Hi Guys,

I am planning to plant some herbals on our balcony, such as basil, parsley,rosemary,oregano...etc...

I want to buy seeds from Migros or Coop, and put them into small tray with mud.

Does that sound OK? Should I leave them under sunshine or put them in the shadow? Should I water them a lot ?

Please give me some advices

Thanks in advance.

Fei

If you tally the cost of seeds, and the time needed before your plant grows, and is at a stage where you can 'use' it.
Its cheaper and faster to buy the seedlings - Landi has a 15cm high Herbs in pots, for Sfr3,50 each.

But if you still want to sow your seeds, keep them indoors until they germinate (night temperatures are still low), and in the sunshine, adequate water until they sprout.

I grow strawberries in the flower sill trays, as well as Salad - well I harvest them early.

good luck!

Why don't you ask these chaps?

Thanks a lot Pather !

One more question, how long the life of 3.5CHF herbs-pot will be? If I keep taking care of them, will they live a good life ?


Thanks again.

Fei

Good Point!

Thanks !

I got some last year, they need to be put in a bigger pot to really keep them going. I was pleasantly suprised to see both my basel and mint sprouting up and growing again this year. My Rosemary and thyme are still both going strong.

Great news. Very encouraging !

Let me know if you ever manage to kill off the mint, we can market the method!

If you take good care, all of them except the Basil have a great chance of surviving a few years, dont forget fertiliser - but not too much.

Our Mint sprouted on its own, and its uncontrollable!

Thanks Pather.

Besides the fertilized mud I can buy from shop, I was told that ox‘s poop is good fertilizer ？

Sounds basil is very fragile !

Its probably also because it gets eaten the fastest

I like parsley better

Rosemary and sage hate each other. Best to have things in individual pots.

More here: Spring/Summer Balcony Garden tips?

If it's in the ground then you should really put it in a buried pot to help contain it.

In my experience, hardwood herbs such as thyme and rosemary are better to buy in a pot but others such as coriander and basil can easily, and fairly fastly be grown from seed.

Don't forget to buy a chilli plant as well as it's great to have fresh chillies in the summer and dried ones throughout the rest of the year.

Landi sells small pots of herbs as well as seeds.

Also do not assume it's "easy" because I tried with 6 different seeds (Mint, Basil, Peas, flowers...).

It only partially worked with Peas which had some green thing about 3cm high then I forgot to water them and they dried quickly.

Nothing else have worked

I followed the packaging "months to seed", etc... but not many results.

You should probably try the "seedlings" as said above.

Pather is spot on.

It's not just the cost, but the "establishment period you need to consider.

(FYI - mud isn't good to strike seeds. You need a high quality and fine potting mix. keep out of direct sunlight, and monitor the humidity and soil moisture. Slowly introducing levels of sunlight as the seedlings develop........ you get the idea...... go for the prepared seedlings).

Another tip is get the deepest pot you can to allow root development. Deep roots allow for resistance against times of dry stress. So best to start early.

After planting your seedlings, wet the pot up well, and allow the pot to dry down between waterings - don't kill them with love. A little bit of wilting is good.
(gotta be cruel to be kind).
pushing wetting drying cycles stimulates root development and establishes the plant quicker.

Fertilsers
Go for slow release products with a higher Nitrate (N) ratio (to phosphorous (P) and potassium (K)).
At planting select something similar, but have a higher Phosphorous level to assist the roots. Mix into the potting mix well to avoid concentrated areas that will cause root burn.

Watering tips
When watering plants, try to split up the water a bit to allow the water to 'pulse' through the profile.
One single watering in a tight mix tends to run around the sides and out leaving the centre dry.
Several small waters allows an increased soaking, and each soaking spreads the wetted area.

Any signs of "Tip burn" on the plants, increase the volume of water to allow approximately a third of the total water (yep, measure it) applied to run through.
This does take a bit of fert with it, but it also leaches soil acids.

Liquid Fertilising tips
Always wet up the soil first, then apply the fertiliser solution. Water it in as well, but you don't need as much then.


Other than this....... they are just herbs, so they are not too hard to grow.

THanks Max!

Thanks Tom