New to the herb forum!

Hi! I'm very new to gardening and so thrilled to find this site. I've never grown herbs before, and you won't believe how excited I was to actually use some of them in a recipe for the first time!!

I've been reading some of your threads and realize I have a lot to learn! I haven't done anything to my herbs except water them, but it sounds like I need to "pinch" them? Does that make them taste better?

So, here are some pictures, and if you wouldn't mind giving me some advice about what to do with them. I'm a little embarrassed to post them because you might think "oh my goodness, those things look horrible!!" lol :) The only thing I have done is when my basil got those pretty flowers on top, I cut them off which was sad because they were so pretty.

The first picture is basil, which needs to be watered today... actually, they all need water today.

And this is rosemary, thyme and lime basil. The lime basil is starting to get a flower on top I think.

And this is orange mint. Not really sure what to do with orange mint, but it sure smells good! :)

And this is sage...

And this oregano is going all over the place! I think it looks cool, but maybe I'm supposed to cut it back a little?

And finally, my lavender. It's really big and looks pretty, but it never has gotten those purple flowers like I've seen in pictures...

Hi Ellianor! Welcome to the Herb Forum :-) We're glad to have you here!

My lime basil has been trying to flower for about a a month and a half already, and I always have to keep beating it into submission. I looked at it last night after ignoring it for a couple of days, and it's got huge spikes that are ready to bloom. I finally threw my hands in the air and told it to go on and get it over with!

That's funny... a war with your lime basil plant lol :) Why do you have to cut off the blooms? Does it ruin the plant's flavor?

Welcome! I'm glad you're enjoying growing and using your herbs!

Your plants are doing great! I like your pots... are they living on your kitchen windowsill?

The more you pinch, the bushier your plant will get, and the more fresh herbs you will have to enjoy in your food!

With both mints and basil, if you leave more than 2 or 3 sets/pairs of leaves on a stem or branch, the plants will tend to bolt (flower in order to set seed). Once a stem bolts, the leaves on that stem seem to get bitter in flavor.

Here's your basil photo, showing where I think I would pinch your plant back to.... give it a good drink first to plump up the leaves so they'll be delicious and easy to snip or mince into a salad or sauce.

You can take half to 2/3 off of the long stems on your oregano (pinch them back by 1/3 at least, to promote branching and discourage bolting) if you want a nice harvest for pizza or spaghetti sauce. Ditto with the thyme, and just pinch the tender delicious tops off your rosemary plant (delicious with baked chicken or minced with garlic and added to green beans or to thick-cut roasted potato wedges with olive oil)... you can take longer stalks off your rosemary once it gets bigger, but you probably don't want to take any one branch back by more than half.

I like a sprig of orange mint (or almost any other mint) in a glass of iced tea, but I haven't gotten more creative (yet) with it. You can also snip up the leaves and brew it right with the tea... you might also like it as an addition to hot tea. I think there's a whole thread of ideas for using mint somewhere on this forum...

Have fun with them!

Wow, I've looked through several of your posts about basil and you're very knowlegable! This is something you wrote a while ago:

"Don't just pick the leaves to harvest basil, pinch back the stems. :-) I pinch the tops off my basil seedlings as soon as they get 3 sets of true leaves. Wherever you pinch, they will branch, so harvest early & often! I pinch each stem or branch just above the second pair of leaves. You can often see a little pair of leaves forming at the base of an older leaf on the stem -- these are just waiting to turn into a new branch when the stem above them is pinched!"

From what you're saying, it seems I should cut a LOT of my basil off. I'm nervous about doing this, so here's a picture of where I think you're telling me to "pinch".... is this right?

Yes! Although since that particular stem has some tiny leaves down low, I think I would go up 1 more set of leaves and pinch above that pair of large leaves just above where your fingers are. And I must give credit where credit is due... nearly everything I know about herbs I've learned from Tom DeBaggio, who literally wrote the book... see http://davesgarden.com/gbw/c/1617/

Thanks for your help!... I'm buying that book, it sounds really good. It killed me to cut my basil because I like it being tall. But I started looking at pictures of basil and it's a bushy plant, not a tall skinny plant. So, I just held my breath and did it lol :)

One more question then I'll leave you alone about this silly basil plant :)

That one step sticking out that's almost bare... the one I'm pointing to :) ..... should I cut it off or leave it alone? Did I do ok? It looks so stubby now! Thank you again! I've been obsessed with herbs all day. Haven't gotten anything else done :)

Now take that nice Basil you pinched off and enjoy it with your tomatoes or in butter for sweet corn. Pinching basil will bocome a pleasure cause eating it sure is!!

Yep! They're in the refrigerator now wrapped in a damp paper towel and I plan on using them tomorrow with some oregano... yummmm :)

You did great!! You were very brave.... LOL, I know just what you mean, it kills me to prune trees, and I never take off half as many branches as I "should." I would leave that stubby stem as it is... I think the whole plant will surprise you with new growth now that it is no longer trying to produce flowers.

And do not worry, it will get tall again! It will keep branching and growing, and you'll keep pinching, and it'll branch and grow some more, and eventually all those nice short bushy little branches will grow up taller than your plant in the original photo! My often-pinched basil plants are at least twice that height now, and in fact they are trying to bloom again, so it's time for another big harvest for pesto. I will try to get a photo to post in the herb forum before I pinch... and maybe another photo showing the "after-pinching" LOL.

I have had good luck keeping basil for several days in a baggie with a big puff of air blown into it just before you seal it... it also helps to try to bruise or cut the leaves as little as possible before you're ready to use it.

And after this tutorial, now you see how pinching can become a never ending battle LOL :-) (I mean, really. How much more counter-intuitive could it be to think that if you chop the top off something it will actually like it and grow bigger? It took awhile to wrap my head around that one.)

LOL, calypsa, you are so right!

Ellianor, your herbs look wonderful! You'll find such a wealth of knowledge around here (not me, I'm a newbie...LOL) - and very helpful people.
Did you grow your rosemary from seed? I just planted two weeks ago an entire seed packet and didn't get a single germination :( I'm going to try again - maybe I just need better seed.

I've got a few baby pots of basil that I started, and some marjoram and mint that are also tiny.

Anyway, welcome to the forum!

-Sunny

Be patient with the Rosemary. It is very slow to germinate.

Thank you! I know what you mean about finding a wealth of knowledge here! And everyone is so friendly :) Most of my herbs look wonderful because I bought them that way lol :) My goal is to keep them alive and if I can pull that off, then I'll progress to planting from seed. I've never tried that but woud like to very much. They have grown from the size I bought them, so I'm excited about that.

I'm looking forward to seeing the results of my brave basil pinching :) It's the first thing I do when I get up... run look at it to see if it's done anything!

While I'm here, do any of you know anything about drilling drainage holes in ceramic/glass pots? Maybe I should consult the container gardening forum...but thought I'd throw it out since I'm here right now. I bought a ceramic bit that looks like it will make a 1/2" hole. Is that all there is to it?

Ellianor, I was outside just now harvesting basil from the row in front of the tomatoes. I thought of you as I was pinching away with abandon on my plants... I sure have my fingers crossed that your basil plant will soon look better than ever! I will try to have my camera with me when I do the other end. There's more basil out there than I can keep up with (something like 25 plants, and they're just doing really well this summer), so I have decided to let several in the middle of the row go to seed. Hopefully, I'll be able to share my favorite pesto basil with everyone who would like it! If you give me a nudge this winter, I'll LYK what herb seeds I have, and you can send me a SASBE. This particular variety is an Italian Genovese type from a seed packet that one of my best friends brought back from Italy several years ago -- and I think everyone should have it in their garden!

With regard to drilling ceramics, it sounds like you're on the right track with that bit. I think I've read that it's a good idea to use water to cool the spot as you drill, especially with harder ceramics. With a pot or a saucer, you can just put a little water into the bottom... if you're drilling on a flat surface, I think I've seen on a TV program where somebody made a "ring" of vaseline around where they were going to drill and filled in the ring with a little water. The water just spreads out the heat from the friction of the drill bit and decreases the chance of cracking. (No, I haven't tried it myself! LOL)

Wow, thanks! I have no idea what LYK and SASBE are, but I get the general idea that you are offering to send me seeds from your basil plant and I would love that! I definitely "nudge" you :) And I would love your pesto recipe too :)

Just by the bye, drilling ceramic, etc., takes quite a bit longer than drilling anything else on earth. Just so you'll be prepared. Let the drill do the work.

sorry! LYK = "let you know" and LMK = "let me know" and PLMK adds "please" to the front.

other acronyms abound here, I'm afraid... DH = Dear Husband, and DW, DS, DD, Detc = "Dear Wife/Son/Daughter/etc.

LOL = "Laugh Out Loud" and "ROTFLMBO" = "roll on the floor laughing my but off"

See the trading primer (link at the top of the seed & plant trading forums) for more info, but SASBE = "self addressed stamped bubble envelope"

Pesto recipes are here... http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/627811/

HTH! ("hope that helps!")

Dang, I know GardenWife recently posted a link to a "net dictionary" of all these acronyms.... and now I can't find it! Well, drop me a Dmail if I or anyone else uses one you can't figure out!

There's a whole new language to learn on these forums... Very peculiar at first, but you too will begin using obscure phrases that only other Dave's Garden folks can understand. My poor husband, he looks at some of my posts and gets this bewildered look on his face, then asks me why I've made so many typos. This from an automotive engineer who spends half his day speaking only in acronyms!

LOL... and TY!

YW! ;-)

Whoops, it was Badseed who posted that link, over in the daylily forum... netlingo! http://www.netlingo.com/