Sowing Herbs directly in the ground?

Hi all, we're avid cooks and I've done a couple of herb container gardens in previous flats we've lived in, but I'm really looking forward to growing them in the ground this time around. I've been reading online about growing plants from seeds and it all looks a little bit complicated and requires quite a bit of room indoors, which I don't have. I am seriously considering sowing the seeds directly into the ground where I want them to grow and then thinning as needed. Any particular problems with this route I should know about? Any special considerations that I should know about?

 

I'm a chef so my kitchen and herb garden is something I'm really keen on. I want useful crops that I can actually harvest and something that looks inspiring and pretty.

There are advantages and disadvantages in growing herbs from seed and advantages and disadvantages of growing directly in the ground. In my opinion, the best herbs to grow from seed are chives, wild rocket, parsley, *mint, basil and coriander -- able to grow and harvest within a season. The best herbs to grow as bought plants are the ones with high essential oils that like sandy soil: lavender, rosemary, thyme, oregano or marjoram and sage -- to get a decent sized plant from seed would take too long (this group is excellent for propagation via cuttings).

All of the herbs mentioned can be grown directly in the ground (*with the exception of mint as it is invasive, so grow in a large pot). It's also handy to plan how much of each herb will be serviceable to you, ie one rosemary bush will do but you may want tons of parsley and chives.

Your only enemy by growing directly in the ground is going to be slugs and perhaps warmth/sun for the basil which is mega tender. I use copper tape to deter slugs. All the herbs listed have their own idiosyncrasies but where some may frustrate you, others will romp away and pay dividends on the plate!

 

Some herbs need to be only grown the once and you'll have their offspring for ever after. Borage (flowers lovely in salads and frozen in ice cubes), feverfew and fennel spring to mind - they self seed freely.

I know you want to grow from seed, but perhaps nursery grown plants would be the best way to start with - chose the ones you want and either collect seeds, take cuttings for later years. Many are perennials and will last for several years. Basil is best grown in a pot as its tender and to avoid the slugs as Organoponico says and mint for its sheer taking over everything habits!

 

Thanks both for your really helpful suggestions. I had already been warned about mint's tendency to take over the universe, so that was already on my "to pot" list. I hadn't realised the same thing about basil - may rethink that one.

Organoponico, where did you get the copper tape and do you put it around each plant or the perimeter of the bed generally?

 

Sow the oregano in pure vermiculite then line out in a very dry bed ( like dust dry) in a suntrap if you have one. It will perform very well there and, of course, don't feed it.

 

I picked it up from my local hardware store. It's a traditional store and the tape looked like it had been around since the Brontes so I'm not sure whether the B&Qs of this world sell something similar. The tape is about an inch wide, thin and bendy like a thick tin foil. I create collar circles with the tape and sow seeds within it and prick out as necessary. Same goes for collars around young plants. I haven't tried laying down a large perimeter of copper tape as I know that the sluggy blighters bury themselves in the soil. I also keep the beds forked over regularly as this disturbs slug eggs and exposes them to the sun. My methods aren't always perfect but at least young plants have a chance to get hold and romp away.

Slug worry: parsley sometimes, coriander, basil sometimes
No slug worry: Chives, sage, oregano, rosemary, lavender

 

For perennial herbs like Rosemary, Sage etc I would buy established plants because as someone already said, they can take a while to establish. I've grown Thyme and Marjoram from seed with success, but they take a bit of care while they're young.

Annuals and biennials maybe from seed. Coriander must be the easiest herb to grow from seed and I've planted that straight outside in the past. Parsley can take a while to establish (there is some piece of folklore about the roots having to reach the devil before the top will grow) but once established it is best outside. I've sown it straight outside in the past too, just scattering its seeds roughly where I want it.

I find many herbs actually do better in the ground than they do in pots. Parsley and Coriander grow massive if you let them stretch their legs.

I've never had any luck at all with Basil outside though. I've resigned myself to letting it living in a big tub on the kitchen windowsill. I don't think its the climate, it just seems so irresistible to every herbivorous creature in the area.

 

Clueless1's experiences with herbs is pretty much identical to my own.

Basil is such a wimpy, temperamental herb to grow. It needs heat, regular moisture and full sun. I don't bother attempting basil outdoors until at least June. If a basil crop bites the dust I keep trying as eventually I know I'll get a huge crop.

 

As you will be able to tell from this post - i have no idea on gardening! I started growing herbs last year in pots (im limited on space at the moment). My poor basil quickly became slug food - Ive realised from reading this thread that basil is a favourite!! Im seem to have difficulty with rosemary though - I grow it in a large pot but it died last year so ive bought another, more established one. I don't want it to die too so can anyone offer advice? Its in semi-sun/shade. I don't feed it at any time of the year.

Also, is it ok to put those slow release feeding cube things in the pots with herbs in? My pet rabbits and my family eat the herbs so don't want them doing us any harm!
Are they even the best feeders to use?!

Thanks

 

I haven't found any need to feed herbs, in fact I have gone by the advice that if you feed them it destroys the taste,

The biggest problem with rosemary is drainage-it has to be very sharp.

 

Thanks for the advice claire! Maybe thats been my problem with the rosemary, i will add some drainage holes. I won't feed the herbs! Do i need to feed my strawberry plants? They're in one of those strawberry planter pots. They're starting to grow nicely and i also have a couple of smaller strawberry plants to add into the empty holes.

 

:hehe::hehe::hehe: this is why i joined this site after many hrs of trolling this site,posters here are always ready to help out the novice or even experienced gardeners as well very helpful site:thmb:

 

I find that corriander tends to bolt quite easily and the basil is easy to grow but gets nibbled by all and sundry. I planted some chives from morrisons in the garden last summer and its quite a healthy looking clump now.

 

I read a good tip about Chives once - either grow 2 seperate clumps, one for the flowers and the other for cooking purposes, so you cut the flowers before they form properly. Needless to say, I haven't done it!

You can also divide clumps of Chives so easily - tough as old boots.

 

Sorry Busybee, missed this question.


I feed strawberries a little bit when they go in, and when the flowers start to go over I give them a hearty dose of tomato food.