2013 Planter Garden (herbs, etc.)

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   Alright, the garden plot is planned for this year, so I'll see what I can do in planters, as well. 

First, I've got herbs - I love growing herbs, even when I don't succeed. I start them indoors as early as I can, then I set them out along the walk going to the curb so that they can get sun, air and any rain that might fall.

I'm not sure exactly which herbs I will be doing yet - the Beautiful Mrs. Tas ordered me an herb garden starting kit, and so I have to see what it contains; I'm guessing the usual, but we shall see. I'll probably add some to that kit, so that in total I will most likely have:

Genovese basil 
Common chives 
Common oregano 
Common thyme 
Dill 
French tarragon 
Sage 
Mint (probably spearmint) 
Marjoram 
Italian flat-leaf parsley 
Cilantro (possibly) 
Savory (possibly)
In addition to the herbs, I am also going to try to grow a couple-three varieties of peppers in pots, where they can be protected a little more and moved around if necessary:

Pequin chiles, sent to me from Texas 
Siling Labuyo, an almost-extinct pepper from the Phillipines sent to me by Rod Franklin. I'll also be sending samples of this to a couple of folks with known green thumbs, in the hopes that they can help keep this species alive. 
Tabasco peppers (possibly)
Also, my quest to successfully grow San Marzano tomatoes will motivate me to try a couple of plants in large pots. I'm going to see if I can get a couple of big buckets of wonderfully-rich volcanic soil from south of town; if I'm able to, I'll see how this affects growing and flavour of the tomatoes.
Finally, I've got a couple of the upside-down growing planters that my wife bought for me - one or two for tomatoes and I think one for peppers, so perhaps I'll give these a try with the San Marzanos and some variety of pepper.

Along with the backyard garden, that should be good!

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TasunkaWitko Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 25 January 2010 Location: Chinook, MT Status: Offline Points: 9389	Post Options Post Reply Quote TasunkaWitko Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: 2013 Planter Garden (herbs, etc.) Posted: 03 April 2013 at 13:52
	Alright, the garden plot is planned for this year, so I'll see what I can do in planters, as well. First, I've got herbs - I love growing herbs, even when I don't succeed. I start them indoors as early as I can, then I set them out along the walk going to the curb so that they can get sun, air and any rain that might fall. I'm not sure exactly which herbs I will be doing yet - the Beautiful Mrs. Tas ordered me an herb garden starting kit, and so I have to see what it contains; I'm guessing the usual, but we shall see. I'll probably add some to that kit, so that in total I will most likely have: Genovese basil Common chives Common oregano Common thyme Dill French tarragon Sage Mint (probably spearmint) Marjoram Italian flat-leaf parsley Cilantro (possibly) Savory (possibly) In addition to the herbs, I am also going to try to grow a couple-three varieties of peppers in pots, where they can be protected a little more and moved around if necessary: Pequin chiles, sent to me from Texas Siling Labuyo, an almost-extinct pepper from the Phillipines sent to me by Rod Franklin. I'll also be sending samples of this to a couple of folks with known green thumbs, in the hopes that they can help keep this species alive. Tabasco peppers (possibly) Also, my quest to successfully grow San Marzano tomatoes will motivate me to try a couple of plants in large pots. I'm going to see if I can get a couple of big buckets of wonderfully-rich volcanic soil from south of town; if I'm able to, I'll see how this affects growing and flavour of the tomatoes. Finally, I've got a couple of the upside-down growing planters that my wife bought for me - one or two for tomatoes and I think one for peppers, so perhaps I'll give these a try with the San Marzanos and some variety of pepper. Along with the backyard garden, that should be good!
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Rod Franklin Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Chef Joined: 17 February 2010 Location: USA Status: Offline Points: 921	Post Options Post Reply Quote Rod Franklin Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 03 April 2013 at 14:50

	Hungry

HistoricFoodie Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 21 February 2012 Location: Kentucky Status: Offline Points: 4945	Post Options Post Reply Quote HistoricFoodie Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 03 April 2013 at 15:49
	Ron, if you get the Siling Labuyo to germinate, do not grow it anywhere near the Tabasco. They are both C. frutescens, and will cross if you even look at them cockeyed. Short of isolating by distance (at least 500 feet), caging is the only sure way to maintain seed purity. But that has problems of its own. Rod and I have been having some correspondence on the subject of pepper crossing. According to at least one source, crossing between species is more common that previously believed. Most authorities disagree. But why take a chance. If you can't isolate the plants, it's best, really, to only grow one variety at a time. In other words, if you get the Labuyo to germinate, I would not grow any other peppers. Not the first year, at any rate, when you can build a stock of fresh, pure seed. Do you need help identifying which of the herbs on that list are annuals and which perennials?

TasunkaWitko Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 25 January 2010 Location: Chinook, MT Status: Offline Points: 9389	Post Options Post Reply Quote TasunkaWitko Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 04 April 2013 at 08:56
	Hey, guys - thanks for the reply ~ I'll definitely be as careful as I can when trying these. I don't ahve any tabasco seends on hand, but was considering ordering some. They cna wait until next year, so it's no biggie. Brook - from what I remember, the basil, parsley, cilantro and possibly the mint, sage and savory are annuals, with the oregano, thyme, marjoram, dill, tarragon and chives as perennials - but correct me if I am wrong, because it's been a while....
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HistoricFoodie Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 21 February 2012 Location: Kentucky Status: Offline Points: 4945	Post Options Post Reply Quote HistoricFoodie Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 04 April 2013 at 13:01
	Almost right, Ron. Dill is an annual, and has to be regrown each year. So too are the cilantro and summer savory. Winter savory is a perennial, as is the mint and sage. Parsley is a biennial. So we grow it as an annual, because the second year it comes up and then bolts very early in the year. Only reason any of this matters is that it can determine where you plant them, and which ones you group together.

TasunkaWitko Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 25 January 2010 Location: Chinook, MT Status: Offline Points: 9389	Post Options Post Reply Quote TasunkaWitko Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 04 April 2013 at 13:19

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TasunkaWitko Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 25 January 2010 Location: Chinook, MT Status: Offline Points: 9389	Post Options Post Reply Quote TasunkaWitko Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 16 April 2013 at 09:55
	Well, I've got a start, with a little ways to go. The herb garden that my wife got me contains exactly the herbs that I grow and use most: flat-leaft Italian parsley, Genovese basil, Greek oregano and common chives. In fact, here it is: http://www.burpee.com/herbs/herb-kits/complete-herb-garden-kit-prod001201.html The set came with a long, oval-shaped planter that is meant for all four herbs, but I left the chives out, so that I could plant them in their own. I scattered the seeds for the other three herbs around and about in the planter, and will see how they do. I'll get another pot of some kind for the chives, and then regular 4-inch clay pots for the other herbs I'd like to grow. More as it develops!
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Rod Franklin Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Chef Joined: 17 February 2010 Location: USA Status: Offline Points: 921	Post Options Post Reply Quote Rod Franklin Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 06 July 2013 at 14:49
	How's the garden, Tas? A little update on my siling labuyos: Out of 7 tiny, unflowered plants brought in last fall, three survived. I put the remaining three outside and they survived even though only getting maybe 4 hours of direct sun a day. In an effort to give one of them a better chance, I took a gamble and I moved and re-planted one in a weed choked and abandoned raised bed garden area that I noticed on the edge of the fenced parking lot of a Goodwill recycling center, of all places. The little foot tall plant promptly shed all large leaves, only leaving a couple small ones at the very top. I thought it was a goner. But it started sprouting leaves from the base of every shed leaf and it's still going! Tough little son-of-a's. Now someone around there has taken notice and is taking care of all the raised beds there and they've got the irrigation sprinklers turned on too! There are even other vegetables planted. So my little transplanted pepper plant has sparked a flurry of renewed interest and now lives quite happily in the sun. Headline: Little pepper plant hits the lottery! The other 2 are sharing a big pot out on my back deck. Man! These things have a pronounced will to live. After struggling along for more than a year, the top of one branch on one plant is covered in little white flowers. I'm a happy Franklin! If the season lasts long enough, I'm sure the remainder will flower too. If not, I'll whack them back and bring them on in for the winter and try agin next year. Those 18 year old seeds are still good.
	Hungry