anyone growing their own herbs?

[luke]

I think maybe I'll start them inside under a grow light.

if you got a grow light you might as well grow some real herb shame you're in canada, discount at a grow store would be sweet

I've heard that too. Haven't tried it though. I did once try the diluted dish soap spraying method. It did NOT get rid of the aphids and it DID make my hibiscus extremely sticky.

i'd heard of the washing up liquid method before ... but when i looked at the ingredients on them i thought that was the last thing i wanna be spraying on my herbs!

there is some stuff called neem oil, i know what works with aphids - i got invaded by them once, loads of the little things crawling all over - thought i was going to loose that harvest ... it took a few days but the neem oil did the job, and its 100% organic - it comes from some tree called the neem tree which grows in india and south east asia - they've used it for centuries apparently. its quite a thick liquid ( you mix it with water and a surfactant - i use something called 'non ionic wetting agent' ) , smells horrible, gives the leaves a nice shine - and kills the aphids no matter what stage of growth their at ( theres about 5 stages of growth for them, their like transformer insects! ). if you spray your plants with it before they've got infected it'll prevent them - as prevention is better than cure i did hear something about leaving garlic cloves about the grow room but i can't remember what that was to prevent

[faceless]

i did hear something about leaving garlic cloves about the grow room but i can't remember what that was to prevent

Vampires of course! I don't know... some people.

[Aja]

i did hear something about leaving garlic cloves about the grow room but i can't remember what that was to prevent

Vampires of course! I don't know... some people.

You might try crushing 3/4 of an aspirin per gallon of water and applying that to the plant. I use it on my plants and it helps them stay healthy. That and regular applications of fish emulsion. It might be worth planting some garlic under the plant also. Some of my finikier plants like old coffee grounds.

That was an answer on this site ......

https://ask.metafilter.com/43512/How-can ... ider-mites

[eefanincan]

I heard that sprinkling broken eggshells around your plants helps..... don't know if it's true, but might be worth a try.

[girldorksrule]

I've heard that too. Haven't tried it though. I did once try the diluted dish soap spraying method. It did NOT get rid of the aphids and it DID make my hibiscus extremely sticky.

Not Gary! Or was it Sirius?!? Either one just breaks my heart!

It was Gary, but he recovered nicely No harm done!

there is some stuff called neem oil, i know what works with aphids - i got invaded by them once, loads of the little things crawling all over - thought i was going to loose that harvest ... it took a few days but the neem oil did the job, and its 100% organic

Never heard of it but I'll look into it. The only thing I've found around here that works for aphids is Bayer bug spray but I prefer using natural. Thanks!

[Skylace]

I've heard that too. Haven't tried it though. I did once try the diluted dish soap spraying method. It did NOT get rid of the aphids and it DID make my hibiscus extremely sticky.

Not Gary! Or was it Sirius?!? Either one just breaks my heart!

It was Gary, but he recovered nicely No harm done!

What a relief!

[luke]

this isn't a herb, but something i'm going to try and grow ( when i can find the seeds somewhere ) - beansprouts, or mung beans to give them their proper name.

anyone ever tried growing them?

i love them but here you can only buy them in big packets that would last me a week - so i'm going to grow me own. one jar of these growing a week will do a me a free stir fry



Description

My other name is Chinese Bean Sprouts. I grow so fast you can eat me in 4-6 days! I'm crisp, juicy and nutritious and delicious in stir-fries, sandwiches and all sorts of your favourite foods. I can be eaten raw as well.

Sowing Instructions

You can grow me all year round indoors in a jam jar or a special seed sprouter.
Place a tablespoon of seeds in a jam jar and cover with water.
Cover the jar with a piece of muslin held on with a rubber band and soak seeds overnight. The seeds will swell a lot.
Drain the water through the muslin and rinse twice really well with fresh water. Drain the water out of the jar.
Place the jar on its side in a warm place away from sunlight.
Rinse the seeds twice a day. Make sure you drain the water or I will go mouldy.
After 4-6 days I am ready to eat.

Aftercare

When you want to eat me, rinse the sprouts and you can eat straight away. Any left over can be kept in a plastic bag in the fridge for about 3 days.

[11antoniacourt]

i've never grown them and don't know anyone who has. But i do like them and hope you'll let us know what you learn about them. i'd make a meal with them once per week too. What a great idea.

[eefanincan]

Let us know how you make out Luke --- like you, I find those big packages too much, so a jar or so would be a nice idea.

On a different note, has anyone heard of these "Aerogarden"? I'm thinking of getting one, but wondered if anyone here has one and if it worked well.

[web]https://www.aerogrow.com/[/web]

[luke]

i've not heard of them before but they look pretty cool! i can't see on the site what wattage the bulbs are - but i should think they're pretty low wattage and cheap to run - anything to high in that system would generate to much heat.

i guess its suitability depends on what you're thinking of growing in it? i mean a lot of herbs you can grow under sunlight so it makes it a kind of expensive herb garden - and any bigger plants it might be a bit small. they do look neat though

[eefanincan]

I think you can even grow tomatoes in one of them if you wanted, but I'll just stick to the standard kitchen herbs. Hopefully I'll get one for Christmas next year

[luke]

ages back i got given a load of seeds, there was a few different herbs, some rocket, and some flowers

on a rare sunny day last week i planted the lot in various pots, i got some outside and some on a south facing window sill.

i'm not sure if they'll all grow, because some of the seeds say they're out of date now ( thats how long its taken me to get round to planting them! ) - but do seeds really go out of date?

today i noticed the rocket starting to pop through the soil, which is pretty quick - it says germination takes about 14 days but i only planted them last week! these rocket seeds were supposed to have been used by a year ago - so hopefully thats a good sign the other seeds that are out of date will also germinate

i'm actually quite looking forward to seeing if the flowers grow! i've grown various herbs, lettuce, strawberries and carrots before, but never any flowers

i will add some photos when things really get growing

[SpursFan1902]

I am pretty good at killing plants, not so good at keeping them alive. I have a fern that someone snagged for me from the stage at my last graduation, a couple of palms that I have repotted and I just planted a Confederate Jasmine vine out in my courtyard. We shall see. The fern has been alive since December and the palms a little longer, so...

[eefanincan]

My chives are already overgrown.......must get out there and cut them back.

[Skylace]

My spearmint out back has gone rogue and it's a bit of a battle actually. Need to find lots of recipes for it!
I won't be planting anything else until the end of the month. However, I am very happy my tarragon is coming in nicely. I had no idea it was perennial so that was a pleasant surprise