Six on Saturday: Garden Diary – Growing Herbs in Pots v Growing Directly in the Soil

We are still waiting for rain.

While the Ventusky weather App promises rain for Sunday morning, I won’t hold my breath. The surrounding countryside is burned to a crisp due to a lack of water, and it’s only thanks to the weather Gods that last week’s winds blew from the north, making the massive wildfire rage south instead of in our direction. We were lucky. Today we have southerly winds.

This week, my Six on Saturday gardening post focuses on my pathetic attempt to grow herbs in pots. That said, they have fared better than those growing directly in the soil.

Basil

My last pot of supermarket-pregrown basil lasted for over a year. Its recent demise was due to a plague of hungry green caterpillars. The basil is situated in a shady area on the terrace. Well watered to the point that the soil is always damp. I used a general-purpose compost.

This is my latest purchase. I do love basil with tomato and mozzarella cheese salad.

Dill

I love fresh dill with salmon. This plant is growing in a secluded area on the terrace. Unfortunately, it does not enjoy much sun, so it is leggy, but I have enough for my needs. Dill requires FULL sun to thrive well as per https://www.picturethisai.com/care/sunlight/Anethum_graveolens.html

Lemon Thyme

Lemon Thyme is one of my favourite herbs. I add it to salads, including fruit salad. When I bought these plants, I placed them in the Madagascar cactus palm pot for safekeeping. This was not meant to be their permanent home, but for some reason, they thrived; their roots grew through the bottom of the pots and took hold.

This was about my sixth attempt to grow lemon thyme. Each one a fail. I don’t know why these adopted the cactus palm. It thrives in full sun. Water? I have no idea because it shares with the palm, and I mostly ignore both, leaving the irrigation system to its own devices with the occasional top-up.

Mint

Mint is meant to grow anywhere, yes? Sun or shade. It’s invasive and hardy. But mine struggles. Mint refuses to grow in the ground, so I try to persuade it to grow in pots. The plants cling to life. These plants are growing in semi-shade. We love mint sauce with lamb and mint tea. I wish I could grow more!

This mint was growing in full sun, and the leaves shrivelled.

Chives

My efforts to grow chives met with limited success. I grow them in semi-shade. Checks: https://www.thekitchn.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-growing-chives-220337

No wonder they are not thriving; I should be growing them in full sun. (goes off to move the pot) Unlike the dill, these pots are movable.

Herbs Growing in the Ground

My herb garden is a miserable excuse. Even mint refuses to grow, and that is purported to grow anywhere.

Erm… apart from the Rosemary bush, which is about fifteen years old and given to me as an established plant, herbs don’t seem to thrive well in my herb garden, and I have no idea why! Maybe I should give it another shot. I’ve now included on the irrigation system. And will ask my garden gnome to dig over the bed and add manure, etc to feed the soil.

Which herbs do you have most success with?

Related posts:

Garden Diary: Let’s Focus on Vegetables and Herbs

My thanks to our gardening host, Jim for motivating the Six on Saturday garden bloggers