. It's a tropical, prolly zone 9-10. You'd probably have to grow it in containers and bring inside for winter, but I'm sure you could just pick up some ginger from the produce section and root it. Jeremy could probably help you out with technique. Check out the Florida Gardening forum for other related threads.
I grow cardamom (used in Indian food a lot), but I don't have any brilliant insight for you. A neighbor dug up a bunch, which I kept in a container over winter. I've left it there so it doesn't become invasive, although it's not cold hardy and will die back if I don't bring it in. It's another tropical rainforest plant: I keep it in the shade and water it frequently. It loves the Florida humidity and does well here, but you'd need to create a little microclimate, I suppose.
Recently, I acquired some Vietnamese cilantro from my local native nursery in Tallahassee. I don't know if you can order from them, but here is their web site: http://www.nativenurseries.com/ Maybe they'll ship a plant to you...
Good luck!
I'm not familiar with that basil.
I don't grow vietnamese cilantro. Have some friends who do and I've tried it at my local farmer's market. I didn't care that much for the flavor. I prefer plain old cilantro, mints, and basils (including thai).
Be careful with Polygonum's though.
Not sure what your zone is. A lot of Polygonums can be weedy, especially in milder climates. You might end up with a fragrant ground cover.
-Erik