I never promised you a herb garden....

[dtaai-maai]

My neighbour wants to start a little 'erb (he's American) garden - basil, coriander, mint, parsley, etc. (the basics) - and wants to know where to start. I plan to benefit from his endeavours and am therefore keen to provide the necessary info:

Seedlings or young plants?
In the ground or in pots?
Where to buy?
Anything else you can think off.

References to pricking out will be treated with the contempt they deserve...

[richard]

Used to have pots when I lived in KK. Seedlings

[Vital Spark]

...along with the sunshine, there's gotta be a little rain sometimes..

Perfect time of year to start. Mr.P and I planned to start planting our seeds (in pots) the other day, but when I went to get our stash of seeds from the shed all I found were empty packets - the damned rats had had a picnic while we were away.

We've successfully grown basil and a few other herbs, always in pots and from seeds. If you're looking for Italian/European herbs, you won't find seedlings at plant shops in Thailand. As far as 'pricking out' is concerned, we've done both: saved yoghurt cartons and carefully nurtured the seeds, and then planted them in a larger pot, but we've also just sprinkled the seeds into a larger pot (missing out the yoghurt carton bit) and had equally good results. The beauty of planting in pots is that you can move them in (or out) of the sunshine/rain, and you don't have to dig a herb patch.

Good luck DM, and we eagerly await photos of your, and your neighbours, endeavours.

VS x

[Terry]

....... the damned rats had had a picnic while we were away.
We've successfully grown basil and a few other herbs, ...........

Your place ain't called Fawlty Towers is it?

[Vital Spark]

You're not actually far from the truth there, T.

I can certainly emulate Sybil or Polly (depending on the moon), and Mr.VS definitely has his 'Basil' moments.

VS

[Kumiankka]

Beware the WEEDS.

[kendo]

We have tried with the help of a very green fingered neighbor up in Surin to grow many veggies, herbs, and flowers, seeds from over ere, in pots and in the ground nothing really worked as far to hot wrong soil type god knows.
So that's one avenue i would not bother with although The climate in Hua Hin is not so harsh for example you can't grow pineapples or durian up there.

Kendo.

[Takiap]

DM................Contrary to what many will tell you, growing some herbs (at least here in Hua-Hin) is the easiest thing in the world. I had a jungle growing, but the chickens have slowly but sure destroyed the lot, including the netting that was meant to keep them out.


If you're growing them for use in western type cooking, you can grow them in pots since most western dishes only require a few leaves/seeds. Thai dishes usually call for a lot more so you need a lot more growing than would back in the west. Your best bet is to plant directly in the ground but be sure to space them or else they grow tall and thin, and then just topple over. Okay, here are a few........


Lemon grass - Just buy some lemon grass from the local market, cut the bottom bits off about 5 or 6 inches from the base, and then stick those bottom bits into the ground. Plant them about 2 to 3 inches deep, and keep them well watered until they are established.

This stuff grows pretty damn quickly, so will need to be trimmed and thinned out from time to time. The good thing is, it looks quite nice even as a landscape plant, it requires no care at all once it's growing, and any Thai will gladly take any that you don't need. My advice would be to plant these away from your other herbs because they take up space and they give shade which you don't really want.

Ginger; Galangal - Once again, just buy fresh at the market and then plant the bulbs/roots in the ground. As with lemon grass, these four require no care at all once they start growing, and they all produce attractive plants. Expect your ginger and your galangal to reach a height of about 5 to 6 feet, and as with the lemon grass, they will need to be thinned out from time to time. I've found these grow all year round, and will thrive even during the dry season so long as you water them. They like full sun, but will grow even better in parts of the garden that get at least some shade daily.

Turmeric and Krachai - Exactly the same as the above two, apart from the fact that they are seasonal, and they don't get as tall. Stick the bulb/roots in the ground, and simply forget about them. When the rain season is upon us, they will sprout and grow, and once the dry season arrives, they'll die off, and when the next rain season arrives, up they'll come again, and in greater numbers. Both of these produce attractive landscape plants, so I would recommend planting them elsewhere in the garden, between any other regular plants.

Basil - Super easy to grow, and the seeds are readily available. Here in Thailand you seem to only get four different types of basil seeds - Holy Basil; Red Holy Basil; Thai Basil and Lemon Basil.

Holy basil grows wild on the side of the roads in Thailand during certain times of the year, so that just goes to show how easy it is to grow in. In a garden though, it will grow all year round if you continue watering it, and if you continue harvesting it. This is the basil they use in Kapao Moo.

Thai basil (sometimes called sweet basil) is even easier to grow, and it grows a lot quicker, as does lemon basil. Thai basil is the basil you'll see on the table if you order noodles. Lemon basil doesn't seem to be too popular here, and yet when I was growing it, it was used more than the other types. It tastes awesome and smells even better.

To plant these, loosen up some soil (you can mix in some compost if you want to) and then either sprinkle some seeds around, or make little furrows going in straight lines, and then sprinkle the seeds in them. These are very small seeds, so they must NOT be planted more than half a centimeter deep, which is why you might find it easier just to sprinkle a few on the ground, and then sprinkle a little bit of soil over them. Keep well watered, and they start sprouting after about three to five days.

All basil like sun, so full sun is not a problem at all, although you might have to give them a little water during the day, especially when they're still small. Once they're about 3" tall, thin the plants out so that there's about 10 to 15 inches between each one. When they get to about 15", you can cut the tops off, which then causes them to become more bush. Every time you cut a branch off, two new branches will grow. If you allow these to start getting flowers, you will have to plant more since they will then flower and usually die off. So, if you don't want to keep planting new ones, make sure you harvest enough to ensure they don't get to flower. The chances are, if you have a dozen of each, you'll never be able to use even a fraction of what you harvest, but so what. Just give away what you don't use, or alternatively, you can dry the leaves out and have dried basil like they use in the West.

Coriander - In Thailand, they use most the leaves only (Cilantro) and it's also sometimes called Chinese Parsley on the seed packets. Again, very easy to grow, but certainly a lot slower than basil. The seeds are also a lot bigger so can be planted a little deeper, but again, they can also just be sprinkled on top of the ground and then covered with a little dirt. They do have to be watered everyday during the dry season, as do all your other herbs. I found that these tend to get top-heavy and then fall over. You can stop this by putting in stakes, or by building the ground up around them. They need lots of sun but a little bit of shade won't do any harm. As with basil, just keep pruning them if you don't want them to flower. Of course if they do flower, well, then you get fresh coriander seeds which can be used for cooking or for planting a new crop.

Culantro - Sometimes called "saw leaf herb", these tend to grow better in semi shade rather than in full sun. I don't think it's used in many dishes, and we certainly didn't use much of it when I had some growing. Anyway, if you want to grow it, just follow the same directions as for cilantro/coriander, but try and provide some shade.

Dill - Quite a popular herb in Isaan, and also in Italian cooking I believe. Again, grow in the same way you do with coriander.

Garlic - just push individual bulbs into the soil, about 8" or so apart from each other, and water daily, especially in the dry season. Easy to grow, good looking, and very healthy.

Chili - Just collect some seeds from a ripe (red) chili, and then plant them about half an inch deep, and about one and a half feet apart. Water daily, and make sure they get lots of sun. You can grow all different chilies you get here in this manner, and even bell peppers.

Well DM, not sure what others you want to grow, but feel free to ask away and I'll try to answer wherever I can. Remember though, the info I've given here is only based on what has worked for me.
In fact, it worked so well, we weren't able to use even half of what I grew, and remember, all our meals are home cooked by a Thai.

Good luck


PS:- If there are typos in the above, I don't care. After all that typing, I'm certainly not going to proofread it......lol.

[leoedgar]

I´m only growing parsley in pots. You can not bye the seed here, so I brought it with me from DK. Still have some left, so if you want some, let me know. Leo

[dtaai-maai]

Amazing post, Takiap - thanks very much, just the sort of info I needed.
Leoedgar, I'll speak to my neighbour and get back to you.
Thanks v much to all. (Even VS... )

[Coldmike]

Thanks Takiab, I'm getting hungry for all sorts of things now. I can't wait to get back to Thailand for longer periods so I can try some of your recommendations. Stuck for now in Chicago where my wife does grow Thai basil, mint, kafir lime (for the leaves), and Thai chili peppers. Its all a short growing season here. Our biggest problem other than winter is deer and chipmunks who seem to love some of her garden

[Coldmike]

BTW, we grow everything in pots, (many many pots) mainly because of animals and valuable plants like Makrut and Jasmine can be brought indoors for winter.

[VincentD]

Assuming you're growing it in Thailand?

Most of the herbs - lemon grass, krachai and the lemon leaves - are sold in the wet markets as a tomyam 'set' - approximately 10 baht. Poke around a bit and you'll unearth the fresh tumeric etc. I'm fortunate that where I am in Bangkok it's a ten-minute walk to a fresh market.
If I want the more exotic stuff, I walk a further five minutes to Foodland. I've been able to get fresh parsley (the rel stuff), fresh rosemary (I've thrown out all my dried stock) and all at a reasonable price. I gave up growing the exotics a long time ago.

[Takiap]

Assuming you're growing it in Thailand?

Most of the herbs - lemon grass, krachai and the lemon leaves - are sold in the wet markets as a tomyam 'set' - approximately 10 baht. Poke around a bit and you'll unearth the fresh tumeric etc. I'm fortunate that where I am in Bangkok it's a ten-minute walk to a fresh market.
If I want the more exotic stuff, I walk a further five minutes to Foodland. I've been able to get fresh parsley (the rel stuff), fresh rosemary (I've thrown out all my dried stock) and all at a reasonable price. I gave up growing the exotics a long time ago.

Yes, they have turmeric, galangal, ginger, krachai, and etc at the wet markets in Hua-Hin as well.

DM, you can also grow your own kaffir lime tree/shrub from seed if you want to. You will need to find a ripe or close to ripe fruit, or else buy a large green and let it ripen a bit before removing the seeds.
The same can be done with the key limes. Both can be grown in pots, preferably quite big pots although they can be start in small pots as well. Kaffir lime doesn't grow very quickly and doesn't get all that big either, so you'd be safe enough planting one in the garden. The garden shops around Hua-Hin sometimes have some available for about 100 baht in case you don't want to start from seed.


If you have any questions, just ask away.

[PeteC]

Here's some tips about how to grow some real herb. Pete

http://howtogrowmarijuana.com/how-to-gr ... doors.html