Why do you grow herbs?

Julias, that is beautiful! Yes, please share info on your moth-chasers!

dahlianut,
I use my mortar and pestle and a little coarse sugar and grind the lavender leaves into a paste. Then I pour the boiling water over the mortar and pestle and use that water to make my tea or lemonade.

It turns out yummy!

:)

I grow sage, thyme, lavendar, rosemary, parsely, chives, oregano, marjorum, bay, and basil. When we need something we can just cut what we will use and not have to waste leftovers from store-bought bunches.

Janiejoy--That sounds like such a good idea. Hope I can remember to try that in lavender season.
nksps---I grow lots of my own herbs, too. So much cheaper and usually better than the store. And, have you priced dried bay leaves?

I grow my own herbs, too, but not bay leaf. I order turkish bay leaf from Penzey's :

http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeysbayleaves.html

To me, the American grown bay leaves aren't as flavorful and fragrant as the Turkish ones. But I hope never to go back to store bought of the other herbs you mention. How grown is easier and healthier because they are fresher and they never get sprayed.

I just sowed a bunch of basil to grow indoors on my kitchen window sill. I am in fresh basil withdrawal, so decided I just couldn't wait until summer. Hope they get enough light in a north window!

Angie

They need light, but they also need heat. Hopefully your window is warm. Do you have a Trader Joe's anywhere near? They always have big clamshell boxes full of fresh basil for a not-too-exorbitant price. That will get you by until your window sill basil grows. I know how you feel. Luckily we have a Trader Joe's 35 miles away.

Nope, no Trader Joe's anywhere near us, and I cringe at the prices when I look at fresh herbs in the grocery stores. They just don't seem to have the flavor of home-grown, either. I guess if they don't seem to be germinating, I'll move them under a plant light somewhere warmer. I got several lights and set up quite a "germination station" in my basement last winter, so they could always go down there with all the tomatoes and peppers, if need be. I just wanted them where I could see them and drool over them! LOL

Angie

Too bad about no Trader Joe's, but you seem to be doing the right things to get them to grow. I think they do need light and I know they need heat. Even if the temperature isn't feezing they still refuse to grow outdoors. Do you have a heating mat? They would probably love it.

I used to put tomato, pepper and basil seeds in a plastic bag (planted of course) and then set the bag on top of my hot water heater. You can feel with your hand where the warmest spot is and set them there. That is the perfect bottom heat and they don't need light to germinate. Peek at them now and then. When they have germinated enough, take them out and set them on your windowsill. I now own a heat mat and can germinate several containers at a time. I do this in the basement, too. Then, as soon as they are up, I transfer them to the greenhouse. I love this process. Makes me feel so productive.

Love the water heater idea. What a good use of readily available resources!

I'm starting to really study herbs and their medicinal value. There is a lot of good to be had from them that we are finding out about. Plus, most are beautiful and good for the enviroment.... and attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. There is one herb I'm especially interested in growing, called Ashitaba. Its a longevity herb and the studies they've done have found this plant to be amazing.

I like to grow the herbs I can't buy in the grocery store -- like Thai basil, garlic chives and Holy basil. I also like to grow some of the ones that you can get in the grocery because they taste better fresh. Nutritionists are now discovering that things like rosemary, oregano and others are loaded with antioxidants, so much that just a small amount is helpful to our health. Also they make food far more appealing than plain food.

For cooking, scent, and decoration.

I love the Herb Gardens, for the smell and also do LOTS of cooking with ALL the Herbs also! I would love to also start a "rasied bed" of Herbs to.

Fragrance and color and use