Herb Garden (inactive)

[Sher]

The savory is beautiful! I have never eaten it fresh, just ground. I will have to put that on my To Grow list. It sounds delicious.

The brown on the zaatar looks like a disease to me. It doesn't look like nutrient burn. Possibly a fungal or bacterial problem.  My guess is that you will lose that plant.

If it were me, I would remove it, add clean water and nutrients to the tank and add one teaspoon of 3% hydrogen peroxide to the water to hopefully keep it from spreading.

I have no idea if the pipicha will regrow. Cut it above one of the leaf joints and try. It may regrow two stems instead of one.  It, too, sounds delicious!

Your garden is different and fun!

[kanewai]

Dec 24, 2020 20:31:01 GMT -5 Sher said:

The brown on the zaatar looks like a disease to me. It doesn't look like nutrient burn. Possibly a fungal or bacterial problem.  My guess is that you will lose that plant. 

If it were me, I would remove it, add clean water and nutrients to the tank and add one teaspoon of 3% hydrogen peroxide to the water to hopefully keep it from spreading.

Thanks - I'm about to go to work on the unit. We shall see.  I wonder where the disease could've come from; most other plants look healthy  

[Shawn]

If you like they go for it in the short version

[kanewai]

I have my first complete miss: the pápalo is growing strong, but tastes like soap.  I've heard people say that cilantro tastes like soap to them, but I never thought so.  What's odd is that I've grown pápalo before, and loved the taste.  I'm not sure if it's the nutrients or the cultivar, or what is different this time.

The pipicha, meanwhile, was fantastic.  I used it in a guacamole, and I think I like it better than regular cilantro.  I'll learn soon if it will grew back after harvesting - it was only one single stalk.  This one might be better in a pot, where I can grow multiple bunches at once.

[Sher]

I am happy that cute little pipicha turned out to be delicious.

A pot full of them would make a very attractive display.

[Shawn]

Let me ask, when did you add nutes prior to picking it?  They say to never pick your lettuce or herbs the day of or within two days after as the uptake of nutes can affect the taste.

Now, are there different varieties of Cilantro, yes.  Can they taste different, of course.  Try a new variety, this one may just not be to your liking.  Also it is said that you either love cilantro or you don't.  If you liked it before it may just be this variety.

[kanewai]

Dec 28, 2020 7:14:19 GMT -5 Shawn said:

Let me ask, when did you add nutes prior to picking it?  They say to never pick your lettuce or herbs the day of or within two days after as the uptake of nutes can affect the taste.

I've read that, but it's been close to a week.  I taste a little of of the citrus- and cilantro-flavors that it normally has, but they're weak.  I suspect it's the cultivar; when I grew papalo in my garden the leaves were a silver-green color; these are just green.

Ah well. 

[kanewai]

I gave my basils & dill a major haircut for New Years Eve; my parsley was looking very weak after 2 months, and I'm hoping more direct light can help.  Also - the dill has a wonderful flavor, but it's producing far far more than I can use! 



Also, look at my chervil! I tasted one of the leaves, and it has a pure black-pepper zing. I like it, and hope it grows strong.



My savory, meanwhile, is ready for a good harvest. The stalk is nice and thick, so this looks like a strong one. I'm thinking of making a savory mashed-potato dish tomorrow.



And finally: sorrel is growing very slowly in a pot. This is a bit bitter like arugula, but with a stong lemon taste. I tried some seeds in the ag; they sprouted but don't look healthy. Sorrel is a cool-weather plant, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to gather enough for a proper sauce. It needs to be cooked, so I won't be using the leaves raw. I need a good amount.



As for some of the other guys: my chives are just a few straggle stalks after two months. Does it ever get large enough to harvest? Lovage and borage never sprouted, but they were some experiments more than herbs I really want or need (though lovage would have been a nice addition; it looks like parsley and tastes like celery). And I cut back on the zaatar after leaves started turning brown, and the new growth looks healthy,

[Shawn]

It all looks great

[ERR0R1755]

Chives normally stay a bit scraggly, since they grow as hollow tubes rather than a plant with leaves and branches. Once mine got close to what I expected in diameter (close to what I get from the store), I started cutting them down to half-way every time they got near the light.

[kanewai]

I did some two month housekeeping:

- Removed the mint.  The mint was pretty enough, but didn't have much flavor.  I tried making ice cream with it, but you could barely taste the mint.  I made tea a few times, but I'm not much of a tea drinker. I have a spearmint plant in a pot, and the difference was striking - the spearmint smells and tastes wonderful.

- Removed the Thai basil.  I like it with Asian food, but it doesn't really match with anything I cook at home.  I just don't use it enough, and I wanted more light to reach some of the slower growing herbs. 

- I tried planting cuttings from cilantro, French tarragon, and rosemary.  The cilantro shot up some leaves the first day, but then slowly rotted. I pulled it. It's too early to tell how the tarragon and rosemary will do.

- I put in new pods with epazote (attempt number 3), and added second plants for chervil and pipicha.  I really like the flavors of all of these, and I can easily use all that I grow.    I think it would be good marketing for Aerogarden to add savory and chervil to their regular pack, instead of giving us four (!) pods of basil in the nine-pod herb pack.

- On order: AG pods for another savory, oregano, globe basil, and Marseille basil.    That will give me four varieties of oregano (marjoram, zaatar, AG oregano, oregano in soil).  It will make an interesting taste-test when they all mature. 

[Sher]

I think your cooking must be more interesting and adventurous than mine. It would be fun to watch!

The savory, especially, is beautiful.

I agree with you about the mint vs spearmint. When you had a soil garden, did you ever grow pineapple sage? It's a huge plant, but the scent and flavor (especially for teas) is exquisite. It also has attractive red flowers.

[Sher]

kanewai, about the chives...

I let two AG chive pods sprout until they were about 3-4" high, then removed the sponges and cut one side of each sponge open, then carefully removed the 5 or 6 seedlings from each.

Then I planted all the little seedlings in a pot. They grew like weeds. I could not keep up with them. In fact, they are still going. But the papery bases are getting tall, so it's probably time to replant soon.

I will probably just plant seeds directly in a pot next time.

[kanewai]

Jan 13, 2021 21:13:06 GMT -5 Sher said:

I think your cooking must be more interesting and adventurous than mine. It would be fun to watch!

The savory, especially, is beautiful.

I agree with you about the mint vs spearmint. When you had a soil garden, did you ever grow pineapple sage? It's a huge plant, but the scent and flavor (especially for teas) is exquisite. It also has attractive red flowers.

Thanks!  It's fun to experiment.  Though some of these are actually standard herbs that I see all the time in old recipes, but since they don't ship well, or can't be grown in bulk, they disappeared from the stores.   We live in such a mass-market world, yeah? If you use oregano, thyme, or sage then you could add savory - it blends well with them.   And chervil could go with anything you use chives in, like beans or potato salad.

Some of the Latin ones are definitely more experimental, at least for me.

The pineapple sage sounds lovely.  I live in the tropics, so never had much luck with even regular sage.

[Sher]

kanewai, yes, it is a mass market world. If you want something that not everyone wants, you have to get creative.

I have rarely used savory, mainly because it is considered "the bean herb" and I didn't know what else to do with it. It is such a pretty plant. I'd like to try growing it when I have a slot for it. Thanks for suggestions on how to use it.

I don't know how well pineapple sage would grow in the tropics, but it grew vigorously for me in north Florida where it is hot and very humid.  It is a short day plant that gets 3-4 feet tall.

[kanewai]

I did some cleaning and re-arranging to try and bring more light to the slow-growing herbs.  Also, some of the herbs look like they're nearing the end of their productive lives.  I realize I don't see much about how long different plants are expected to last, so here's my observations:

Productive, but after three months I might need to replace them.

• savory: Flowered after about 70 days and started to die back.   I removed the pod and planted a new one.
  
• Genovese basil: Taste is still fine, better than store-bought, not as good as when the plant was young. Leaves are looking a bit old. I planted a Marseille basil pod that sprouted after three days; I might remove the Genovese soon.
• Dill: similar to basil. After about three months started flowering. I've cut it back significantly. I like having dill on hand, though I don't use it much. I might look for some dwarf varieties.

Doing well after three months

• Thyme: Nice and compact.  Slow growing.  
• Zaatar (oregano): I moved to the Bounty; he wants to get big! But it's slower growing than the dill and basil, and so easier to keep trimmed and compact
• Pipicha: my new "cilantro."  

Healthy but so slow after three months - once in awhile I cut enough to use, but not regularly: chives, Italian parsley, curly parsley. 

Meanwhile, the chervil still looks frail after six weeks.  I have two pods, one from AG and one from my own seeds.  It's slower growing than even the parsley.  Culantro looks healthy but is still only an inch high.  I stuck a rosemary sprig in a sponge and I see roots growing!  The marjoram sprouted early, but still looks delicate & isn't strong enough to hold itself up (my thyme acted the same way for a few weeks).  

[Sher]

Great observations!  I don't know how long herbs will grow because I freeze or dry mine when they begin to decline. Or when I have enough preserved that I want the Aerogarden space for a new project.

Shawn or someone else should be able to give you an accurate estimate.

The tip on rooting rosemary in an Aerogarden is much appreciated. I tried to start cuttings in water a while back without success.

[Shawn]

I have seen many herbs go on and on.  I personally find after some time they get thin or bitter.  I usually end all mine after a couple of months and start new.  It is a personal choice.

[kanewai]

Jan 31, 2021 5:43:30 GMT -5 Shawn said:

I have seen many herbs go on and on.  I personally find after some time they get thin or bitter.  I usually end all mine after a couple of months and start new.  It is a personal choice.

If I get motivated I'm going to update my chart & note which herbs were annual, perennial, or biennial.  And which are cool weather / warm weather herbs.  I suspect there's a correlation.   

I pulled the basil, dill, savory, and pipicha. After three months they weren't producing much new growth, and I wanted more light to reach the slower growing herbs.  I made one last batch of pesto, and now will wait for my new basils to come in.   I also replanted a pipicha and savory. And - for the first time - I am not maxing out the Bounties with nine pods.  This is a breakthrough for me!  For the first round I wanted to grow everything I could think of.  Now I want to give more light to the herbs that I use the most, and to keep them healthy.

New pods: Marseille basil, globe basil, borage, and oregano have all sprouted.  All are a.g. pods except the borage.

I haven't used borage before, so this one is an experiment.  An earlier attempt never sprouted.  I know it gets big, so I'll need to keep this guy under control.

My zaatar oregano is doing fine, and the marjoram is slowly growing, and I also have an oregano in a pot.  Luckily I can use a lot of it.  I'm curious to do a "flavors of oregano" post once I have enough to compare all of them. 

I also put in sage, garlic chives, and lovage pods.  They haven't sprouted yet, but it's early.

My chervil are still tiny.  I get new growth, but the old leaves dry out as soon as new ones come in, so I haven't had enough to actually use in the kitchen.  I looked at the roots, and they haven't even broken free of the sponge yet.    This is a cool weather herb, and I've read that they're too delicate to transplant, so I suspect that they might not be suited for the a.g.

[Sher]

Your obvious conclusions about annuals vs, perennials is so obvious. I can't believe I didn't make the connection.

I haven't used lovage or borage either. Keep us updated!

I did buy savory seeds after reading your post about it.

There was a post somewhere where dwarf dills were discussed. When I grow dill again, it will be the fernleaf dwarf. That might work better for you, too.

I also packed every space in my Aerogardens at first. Now, like you, I realize I often get a much better harvest with fewer pods planted.