A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 A Variety Of Herb Questions.~

Hello and good day everyone,

I have some questions I would like to ask concerning herbs. If these questions have been asked/answered elsewhere, my apologies. I would appreciate any help that can be offered.
First of all, I live in Washington state. The temperature has been very warm for us as of late( 80-90's) so that might influence a few of my questions. The soil that I have used in all of my containers with the varied herb seeds is Miracle Grow soil.The containers were clean when I began and the seeds " soaked" in paper towels before being planted.I did cover the herbs with saran wrap and kept them indoors until most of them sprouted and then put them on my balcony( I live in an apartment)The balcony receives full sun for most of each day. This is the first time I have ever tried to plant and grow anything. My main gardening interests of heart at this time are edible herbs and fragrant herbs.I hope that was enough information to begin with...LOL.
Onto my questions if I may:
1. In planting the herbs, I planted Rosemary as well in the manner described above. This was about two months ago. It has never sprouted, any idea why?
2. In "pinching" back the herbs, do I also do this to the Garlic Chives( about 4 inches high), the fern dill( 4 inches as well) and the Thyme( barely sprouted)?
3. Does anyone have an recommendations for some hardy, easy to grow herbs for this area of the country, for the beginner that is?
4. Anyone have any ideas on herbs, plants or flowers that would attract and hold the attention of an Autistic child? My son is six and very interested in the gardening process but has a short attention span and frustrates easily.
5. I also have an outside very small Bonsai tree. I tried to grow it indoors, but it was turning brown and failing so I put it outside in the sun. It is now browning as well and refusing to grow no matter how much I trim, water and talk to it..lol. Any ideas?

I believe that is all for now..whew!~ Also I wish to note that I am on an incredibly fixed income and have no transportation except for bus( Ford is sick..sigh) so going to nurseries and carrying heavy items would be very difficult.
I thank you all for your time and consideration of my questions. I hope I have not pestered too much if these were already answered questions. This forum is huge! I have read much but with the amount of information here, it will take me months to read it properly and digest it all.

Rosemary can be very stubborn, I've tried seeds and plants and never had any luck so I'm not much help on that one.

Basil which comes in many varieties would be a good choice. Also Cilantro/Coriander is easy to grow. Mint is an easy one but you really need a cutting or starter plant in order to get a specific type. If you just want it for it's great smell you can use the seeds. Garlic is very easy and you can start it with a clove of the garlic you buy in the store although that's not really recommended. But if you get one that starts growing in the crisper grab a clove off of it and stick it in some dirt. It'll produce it's own bulb in about a year. I also like to grow green onions in my kitchen herb garden and they do well there I know they aren't a herb but I just thought I would mention it. I'm on a fixed budget to so I understand wanting plants that do double duty so to speak.

Re: Pinching. The chives just snip off what you want to use. What's left will grow back twice as quick and thicker. If it gets to tall I usually cut it back to about 2 inches tall. The purple passion is growing all over my window and trying to hug all my other plants and it got into the chives bowl and so I just did a major haircut for the chives. Unfortunately I don't have any luck drying it. I wish I did.

Sage, Basil's, & Oregano are all easy to grow, Rosemary is hard to grow..so don't be discourged by that.

Hello and beautiful day,

Thank you tkhooper and comfrey for your good advice. Tomorrow I am off to the nursery so I hope they are ready for many questions from a newbie like myself.

This is my second planting of Rosemary seed, neither has sprouted. As much as I would love to give up the ghost on this or through in the perverbial towel, I am too much of a Rosemary nut!~ But I will definently try the Sage, Oregano and Garlic. My Basil is doing beautifully and already at 4 to 5 inches high smells like heaven.

Thank you again and have a great day~

shy~

Hey Shy,

Good luck. Um the only things I know about the rosemary is that it will grow outside in southern california pretty much without care. So maybe keep it in a dryer sunnier place than you have been. Maybe that will get it rooted. I'm guessing here. Like I said I've never had any luck with it.

Hi Shy,

Rosemary seeds do not have a high germination rate so you might be better off purchasing a small established plant.

Here in the PacNW (zone 8), I leave my container-planted rosemary outdoors year round. It likes to dry out between thorough waterings (planted in well-drained sandy soil), receives full sun in the summer and is partly sheltered during the rainy months. Of course everybody's experience is different, but IMHO rosemary is a herb worth trying. Good luck!

Cricket

Hello and good day everyone.~

Thank you, tkhooper and cricket. As of this day however, nothing has come to fruitation with the dreaded second seeding of the Rosemary and it has been almost two months. Everything else I have planted is growing and thriving very well. I guess it is back to the perverbial drawing board..sigh. Time to find my next garden victim to start,muahahahaha
I will keep everyone posted.Please cross your fingers, say a prayer or chant or what-have-you that the next starters will persevere!~ Thank you all for your help again and I hope your day is wonderful.

shy~