Can you grow these herbs outside all year around.

evoke · Rank attained: Hazel Tree Joined: 30 Sep 2008 Posts: 21

Hello all,
i am starting a herb garden and need to know if i can plant these herbs out side and leave them there. i do not want to take the herbs in again at winter.if they can not survivor the winter then i will not plant them. i want to plant alot of each of them so that is why i do not want to take them indoors.

Here is the list. you can just say yes or no if you want to make your answer short.

parsley
chives
Thyme
oregano
rosemary
mint
basil

Thanks for any help.

Sive · Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 7:26 am Post subject:

Parsley: yes
chives:yes, but they die down in the winter and reappear in spring
Thyme:yes
Rosemary:yes (makes a large bush eventually)
mint:yes, but also dies down for the winter and grows again in spring

I don't grow basil and oregano.

Hope this helps.

evoke · Rank attained: Hazel Tree Joined: 30 Sep 2008 Posts: 21

thanks for the reply. I put rosemary outside before in a pot but it died. maybe if i put it in the ground it wont die.

Thanks again

verge · Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 11:56 am Post subject:

Just to add to Sives response.

parsley, yes but you will only get about two years out of it.
chives, as Sive said.
Thyme, yes.
oregano, yes.
rosemary, yes.
mint, yes, but plant in a container or else it will take over the garden.
basil, no, best grow on a pot on a windowsill.

Sive · Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 12:16 pm Post subject:

hi evoke, just as Verge has said already....I should have added the warning about mint!
Just one more tip:
I have given up growing parsley from seed, and now buy those supermarket pots of parsley each spring......split them up into six or eight clumps and plant them out.....far cheaper than buying a single plant from the garden centre. That way I have good fresh clumps even when the old ones start to bolt and need pulling out.

evoke · Rank attained: Hazel Tree Joined: 30 Sep 2008 Posts: 21

thanks again, does oregano keeps its leaves during the irish winter?

James Kilkelly

Badge55 · Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2009 11:09 am Post subject:

Hey guys - great thread - sorry to be arriving late

Just wondering if basil is likely to survive in a green house in the winter

Any advice appreciated

forest flame · Posted: Sun Nov 15, 2009 2:41 pm Post subject:

basil is the least hardiest of all the herbs and unless the greenhouse is heated i doubt it will survive.if you could bring it into the house where it is constantly warm it should survive.
the other option would be to harvest now and freeze it in ice cube trays.

michael brenock · Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 7:47 pm Post subject:

Basil will not survive in a glasshouse over winter and is difficult to grow except in the months of May to September. Sound advice there from Sive, get those in Spring in Supermarket, divide up and plant out in April.
michael brenock horticultural advisor (retired)

alab1 · Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2009 6:50 pm Post subject: Drainage

I've found that well drained soil is very important to just about any herb plant especially rosemary. If you put water on your garden site and it doesn't immediately seep into the ground it's not draining enough for herb plants. I had to dig out 18 inched of soil and put down a 3 or 4 inch layer of gravel underneath the garden bed to get enough drainage for my plants to grow.

Redfox · Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2010 11:59 am Post subject:

My oregano (supermarket bought) keeps well during the frost this winter. I keep it in a pot sheltered from to much wind. The stems become woody, but you can still use the leaves. There isn't much growth over the winter so make sure its big enough to last. I also keep rosemary and thyme, but the same there not a lot of growth. I move a pot of chives and parsley indoors for the winter use. I sow it in August. One thing to point out with the supermarket plants is that lots of them are infected with greenfly's so be careful.