Where to get potted herb plants

[redforever]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Basil is well worth growing. The only problem with it is that it is incredibly susceptible to fusarium wilt. That's usually why the plants die.

Oregano is not worth growing fresh. Dried oregano is superior. This is the only herb I find where this is the case (thyme isn't too bad dried, either).

Rosemary is great to grow inside. Sunnyside brings in very nice sized rosemary plants. They might already be there.

Cilantro, italian parsley and thyme are other herbs I like to grow. Thyme you can grow outside as a perennial. Chives are great too but they can be invasive.

Totally disagree unless you mean growing indoors (because the plant is quite large). I refuse to make Greek salad without fresh oregano. Same goes for a soup that I make with smoked pork shank and beans. I use sprigs of both fresh oregano and fresh thyme for that. In my opinion, makes a huge difference.

If I do use dried oregano, and I do plus I always have some on hand, I always use the LiteHouse freeze dried product. I find it far superior to the small jars of dried oregano you find in the spice aisle.

With thyme, difference is not as pronounced.

And I never use dried rosemary. Always fresh. I find the dried rosemary totally tasteless unless it is used in a sauce that simmers for a long time.

[Shazam]

I find you have to use a ton of fresh oregano to match a smaller amount of dried.

It's worth growing if you want to dry it, however

[Phaneuf3]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Basil is well worth growing. The only problem with it is that it is incredibly susceptible to fusarium wilt. That's usually why the plants die.

Oregano is not worth growing fresh. Dried oregano is superior. This is the only herb I find where this is the case (thyme isn't too bad dried, either).

Rosemary is great to grow inside. Sunnyside brings in very nice sized rosemary plants. They might already be there.

Cilantro, italian parsley and thyme are other herbs I like to grow. Thyme you can grow outside as a perennial. Chives are great too but they can be invasive.

Mint grows great outside for me. Very invasive though.

[redforever]

Originally Posted by Shazam

I find you have to use a ton of fresh oregano to match a smaller amount of dried.

It's worth growing if you want to dry it, however

My experience is the opposite.

And I never dry my herbs, I find 90% of the flavor gets lost. I always freeze them.

Once I have used up the herbs that I have grown, I buy fresh and freeze those as well. I just separate them into amounts of 2 or 3 sprigs (that is the amount most recipes call for) and freeze them in saran in those amounts. Then I put the small packages into a plastic bag that is of freezer quality and if stored for a long time, I wrap that bag in foil as well.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by Phaneuf3

Mint grows great outside for me. Very invasive though.

Yeah, that's why I don't grow it in the garden. Same with chives. Both can get out of control real quick.

Originally Posted by redforever

My experience is the opposite.

And I never dry my herbs, I find 90% of the flavor gets lost. I always freeze them.

Once I have used up the herbs that I have grown, I buy fresh and freeze those as well. I just separate them into amounts of 2 or 3 sprigs (that is the amount most recipes call for) and freeze them in saran in those amounts. Then I put the small packages into a plastic bag that is of freezer quality and if stored for a long time, I wrap that bag in foil as well.

If you want to dry them, you have to use a dehydrator. Air drying doesn't work.

[redforever]

Originally Posted by Phaneuf3

Mint grows great outside for me. Very invasive though.

Mint is also a perennial and you should only need to plant it once. Yes, it is invasive.

They say oregano is perennial as well, I know it takes a lot of frost. But in the Priddis area, I have never had it survive the winter for me. My parsley never survives the winter either, although I have noticed that the curly leaf variety seems to be much more frost resistant than the Italian flat leaf variety.

The small little pots of herbs you can buy in the garden shops are very reasonable and in no time at all, you should be getting a steady supply of herbs. They do of course have to be planted in containers that will allow them to grow sufficiently.

If people are into cilantro, it grows exceedingly well. Cut it regularily though or it will send up a big seed stalk.

Thyme is very easy to grow. Now I have had some success keeping that over winter sometimes. It tends to be quite small and contained, and the little flowers that it can develop are easy to snip off. It does not send up a big flower stalk like parsley and cilantro tend to do.

Celeriac also grows very well.

[Phaneuf3]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Yeah, that's why I don't grow it in the garden. Same with chives. Both can get out of control real quick.

The way that works for me is to plant it in a clay pot and then plant that in the garden. It keeps the roots from spreading out, makes my yard cleaner and keeps kids/stray cats from knocking my pots over.

[redforever]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Yeah, that's why I don't grow it in the garden. Same with chives. Both can get out of control real quick.


If you want to dry them, you have to use a dehydrator. Air drying doesn't work.

Or freeze dry them. As I said in an earlier post, the only dried oregano I will buy is that LiteHouse variety, which I believe is freeze dried. I should mention I have found that variety of basil to be far superior to any other dried basil in the small jars from the spice aisles too. As is the freeze dried dill and chives.

[Shazam]

I find the LiteHouse stuff deplorable. Ah well.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by Phaneuf3

The way that works for me is to plant it in a clay pot and then plant that in the garden. It keeps the roots from spreading out, makes my yard cleaner and keeps kids/stray cats from knocking my pots over.

It's the seeds that are the problem. Both get lots of seeds and go haywire.

[Phaneuf3]

Originally Posted by Shazam

It's the seeds that are the problem. Both get lots of seeds and go haywire.

Hmmm I've had my mint for 1 year on its own planted in the ground and it was a huge problem. This past summer I used the pot method described and it was very well behaved. Maybe I was harvesting it so fast/aggressively that it wasn't producing seeds and spreading them all over the place?

[redforever]

By the way, I get most of my spices from the source below. Very timely, usually you get your order within a week. They have a very good selection of spices that are almost hopeless to try to find in Calgary. Like for instance, annato seed, epazote (hit and miss to find that at Boco Loco), great selection of paprikas etc.

Spiceland on Fairmont Drive in Calgary is pretty good too. but I always ask the lady who I believe is an owner, which variety she uses. They have probably a dozen garam masalas and if I am going to buy a spice for an East Indian dish I am preparing, I like to buy the variety people of that culture would use.


http://www.thespicehouse.com/

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by Phaneuf3

Hmmm I've had my mint for 1 year on its own planted in the ground and it was a huge problem. This past summer I used the pot method described and it was very well behaved. Maybe I was harvesting it so fast/aggressively that it wasn't producing seeds and spreading them all over the place?

Yup, keeping the roots restricted can slow the plant growth way down. Also, last year was terrible, so your mint might not have gone to seed. On the other hand maybe it did and you'll see the babies this year