Gardening and Greenhouse

Green Thumb answers:

OK, so here’s what you need to do with each of these plants you mentioned…

Basil – If the basil has already flowered, then it will drop it’s seeds and you’ll have tons more sprouting next Spring!

Rosemary – needs no action, unless you want to trim it a bit for shape.

Sage – forget it. Just replant this one from seeds in Spring.

Fennel – will do fine in the cooler weather, but if you get a REALLY hard freeze, it’ll die. Replant in Spring.

Oregano – protect this one from hard freezes and it’ll survive for next Spring. Otherwise, it’s easy to grow from seeds.

Two grape vines – Keep as much woody growth on the plants as possible. The leaves will die off, but the plant will survive the winter fine. You might mulch them near the base to ensure some insulation from the cold.

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Green Thumb answers:

That depends upon whether you are good at seed starting. If you enjoy gardening and like to watch the development, seeds are the way to go. If you are rather in a hurry and not too gardening savvy, you will want to go with the starts. I love to plant, and there is only one way to get started: just do it!

If you do not want many herbs, however, you may just want to buy a start or two; depending upon the herb.

Organic means there were no chemicals used on the seed and that they were harvested and grown naturally. You can buy organic seed; most of the ones in the stores are not. Some are, so read the packet.

I would avoid peat pots and peat in general. It is running out and soil and pots are great anyway. We do not want to deplete the earth too quickly!

Seeds of Change has great organic seeds. You pay a bit more for them, but of course it is environmentally desirable to use them.

Http://www.seedsofchange.com/default.asp

Green Thumb answers:

Hi:
There are so many different types of herb plants. Most herbs will flower and require a good amount of sunshine. You can plant a wide variety in one defined landscape garden. I grew over 5,000 seedlings in a greenhouse and then incorporated them throughout several beds. Your goal is to find out which ones are annuals and which are perennials. If you are doing one bed, group the annuals in one part and the perennials in another. On my website in Landscape Articles I have about six pages on herbs. I also have a full herb design in my Examples of Landscape designs as well as the eight basic culinary herbs in my gallery of plants section. I will take you to my site map as well as the landscape articles and gallery of plant section. Browse through and I am sure you will be able to get some useful information.
I hope this will help and if you need any other questions resolved, please feel free to contact me. Have a great day!
Kimberly

http://www.landscape-solutions-for-you.com/Site.html

http://www.landscape-solutions-for-you.com/landscape.html

http://www.landscape-solutions-for-you.com/Gallery.html

Green Thumb answers:

I am a fan of plants…but I’m not gifted with green thumb so cacti and bamboo are the only kind I can have.

For those kinds of seeds/plants…there are horticulturist places at the corner of Quezon Ave and EDSA. Its been a while since the last time I’ve been there but you can check that out. You can also try at Carlos P. Garcia Ave at the UP Diliman Campus or at White Plains.

If you can get out of the metro…Laguna and Tagaytay are the best places to get those stuff that you need. There are godzillion places to go to especially at the Tagaytay-Silang Highway. Both Tagaytay and Silang, Cavite side.

Hope this helps.

Green Thumb answers:

Here’s a guide for companion plants that go together..such as …
PARSLEY: grows well with chives, onions, roses and tomato.
MARJORAM: As a companion plant it improves the flavor of vegetables and herbs. Sweet marjoram is the most commonly grown type.
BASIL: grows well with many other herbs, but do not plant with rue or sage

http://www.ghorganics.com/page2.html

Another list of plants & their effects as companions (scroll down page for list). Rosemary grows well with sage.

Http://www.seedsofchange.com/enewsletter/issue_55/companion_planting.asp

Herb Companions in the Garden & kitchen:
“Plant fennel away from other herbs and vegetables.”

http://www.almanac.com/garden/herbs/companions.php

http://www.herbalgardens.com/companion.html

Sweet basil, parsley, oregano, marjoram, & thyme can grow well together & would make a nice herb garden combination. Also: “Basil is striking in containers when combined with nasturtiums… Or marigolds.”

http://www.gardenguides.com/plants/info/herbs/basil.asp

Or you can make a golden garden combination planting together: lemon thyme, variegated sage, calendula, nasturtium and lemon balm.
Lemon Balm can be planted with anything, but keep in mind that since it is in the mint family, it can spread & overtake your other herbs…since this is what mints do.

Wormwood leaves contain absinthin a substance which can be toxic to some plants.

Http://www.ghorganics.com/Wormwood.html

Zinnias can attract Japanese beetles, so you might not want it near some of your herbs. The pastel varieties of zinnias can be used as a trap crop for Japanese beetles.
BTW, Catnip, chives, garlic, tansy & rue are said to repel Japanese Beetles.

A pot of basil, thyme and sage:

This forum shows a container of salvia, oregano, thyme and summer savory. The summer savory is beginning to bloom:

http://www.gardenbuddies.com/forum/messages/6876/1173263.html

Thought you’d like this article on the ideal herbs to grow in containers:

http://www.herbexpert.co.uk/GrowingHerbsInContainers.html

P.S. Thanks for the nice comment Naturepants!

Good luck!!! Hope this helps.

Green Thumb answers:

Two true leaves (not just the seed leaves, the cotyledons). However, moving small plants to great big pots can be somewhat problematic. You’d probably be better off moving them to pots where the roots can fill at least 1/3 of the pot, then when the roots fill the pot, move to a larger pot.

It’s easy to overwater a big pot with little plants in it, and then the soil gets sour. When the plant roots hit the sour, acidic soil, they often die. Hence, shifting plants up through several sizes of pots is safer.

Green Thumb answers:

There are many, many combinations. The classic “companion planting” book is “Carrots Love Tomatoes”. Check it out from your local library, and also grab other books on companion plantings. There are many. “Great Garden Companions” is one I have. It has 265 pages…which is why it’s not practical to try and list them all here.

But the theory behind it is to mix up your plants as much as possible – and tuck flowers into your vegetable garden. They will attract the beneficial insects that will both pollinate your crops, and parasitize the “bad” bugs.

But to start – Basil interplanted with Tomatoes is one of the more classic combinations.