Growing herbs from seeds outdoors
Researching how to grow herbs from seeds outdoors, including cilantro, scallions, basil, chives, parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, dill and mint. Anyone experienced in this with some advice will be most appreciated. Happy spring!
DannyC I think it's probably easier to grow mint than it is to kill it. In my experience it lives through... pretty much anything. Get a pot, some seeds, some dirt or potting soil, and you're good.
kingcoriander It's all so simple, all those things grow fast and heartily with very little effort. Don't get TOO excited about outdoors just yet, though. if you start now, they'll die instantly. My rule of gardening is - never before Mother's Day/always before Memorial Day. If you're itching to start them now, you can plant them indoors in a window sill. Actually, you can leave them indoors and they'll grow just fine like that too.
MYD We discussed mint a couple of times before on HL - it can take over easily so should be grown in a pot. It grows by roots spread outwards so seed not really needed.
Scallions and chives are in the onion/garlic family and bulbs, not seeds. Just plant them and go. Unless you dig up the bulbs you'll have them year after year without any care at all.
The rest are easy seeds. Start inside, jiffy pots if they're going in the ground so you disturb them as little as possible putting them in. But they're really good just in regular pots so you can take them in and out depending on the weather.
Well Sweep has dozens of kinds of those and more. Best place for instructions.
GC GC et al - Thanks for the advice. I really like the movable outdoor/indoor pots idea, where you can control the soil mixtures, pH and watering requirements. Besides, my oldest daughter just renovated her kitchen, including a bay window, perfect for herb pots, and she just gave birth to her third child, a girl after two boys. Joyous spring!
Danny C I love herbs! I put some the windowsill and on the deck for easy access, always put a few leaves of basil and parsley right into salads. Thyme for making stock and chicken, rosemary, peppermint (always in a pot) for iced tea and making mint ice cream. And others..
I sprinkle herb seeds in my garden between the veg plants as companion plants and they grow just fine. Basil around the tomatoes, parsley around the carrots, cilantro/coriander around the peppers... and borage because the flowers attract pollinators and it's pretty, the flowers are edible and can be put on cakes. The leaves are edible too, but hairy so you need to get the little ones.
Seeds are not expensive, so go for it! :-)
hktownie hktownie - Wow, your garden placement of veg plants and companion herbs sounds like individual salads, a great idea. I was not planning on vegs but now I might try. Going a little nuts on herbs this year, trying to grow 14 varieties from seeds, starting this weekend. Paying special attention to varying heights, soil, fertilizer, pH and watering for each herb type. I'll keep you posted on the results of my research.
Can someone please help me, what are this seeds? I grow vegetables and plants last year and now I don't know what is it
Thank you in advance
Eli 
Eli - Identifying plants by their seeds is really tough, and my being an amateur, it is impossible for me. But I am planting over a dozen herbs from seeds this weekend, and if any of the seeds look exactly like yours, I'll let you know. As a last resort, you can always plant them and identify the seedlings and leaves.
wagsinhackhktownie - I am expanding the herb garden to include vegs like tomatoes, peppers and carrots, thanks to your suggestions. I am also trying lettuce, spinach, celery, radishes, zucchini, eggplant, pumpkins and strawberries. What the heck, its really just a hobby, and all experimental. Thanks again for your thoughts, and I'll keep you posted.
Eli - The top is dill. The middle is definitely cilantro, ribbed seeds. The last one the seeds themselves are very tough but I think the pods identify it as sage. There are a few different types of sage. I've never grown it for cooking purposes so I never let it go to seed. But late in the year that's what I think I've seen at Well Sweep.
Wow, Second cilatro? Last week I planted thinking that is kale haha
I'll have so much cilantro this year, I will share if I do.
My mom just opened her seeds and she did named one and only seed and that is carrot so the first one is carrot.
Third, I still don't know
I did not planted sage last year.
Thank you all and good luck with your garden.
GC - Maybe you don't want to stick your neck out for things that you do not know for sure. Planting 15 varieties of herbs and 12 varieties of vegetables, mostly from seeds, but a few from plants, cilantro for my Spanish neighbor, and basil, parsley and chives for me. Will send pictures.
hktownie -- when is it safe to directly sow seeds outdoors? I usually buy plants but maybe this year I'll try seeds.
GC do you have to plant them in pots and “harden them off” ? Trying to grow cilantro and purple basil
Skippy happiest girl - This year for sure I'd be very careful of when to plant. There could easily be frost into May. Depends on how hardy what you're planting is but for a bunch of things I'd be thinking Memorial Day. Some tender herbs you shouldn't initially plant directly outside anyway. Some things should be started in something like jiffy pots that you can plant after the seeds sprout inside.
Skippy - depends on what. I rarely plant herbs directly because my garden is all flowers. It's just much more convenient for the few herbs or peppers I might want to do it in a pot. I've grown those two, in fact basil is the one I've done most often. The issue with cilantro is you need to keep it from getting too hot. If you've ever bought it in the store and not refrigerate you know how it can go yellow and bitter. Here if you plant spring and then late summer, you're good. Down south, I'd be careful outside and taking it in when hot might be a real good thing. Check with folks locally for that.
Basil on the other hand is a good long term easy to grow herb. Mint like, spreads easily but doesn't take over. Fairly hardy so pot or outside I wouldn't worry either way.
GC et al - Given the extremely cold weather this year, I decided to use mostly plants this year, with seeds as secondary growth. Costs about $300 for everything I want to grow, but I am impatient and I want it done right ASAP.
Started growing all kinds of herbs and vegetables, but placed rows of scallions and chives around them all to deter deer. Seems to work.
Skippy - Growing cilantro and basil (all flavors and colors) is easy and fast. Started with a few plants spread far apart, and filled in the spaces with seeds which have germinated in Miracle Grow after only two weeks. Good luck.
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