Hi,

Can anyone recommend somewhere in Zurich where I can buy living herbs (pots of basil, parsley etc), and/or where I can buy small, cheap pot-plants for my windowsill/balcony. In the UK I normally buy my herb plants from supermarkets, but a trawl of Migros, Coop and Marinello only revealed cut herbs. I also went to a some flower shops but they only had indoor plants, and were pretty expensive with fancy pots.

Many thanks!

Try Jumbo in Letzipark - that's where I got mine.

Best alternatives are at the Farmer's Markets...You will find whatever you are looking for...within reason of course!

I agree with Jack, especially this time of year. In the spring and early summer, you can find pots of herbs in most Coops and Migros of decent size, but by this time of the summer they've gone through their stock and aren't replenishing it. You should have luck at the farmers markets though. Head out to Oerlikon this morning and you'll likely find what you want.

Thanks! I will try Jumbo and some markets. That list of the market opening days and locations is really useful

How about growing your own on your windowsill or balcony. Seeds, pots and compost are available at Landi etc. Plant the seeds, seal the top of the pot with a plastic freezer bag, until the seedlings appear. Maybe buying some potted plants is an option, but then split the herbs into two pots, to get two plants out of one.

Just to re-emphasise the markets suggestion, I saw a good herb plant stall at Oerlikon this morning.

The ones in the market are more expensive than the ones from Migros and Co-op (not sure which supermarkets you looked at, but the larger ones slightly further out of town have them eg. Migros Schmiede Wiedikon, Coop Wiedikon)

I have some from the farmers' market at Helvetiaplatz for a slightly better price than Burkliplatz - which was very expensive for not necessarily better quality or longer living plants.

Oregano from Helvetiaplatz and flat-leaf parsley from Coop Wiedikon are my best growers so far.

Hi Jack, I looked at your list of farmers markets but it looks like there are none in my area (Zug). Does anybody know of any farmers markets close to Zug, which are held on Saturdays (I work all week). We have a market in Menzingen but that is on a Friday morning which doesnt help me at all.

Should be on Saturday mornings near the lake by the old town... Hmm...need to update my list I guess...

It's a great suggestion, but at this time of year, starting from seed might be a problem - it's really rather late. We start lots of things from seed in March-April, such as thai basil, and continue to plant basil through July. I also have pepper seeds from the US that I started way too late this year -June - not sure they'll bear fruit - next year I'll start them earlier. I'll also have more pots next year.

I did buy rosemary, thyme and sage on sale from the coop in the spring, paid less than CHF 4 each for a sizeable pot and they're still going strong. The Coop near the University in Bern had some small herb pots on sale yesterday and they looked pretty good, I didn't notice the price though.



e.

How do you keep your thai basil alive? does it need a lot or a little water? I've now killed my second thai basil bought from helvetiaplatz - it's in a window box - the regular basil and oregano in the same box are thriving.

I'm not sure, really - dumb luck, perhaps. I started all of my basil from seed - there is a packet of basil seeds that I bought in the coop bau & hobby - 6 different kinds of basil, including lemon, greek, thai, regular, purple and something else, and I just threw the seeds in a big plant box on the terrace. I have big rectangular plant boxes, facing south west, good drainage and unless the soil gets dry, we don't have to water. We've had a bit too much water of late I think. I also fertilize about once every 3-4 weeks. I think the basil likes a lot of sun, and frequent waterings, but soil that's not overly wet. Once the plants flower - go to seed, the basil just isn't as good anymore, so you have cut it back all the time. (In fact, I'm doing this today since I need some anyway)

Next year when I do this, I'll plant earlier and re-seed every 6 weeks or so. Thai basil is a bit more delicate than the other stuff, if I remember.

But honestly, I have no idea what I'm doing....I just water the plants when they look dry and try to make sure there's good drainage. Sorry about your basil though. I've killed lots of basil myself.

The Saturday farmers markets are in Zug on the corner of the Metalli shopping center towards the train station. There are also markets from 8-12 at Landesgemindeplatz near the old town and lake.

The metzgeri on Aegeristrasse and Bossard in the old town near Migros also have good quality local farm produce.

HTH