herbs and stuff

[Tess1]

We made a new kitchengarden. I had my herbs in the little flowergarden, but now they have their own place, along with the new tomato plants and radishes.

[Anton]

Very nice Tess.

If we had that here in Adelaide, the white ants would have that demolished in 6 months. Ravenous little blighters, and with the drought conditions here, that wood would be a good feast for them.

I laid down some sleepers for a garden border, supposedly white ant proof.....think again !
6 months, gone,........ the fence railings (made of Jarrah), 3 months,.... gone !

I am going to make my next herb garden from precast concrete blocks.

[Tess1]

That is bad news about the white ants Anton, but concrete blocks should do the job nicely.

[pikevi]

That is a cute little 'herb garden' tess1. Very neatly done. Most of my herbs last only a month or so after bringing them home. I love to be able to grow basil(Ocimum) and oregano (Origanum) at home. I have failed in my attempts many times

[Tess1]

Pikevi, so far I have only grown chives, italian parsley, rosemary, dill, mint (in container), thyme, and lots of basil. Unfortunately the rabbits got to the basil first!
I am now a little more adventurous and have added the greek oregano and garlic chives. No rosemary this time around, the bush grows far too big for this small garden.

I wonder why you failed in your attempt to grow basil, it is a must with tomatoes, keeps white fly away. May be the soil of course, herbs seem to like sandy soil, and living in the sand dunes here helps I suppose.

[MariahK]

I like it!

[pikevi]

Thanks, Tess1.

May be I will add some sand to the mix next time.

Good luck with your extensive selection of Herbs!

[Andrew]

Originally Posted by Tess1

I wonder why you failed in your attempt to grow basil, it is a must with tomatoes, keeps white fly away. May be the soil of course, herbs seem to like sandy soil, and living in the sand dunes here helps I suppose.

I suspect it's to do with living in Ontario. Maybe not warm enough for long enough. Even in Melbourne you have to wait until about November before growth really kicks in.

[lynda]

I'm lucky we have a bump-out window over the sink in the kitchen -- I tend to grow all my herbs all winter in the window...and when cooking i just reach over and snip snip what I need. I have a large round pot that I use for all kinds of herbs---probably 14" wide and I put a (cheap) turntable under the pot so I can rotate it.

[solay]

Reading about everyone's difficulties in their areas for growing herbs makes me feel extra lucky. Here in California herbs grow so easily and hardly any pests. I grow my share but never realized it's always not so easy for everyone else.

I get ants but no like the ones you got Anton. How horrible. Do they bite too?

Tess1 your herb garden looks great. Good job building it. Even has stairs.

[lynda]

I have tried growing herbs outside but find I forget all about them, and don't want to take the time when I'm in the middle of cooking to run outside, so growing them in a sunny widow works for me.

[solay]

One thing about herbs is to not put them in the ground. I find they are very invasive and hard to get rid of later. I grow them in a wine barrel. Although I hardly use them for cooking. I just like the way they look.