Did y'all see Critter's article today!

In case you didn't put the real name with the screen name, Jill's written an excellent article about herbs in today's Daves Garden Articles. Check it out! http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/106/

Well done Critter!

Way to go Jill ! Now we have a celebrity among us.

Critter, your article was excellent. Well written and the photos were a great bonus. I learned some things I didn't know, including that you can pinch back herbs that have started to bloom and still have usable leaves.

Jill, just read the article and was coming over here to compliment you and miatablu beat me to it! Excellent article, well written and personally I think it's the best article, most interesting and informative, I've seen since Dave started them - keep up the good work!

Oh yeah, and I agree with weegy12, "you're cute" LOL :-)

Debbie

This message was edited Aug 21, 2007 2:16 PM

Way to go Critter, excellent article.

Well written, concise and very informative quick guide to growing herbs. The pictures were an added plus. Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge of herbs with us!

Excellent article with really good, useful information. I immediately pinched back all my basil -- very good to know it will still be okay even though it was blooming.

Looking forward to more articles from you, Jill.

I agree- good article. I noticed tonight my basil from Jill from swap has bounced back and looks nice with flower buds just forming, so I ate a leaf in the garden in honor of critter's article.

I've got to get mine planted, we brought them home and put them in pots near my Potting Shed. Ric loves just stepping out the door for a few fresh herbs. I'll need to get them in the ground soon so I have plenty for next year.

I can't believe I missed a thread with my name on it, LOL... although I was a little distracted last week (folks visiting, then up to Pittsburgh to play with the kids and get our newest niece baptized).

Thanks to everyone for your kind words! I hope you all harvested some tender new leaves this week and are busy tossing them into pesto, bruschetta, mac 'n cheese, or whatever floats your culinary boat!

I'm really enjoying writing these articles, and of course I'm enjoying reading them each day with my morning coffee! And getting such positive feedback makes it extra fun. Thanks!

Hey Critter, I saw the second article, it's just as good as the first one. Anybody that reads it will want to grow and use fresh herbs if they aren't already. Way to go girl.

Well, as you found out at the swap, I think everybody should have some herbs in the garden! So I'm going to keep writing articles to encourage that... :-)

You might just inspire me yet! What started as an herb garden 7 years ago is fast becoming a shade garden as the trees have matured. I'm thrilled that now I can replace some of the plants with Hostas and other shade lovers, but now thinking I might just have to find a new spot to squeeze in an herb garden or border - your articles are bringing back memories of those great herbs!

I came up with a plan, instead of growing an herb garden. Just show up at spring swap, gather a few of all the herbs critter is giving away, put them in pots near your kitchen door, keep them there till winter. Next summer show up at spring swap and start all over again with new herbs. LOL

ROFL! You know, I've overwintered perennial herbs in pots just fine... tucked up against the south-facing foundation wall for a little extra shelter (or toss some mulch around the pots for insulation).

I nearly always sow more basil than I need....

Do you keep basil outside in the winter, Jill? I have tried bringing pots into the mud room but they never make it, even though the temps stay cooler than the house. They just don't seem to like the indoor environment. I grow mint and lemon balm in pots, too, mostly because they spread like crazy otherwise. Maybe if I tucked them up against the house where they get some sun and mulch them so they are cozy?

Really enjoyed your last article. I'm ready to try some pesto for the family gang at the beach.

Er, no, I'm afraid basil is an annual for me. It goes to black mush at the first frost. I've tried bringing it inside, but it struggles and doesn't even seem to taste very good. I generally just wait until I've got seedlings started for spring planting (the prunings from the seedlings get put to good use!). Meanwhile, I use basil from the freezer, which is almost as good as fresh. The third article in this series will have a bunch of suggestions on saving some summer herbs for winter use. :-)

I'll be looking forward to your next article, then! Have you tried to winter over mint or any of the perennial herbs in containers? The only ones I keep in the ground are oregano and lavendar because both seem to have better manners than mint . . .but so far I haven't had mint survive inside over the winter. Maybe I should just leave the container out and protect it?

Mints seem to do better outside. I had a bunch of them overwinter last year against the south foundation, mostly in foam pots, but even the ones in plastic nursery pots made it. I'd leave the container out in a sheltered spot, with mulch around it if possible (or pop the plant, container and all, into a garden bed -- preferably still in a sheltered location).

Thanks, Jill. I'll try that this year. Can't do any worse than last year when I lost all of it bringing it into the mudroom. I did have a lot of humidity in there for my orchids. Probably orchids and mint aren't going to like the same winter lifestyle :-))

I've tried bringing in mint, and it just goes all spotty and straggly after a while. I did have a few sprigs that came in with my banana plants last fall, and they survived the winter, but I wasn't exactly harvesting them for tea all along.

You can keep mint in check by planting it in a large coffee can or plant pot with the bottom cut out. Just so long as it's deep enough to keep the roots in control.

That's true! But you still need to keep half an eye on it... underground runners might escape from the pot, and long stems can also flop over and take root along the surface around the pot. But sinking it in a pot will definitely slow it down, as long as you check for escapees once or twice a season. Mint does tend to get pot-bound, though, so if it starts looking puny, then it's probably time to divide it and repot.

Planting in Terracotta flue liners works well, too. Also you can pull your plants out of the pots in the fall and plant them in corner of your garden to overwinter in the ground and then move them bacj to the pots in the spring. I've done that with some of my pond plants.

I know I'm getting away from herbs, here.. but... pond plants? Like hardy water lilies? I've been wanting to get a water lily (dwarf one, I suppose) for a 20 inch water garden pot, but I didn't know how to deal with it in winter...

There was a great thread on the herb forum about using those terra cotta flu liners for a multi-level herb "garden," and somebody else did one in the shape of a heart... I'll have to find those... you're making me think that a "container garden" article should be on my list of topics for sure! Imagine having a big pot of herbs on one side of the back door... and on the other side, maybe a potted cherry tomato... A sun-warm cherry tomato and a basil leaf... one of my favorite garden snacks!