So I'd like to try growing some of my own herbs this year. Maybe basil, rosemary, parsley, and sage. I am a crap gardener and have never had a plant live more than a month (store-bought little plants, I mean). I don't know anything about fertilizing or what kind of dirt to buy. I tried to find out my zone, but all the maps I saw were just for the United States (I'm in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada).

It's getting warmer so I want to start thinking about it now. Can anyone give me some tips? Do I buy seeds or baby plants? Does it matter what kind of soil I use? Do herbs need to be fertilized? Can I leave them on the patio overnight?

Thanks for any help you can give to this total newbie!

I'm a horrible gardener, but my husband grows herbs for me on our patio. We've already got a bunch going, but we're in Florida. Ours all started from cheap-o seeds. He just does basic potting soil, pots with good drainage, and he writes the watering schedule on the calendar so that I (queen plant killer) don't forget.

I've grown basil and parsley successfully. They seem to be easy. Basil is an annual, so you don't have to worry about wintering it over. Parsley is supposed to be a biennial, but my parsley two years ago didn't come up again last year.

Sage is a perennial, but it might not be winter-hardy in Canada. I tried sage last year, but I think I planted it too late. It didn't do anything.

I would try seeds. You might want to start them in pots, or even grow them in pots instead of outdoors, herbs are usually small and can sort of get lost.

I think the Encyclopedia of Organic gardening says that herbs usually aren't fussy about soil and aren't heavy feeders of fertilizer, but most of them like good drainage.

I've got a pot of basil seedlings right now that I started about a month ago. I'm pretty impressed with myself because I've never kept a plant alive for more than a week before.

I used cheap seeds and the cheap store brand planting mix with some of those little fertilizer sticks especailly for potted plants. I water whenever the soil starts to get dry and sometimes I use the dirty water from my fish tank to fertilize with.

Apparently they like warm soil so I try not to use cold water to water with and bring it inside when its going to be cold at night. Otherwise I keep them out in the sun and check to see if they're too dry every day.

Thanks, that gives me some good ideas. I think I will put them in pots so I can bring them inside at night/during cold spells. Even over the summer in Edmonton we can get some pretty nippy weather. I feel inspired now, thanks!

Parsley and basil will grow in your area, Rosemary only if you keep it potted and bring it in and the same with sage, both of those plants can not tolerate real cold temps.
Mint I think would grow pretty well up there

Mint! Great idea.

The other night the kids and I planted tons of herb seeds and have them on a shelf under grow lights and then will transplant to pots or outside. I'm doing a witches herb garden but also culinary herbs and veggies and flowers. After a few days my lemon grass, lemon balm, yarrow, flax, and some veggies and flower seeds are coming up.
Anyways, concerning your question, sage is pretty easy to grow as is basil. Most herbs need plenty of sunlight but will do great in pots, and pots are great cuz you can take them in and out of the house if need be since you say you have some nippy temps sometimes. Rosemary can get really big but I would think with the right pot you could easily grow it. And yes, mint is also easy to grow. Mints (speamint, peppermint) can be a very invasive a in taking over your whole garden so pots for those would be great also.
I am not sure about herbs being fertilized. I've never fertilized mine but I have OCD and think anything that touches my plants might infect me:D If you want to do seeds, try a seed starter type mix for your seeds and find a seed starter tray at the store. If you want to buy small plants instead that is okay too. Because of where you are, I personally think whether you choose seeds or small plants, that it would be best to put them in containers so they can be moved easily, unless you can find some info on the web about herbs for your area and how well they will do.
I say go for it! Try seeds and little plants. That's how I got started. I'm still trying new seeds and all the time in the spring/summer. Also, if you put your plants in pots, then check your weather report on the nightly temps just to make sure your plants don't get too cold. Yeah, thebelovedtree had a great tip with the fishtank water, I do that for my rosebushes all the time, and everything else she said is right on too:d

Ok, so I planted some basil, rosemary, and catnip in pots (different pots). I put the catnip in hanging planters to avoid feline visitations. Then I also planted some marigolds in a pot, and some peas in long container things. I have no idea if anything will grow, but it's been fun mucking around in the dirt! :D

If you do plant mint, either pot it, or put it somewhere you don't mind it taking over because it's very invasive.

With your herbs in pots, you should able to keep them going this winter--a wonderful perk in the kitchen.

Thanks, I'll remember that. :)

Sorry I didn't see this thread until now. I have a patio with 27 different pots and containers on it... I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE container gardening and put lots of herbs in with the pots of marigolds and geraniums so I have color AND useful herbs...

I live in Washington State and we get some cool nights, I usually start my herbs with small nursery plants to give them a headstart and then leave them out all summer, even on the cold nights they've all been fine except I do bring the basil in on rare occassions...

So, Did you plant seeds or start small plants? Basil can be tricky to get started and you need to plant a LOT (about 2 or 3 X what you think you'll need) ... but once going, if kept from slugs and frost, it does wonderfully.
The Thai purple basil is really pretty, as is the "Opal" basil - and lemon basil has a really unique flavor thats so good in salad dressings and such.
I do lightly fertalize my basil, it does MUCH better that way. I also put "slug bait" out (I know, I know!! But they'll eat my entire 22 plants in one night if I don't and after 20 years of gardening, I can tell you, nothing else works in this climate for slugs... bleh!)

Mint is invasive but worth the effort because it's awesome for iced tea, fresh spring rolls, tabbouleh salad, desserts and on and on... I use a handful almost every day and it keeps on growing...
I have pineapple mint, chocolate mint and lemon mint - all slightly different but all very yummy...

Sage is very hardy. I don't think it's going to have problems with cool evenings... (ever been in the high desert at night? It gets V-E-R-Y cold there and sage thrives..). I love the tri-color sage because it's decorative as well as useful... I am always looking for different varities of the "traditional" herbs so that my herb pots are decorative too...

You should probably be ablle to grow rosemary just fine, andparsley, oregano and chives too! Chives are SO pretty and of course great in lots of dishes...

My mom lives further north than I do, and she grows lemon grass!! I haven't tried, but hought it was a tropical sort of thing, I am curious thogh and may try it next year...

I mix merigolds and other flowers with the herbs (as I said above) both for decoration and attracting butterflies, but because they work together - some flowers keep the less desirable bugs away from some herbs and some herbs do the same for some flowers... Except for slugs, (and bees and butterflies :) :) ) I never have a single bug in my 'garden'....I'll post pictures of the pots I started last week so you can get the idea...

Good luck! My patio is my personal escape from the world... I hope your plants do well too!

Herb growers:

are you all pretty gardening-talented in general? I'm hoping to grow some herbs in our new place. :smitten:, but I'm pretty brown-thumbed. (despite coming from like 18 generations of farmers :no: ) I've heard that herbs are a smidge easier though. :worried:

IAJ, I'm an after-work gardener... meaning I don't have a lot of time to invest in my plants, which is why pots work well for me. I often forget to water or fertalize on the right dayt and usually if it's nothing dractic, my plants do very well... Basil is the toughest one for me to grow - I've heard a lot of people around here say it doesn't grow at all though, so i must have done SOMETHING right. I personally don't think I'm very "good' at gardening though, even though I enjoy it...

Oh, and I want "instant' results too, which is easier with herbs than veggies, though I do plant tomatos, zucchini and kale and tap my foot impatiently while they grow...

I planted from seeds, and I chose purple basil. I didn't know how many seeds to put in each hole, so I just went with my gut. :)

And I am jealous of you, Tofu-n-Sprouts! I just moved back to Canada after several years of living in Seattle...I miss my "American home." :(

Yay, I have catnip growing this year that is not being molested and killed by the local cats.

Instead of a normal raised bed like my other herbs I opted for a sunken bed and built up a limestone rock wall around it, about 8 inches high.

Planted my seedlings then rolled over it a green "netting" that is not real pliable so a cat can literaly get on the neting and it will not sag down to the plants.

Seedlings are protected under netting and walls prevent cats from slipping under the nets.

The plants have tripled in size this week already with no nibbling going on!

Once they reach adult size and are a bit more woody the cats can have a go at them but right now while they are young they needed protection.

I'm planning on planting some herbs on my balcony since I think I now have gotten rid of my pidgeon problem and I can start enjoying the space ( I hung cd's up and the flashing lights scare them!)

Medesha, I'm in Calgary, so our growing conditions would be very similar. I am planning some mint and chives and oregano and what ever else my step mom recommends.

Let us know how you're doing!

Thanks TNS! You've given me some hope. :)

TNS, a very effective non-pesticide "slug bait" is extremely cheap beer in shallow containers. This really works (or it did in CA) - the slugs love beer, drink it, and drown. Have you already tried it? (I know the slugs there are legendary, so maybe they are immune to beer)

Herb growers:

are you all pretty gardening-talented in general? I'm hoping to grow some herbs in our new place. :smitten:, but I'm pretty brown-thumbed. (despite coming from like 18 generations of farmers :no: ) I've heard that herbs are a smidge easier though. :worried:

Just dig in, get your hands dirty, and see what happens. When I bought my place, I had never really gardened, now I have what I think are pretty great gardens. Some stuff works, other doesn't, some years are better than others, but it's always fun.

If you're potting plants, don't forget that you can pot tomatoes, if you want to. Personally, a tomato straight from the garden is one of life's greatest pleasures.

Sage is very hardy. I don't think it's going to have problems with cool evenings..
My place came with what I thought were two varieties of sage. One didn't survive this winter, though I'm now thinking it was actually summer savory. Experts, what do you think? The leaves are kind of knobby:

http://www.dreamsnake.net/ids/index.cgi?mode=image&album=/PlantsShrubsTrees/Garden&image=IMG%5f3942.JPG

. (ever been in the high desert at night? It gets V-E-R-Y cold there and sage thrives..)

Isn't sagebrush different from culinary sage, though?

I have a couple of things growing there now that I can't identify. Is this some sort of thyme?

http://www.dreamsnake.net/ids/index.cgi?mode=image&album=/PlantsShrubsTrees/Garden&image=IMG%5f3928.JPG
http://www.dreamsnake.net/ids/index.cgi?mode=image&album=/PlantsShrubsTrees/Garden&image=IMG%5f3932.JPG
http://www.dreamsnake.net/ids/index.cgi?mode=image&album=/PlantsShrubsTrees/Garden&image=IMG%5f3933.JPG

This I'm not sure if it's even an herb:

http://www.dreamsnake.net/ids/index.cgi?mode=image&album=/PlantsShrubsTrees/Garden&image=IMG%5f3934.JPG

I've been congested lately and can't taste much :(

I got my cherries, pears, and pawpaws into the dirt, though, and splurged on an umbrella pine yesterday :smitten:

TNS, a very effective non-pesticide "slug bait" is extremely cheap beer in shallow containers. This really works (or it did in CA) - the slugs love beer, drink it, and drown. Have you already tried it? (I know the slugs there are legendary, so maybe they are immune to beer)
Ducks and geese eat these guys like candy, which is yet another reason their eggs don't seem like food to me.

Here are some photos of seattle slugs:

http://www.dreamsnake.net/ids/index.cgi?mode=album&album=/Animals/Slugs%2bSnails

I've seen them up to six inches long. I thought I found an even bigger one in my driveway the other day, but it turned out to have legs! I think it was a Cope's Giant Salamander

http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/collections/herpetology/dcopei2.jpg

How do you do potted tomatoes? My sister wanted to try some here, but all the ones we saw at the market said that you had to replant them. We both could've sworn we'd seen potted/staked ones before though.

There are special varieties of tomatoes bred for pot culture. But any kind of tomato should work ok in a large pot though you may have to prune indeterminate varieties so they don't get too big.

Ludi, the beer thing does work, it's just that even with "cheap' beer it gets expensive since I have to replenish the beer every day since I either set the sprinkler (on a timer), or it rains, every day... the beer gets watered down and doesn't work - plus at full strength, it attracted NASTY populations of yellow jacket, wasps and ants (sigh)...

Antonio, garden sage is the same as some varities of desert "sagebrush" it's just a far smaller plant... I have some purple varigated sage that's four years old and *quite* "sage-brushy" looking... I couldn't look at your pictures though, sorry, 'cause I'm at work and they are huge files and take too long to load on this dinosaur school-district issue computer... :cry:

IAJ: Tomatos. Just get a larger pot, like a wooden half-barrel (you'll see them at Walmart and other less-evil places I'm sure...) and fill with good soil (Miracle-Grow Organic is spendy but will make anything grow like magic, I swear by the stuff...) replant your tomato in there, stake with a couple thin stakes (or a wire "cage" also available at plant stores) when it starts to grow taller.
KEEP IT WATERED, they dry out VERY quickly in pots (in hot weather I water twice a day) - they do like a lot of room for their roots but they adapt to a large container pot nicely... you can even plant small flowers around the bottom (I do trailing petunias) and it's pretty and decorative while being functional...

Good luck, all my fellow green-thumbed (or not, like me!!) VBERs...