I want to start growing herbs in my garden but know nothing about it. Any good tips or books I should get?

I'm particularly interested in thyme, sage, parsley, mint, dill and basil.

I want to start growing herbs in my garden but know nothing about it. Any good tips or books I should get?
Herbs are a great thing for a beginning gardener to grow. They thrive on neglect, and readily spread and reseed themselves each year. They do best in warmer climates with plenty of sun, but can be successfully grown almost anywhere. They are incredibly nutritious as well.



Thyme and mint are perennials almost everywhere, meaning you plant them once and they will live through the winter and grow back year after year with no assist from you. Oregano also falls into this category. You may want to start with plants to make it easier on yourself rather than seeds. You may also want to consider sinking planting tubs into the ground and planting them there, to contain the roots, which will spread and spread and soon you will have a yard full of herbs.



Parsley also you may want to start from plants, as seed can be difficult for beginners. It takes a long time to sprout and has a low germination rate. Parsley is a biennial, meaning it lives two seasons. You can never have enough parsley, so plant a lot. You can freeze it and have fresh parsley all winter. It's very nutritious and goes in so many foods.



Dill will attract lots of butterflies to your garden when it blooms, and will reseed itself. It's an annual, but because it has tons of seeds every season, it re-plants itself. You can use the fresh dill fronds, the flowers, and the seeds in various recipes. It also freezes well. This one is easy to grow from seed.



Basil also grows easily from seed. It freezes less well, you have to be careful to exclude any air when you freeze it or it can blacken. It will also seed profusely if you allow it to flower, and believe me it wants to flower...it's a losing battle to try to keep all the flower bracts pinched off, but if you try to remove as many as you can, you'll get more leaves. It's an annual, meaning it must be replanted every year, if you don't allow seeds to drop naturally and plant themselves.



Sage I don't know a lot about yet...I have some in a planter than I am overwintering indoors, but it looks kind of sad. Someone else might know more about sage.



Good luck and enjoy your herbs. :-)
Reply:Why not check out the library , they will have books on it ,
Reply:Great book is



The Complete Book of Herbs by Lesley Brenness



You can get it in the book store on on Ebay.
Reply:Try the following site.



Growing your own herbs Complete herbal -

www.complete-herbal.com/growing.htm
Reply:Try these for information. It's always good to know what the real experts say.

Below is list A to Z

http://www.richters.com/Web_store/web_st...

http://www.richters.com/newdisplay.cgi?p...

EDITED: Parsley Worm

You do have to watch out for these little buggers! Open the link

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plant...
Reply:get a book on English herbs only that will be the best way to start
Reply:Rosemary, thyme sage, marjoram. bay, mint and fennel seem to grow anywhere. Mint can be intrusive - better contained in a pot.
Reply:one of the best books on the market,rhs 'encylopedia of herbs and their uses'

www.rhs.org.uk .



lots of others, but use this the most, it depends on what you want to do with the herbs.
Reply:Where are you located? There is a company in Texas called Blue Label Herbs that grows over 200 varieties of herbs. They have a website http://www.bluelabelherbs.com where they have plenty of information to browse through. You can also ask questions in the forum and you will be answered by their herb grower. Its a pretty new web page but the company has been around for many years and and supplies some of the most upper end garden centers and grocers in the Southwest.



http://www.bluelabelherbs.com
Reply:the dr hessayon books are very good and also try the RHS website and books they give expert info and is what we use on our horticulture course if these don't help email me at martinpurvin@yahoo.co.uk and i will find out growing tips from my course tutor
Reply:It would be a good idea to put them all in their own pots rather than straight into the soil, especially mint as once it has taken hold it will spread like mad.
Reply:if possable buy small plants from a garden centre %26amp; grow them on. plant in a sunny position in good draining soil %26amp; they will flourish . you will have to buy parsley %26amp; basil every year though .
Reply:encyclopedia of herb gardening by frances hutchison printed by fog city press this has been my bible for the last 3 years and none of my crops have failed i get fresh herbs all year round good luck with your plants
Reply:My favorite herb book is "A Cook's Guide to Growing Herbs, Greens, and Aromatics" by Millie Owen. I have the original paperback from over 10 years ago, and I still find great tips every time I read it. She gives great advice on not only growing herbs, but also gives recipes and other suggestions for using the herbs. Great book!

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