Did herbs in a container first time this year. Wow did they take off.
Container herbs
I love it! Two of my favorite subjects ~ containers and herbs. LOL Give me the tour and tell me what all you have planted in that photo please? Are they all in one pot? pod
Containers are the only way to grow some herbs...as in mint:-) Mine are doing great in half barrels...Maybe it's the residual Jim Beam in the wood?
Podster they are all in one container, I'm thinking they like to be root bound.lol From back left, Pineapple mint, left front in creeping oregano and creeping jenny. Next to those are rosemary. Put in the Coleus for color. To the right of the Coleus is sage, orange mint, vicks plant ( that is how it was labelled it smells like vicks vapor rub) and another creeping jenny.
Gary
Ohhh... I have a vicks plant and love it. I think you are right ~ root bound is good for herbs. You have a pretty and unusual combination of herbs there. I was surprised to see creeping jenny there too.
Tggfisk ~ LOL on the Jim Beam. The only half barrel I have was so old there couldn't be any residual. I stuffed butterfly ginger in it because I was lazy and didn't want to prepare a bed. Now you are making me wish I had planted herbs in it. What all do you grow in your barrels? Full sun? Lots of water? pod
I have several half-barrels filled with herbs. One has an unknown mint salvaged from our old house 12 years ago, another has a lemon grass, and the last one has a beautiful Dittany of Crete. They've completely filled the barrels. I love them!
Pod,
I have two on the patio outside the back door, full sun on my patio. I use them to contain the runners and the seeders! In one I have origano, chocolate mint, chives and a stella d'oro lily for color. I also added some green dragon (jack in the pulpit) to see if it would take the sun..it has, surprisingly.
In the other pot, I put some mints that I got in a trade...Tall wooly apple mint on one side, shorter orange mint on the other and yellow old fashioned zinnias in the middle. Sort of a cottage look. I also like that the birds will land on the zinnia stems, tear each petal off one by one, and take the seeds. So cute! Have a pot of spearmint next to this barrel. It is blooming now. I love that!
Mom-lovely picture!
Bev
Do you barrel growers find that the soil must be kept more moist? I have been told not to let the bbl dry out? My ginger barrel is in high shade.
As long as there's soil in the barrel I don't think you need to worry about keeping it constantly moist. I let my herbs dry out pretty well between waterings as they don't like to have their feet wet. Before I'd planted anything in the barrels and before there was soil in them I was told to store them upside down and to keep them wet to prevent the wood from shrinking.
That might be what I was thinking of. I had also been told if the barrel dried out, it would draw too much moisture from the plant. Glad to know otherwise... pod
Here's a pic of my container herbs from another thread. One strawberry jar needs a few plants replaced that didn't make it. http://davesgarden.com/forums/fp.php?pid=3688167
Miatablu ~ how lovely! Makes me want to walk into the picture and start rubbing, sniffing and tasting.
Your Patio herbs remind me of another DGr Kanita that has a full yard on pots and planters full of herbs.
How delightful, as I said, herbs and containers ~ two of my favorite topics. pod
All are very nice. usually I have one section of the garden for herbs and they have always done well, but I think after this year I will do only container herbs after how well they have done in them.
You know, I prefer containers here as I can control moisture and light levels better. The plants can take more sun in spring but it gets too tough in midsummer. This way I can relocate the pots.
I also live with a leg lifter : / and don't want that dog helping me water the herbs I want to nibble. In pots, I can get them out of his reach.
I don't have much choice in growing them in containers because this is the only location that can get enough sun, and even then some might not be getting as much as they'd like. Besides unwanted waterings by leg lifters, I also think the pests can't get to them as easily than if they were in the ground. The one time I tried to plant an herb bed I was plagued by slugs. And it is very nice Podster to just reach over from my chair where I'm reading and run my hands through the seven different basils, or pluck a bit of mint and crush it up a bit.
Very nice, Podster! Looks great!
On my deck, I have three window boxes mounted on the outside of the railing. This year, I decided to plant all herbs, instead of just flowers as I did in all the earlier years. I put in lavander, parsley, dill, chives, varigated mint of some sort, oregano, thyme, purple basil and some other basils. My deck is off the kitchen, so no fear, they are only steps away! I even have some in a bucket as a planter on the deck. I will have to see if I can get a photo on sometime. I also have a few types of herbs in a whiskey barrel planter, too, down below the deck with other herbs in the ground around it. My herbs in the whiskey barrel planter do fine even when allowed to dry out.
RatherB
I have Sweet Basil in a few pots. I'm always out there rubbing the leaves and smelling my fingers!
Yep, rubbing, smelling and nibbling... : ))