Hi all, My girlfriend and I recently put together our first ever herb garden on our balcony patio. We have multiple plants all in round pots which I believe are sufficient for their size, and they get plenty of sun (southern exposure, I live in Illinois). Oh and none grew from seed I bought small plants and repoted. Some plants are doing great some not so well… please give me some advice on what is going wrong….

tomato, basil, jalapeno, oregano, mint, rosemary, thyme, and sage all seem to be doing great!

now the problems…

parsley and cilantro – both did well for a few weeks then I noticed they were infested with these small larvae eating the leaves and small gnats, I believe they were fungus gnats and larvae… I was told to throw the plants out before they spread to the other plants, so i did, 2 plants down…

arugula – it did well for a few weeks also, after I tossed the infested parsley and cilantro I noticed the arugula had the same bugs, even more! Then it started to flower badly and I didn’t cut it. After some google research I decided to spray all the plants with a soap & water and cover the top of soil with sand to stop the gnat infestation (suppposedly the sand stops them from laying seeds on top of the dirt and spraying with soap/water kills living ones) … this seems to have worked but the arugula still looks bad and wilted not many new leaves… is it done for the season because I let it flower?

onion chives- they grew like crazy for over a month and were delicious, never got the bugs either… now it is starting to wilt and there isnt any new growth… is it too hot maybe? 90+ all this week!

tarragon – I believe its mexican tarragon, it grew well for a few weeks then started to flower, I cut the flowers as soon as I saw them and since then the plant hasn’t grown much and seems to be wilting away…

dill- seems to be getting more and more wilted and not much new growth.

So if someone could give me their 2 cents on the problematic plants and what we’re doing wrong I would really appreciate it . Thanks for your time!

nick&lauren

I cook a lot and use a lot of fresh herbs, but they’re so expensive! So I was thinking of growing a small herb garden of mint, thyme, Rosemary and maybe a few others… Problem is, every time I try to grow anything it dies. I have like, a black thumb or something! So, I was wondering what the difficulty level is for a small herb garden like this, if it would be better to grow indoors or out (I live in Bakersfield, Ca, so it’s hot summers and very cold winters), and just any general tips someone more experienced than me thanks!

I am at a loss. My neighbor and I decided to grow two different gardens, hers herbs and mine veggies and we could swap. The veggies are a lot slower growing and we seem to have an overload of herbs. (although I have a ton of cucumbers). The last time I used rosemary I wasn’t a veggie and used it on meats. Now I can’t think of ways to use it. Thanks!

I want to plant my herbs in a lawn garden to make it (less ugly & bare) prettier, but I don’t want to have the rabbits eating them away, so which ones will they eat & which will they leave alone? Currently I have:
Common sage
Rosemary
Lavender
Lavender mint (peppermint)
Sweet mint (spearmint)
Candy mint (peppermint)
Sweet basil
Dill (dwarf)
Cilantro, basil, parsley & dill seedlings
I know the basil doesn’t stand a chance undefended & the mints are too aggressive plus need defended, but what about the dill, rosemary, sage & lavender? Will the rabbits eat them?
FWIW they are domestic rabbits someone let loose a few (rabbit) generations ago, not true wild rabbits.

Ugh & will chickens eat them?? They’ve gotten into the garden (vegetable) even though it’s fenced off & have yet to eat anything.
Do you have sweet basil or something else? (I know they don’t like cinnamon basil for example) I have a few caged rabbits & they love, love, love the sweet basil & sweet mint when I give them pieces.

The best overall as in best cooking herb or supplement. Examples of herbs could include catnip, oregano, basil, rosemary, lemon balm, mint, etc.

I am planning to start a small herb garden in a window box style hanging wire planter that is lined with coconut husk. I live upstairs and have adequate access to light but not ground dirt, so this is my only real option for planting herbs. I want to grow parsley, thyme and possibly rosemary since I use these often. Here are my questions:
1.) Should I keep the plants in little pots and just line the planter with the little pots or can I fill the planter with potting soil and plant the herbs in the soil, allowing them to root? (this is what I’d prefer to do.)
2.) If I do plant the herbs in soil, is there a particular method I should use in lining this wire basket?
The planter is quite large, approx. 3 ft. long and 10 inches deep so I feel like this should be adequate for three plants to grow. Any advice would be appreciated, as I’m planning on hanging and setting this up over the next few days.