Newbie in Northamptonshire

[Iptsoe]

Evening,

Been lurking for a couple of days so figured I should register.

I'm looking at building up a herb garden. Have dabbled in the past and most have grown ok and have had some plants out there that we haven't killed in the last three years so must be doing something right!

I received a pack of free seeds last month which I'm going to have a go at. Never actually grown from seed so it will be a learning curve.

I have sweet basil, chives, oregano, peppermint, thyme, parsley, garlic chive, dill, coriander, cress and rocket.

The mint I plan on growing in pots everything else should be fine in the raised border shouldn't it?

Also to add to the mix I've been looking at comfrey, lemon balm and bee balm is it wise to have these?

[Bigmallly]

Hello Iptsoe & welcome to the jungle.

[veggiechicken]

Hello and welcome to the Grapevine.
Some of your seeds are for perennial herbs, some are annuals and some, like cress, may be better treated as a very short term annual.
Comfrey and lemon balm can be invasive, like mint and you may want to keep the roots confined, in a pot to avoid them swamping your other herbs.

[Lumpy]

Hello Iptsoe,
Welcome to the madhouse.
VC is right about the lemon balm being invasive - I put mine right in the corner right away from everything else and told it to get on with it - it did and the smell is wonderful. I also have a few rosemary plants, which if left to run rampant will become very wiidy so I hack (prune) them every year. The bees love it though. I would also suggest feverfew and tansy.
Sue

[Tripmeup]

Hello and welcome..

[bearded bloke]

Hello & Welcome

[Bren In Pots]

Hello and welcome to the vine Iptsoe

[Knight of Albion]

A very warm welcome to the forum, dear Iptsoe.

[Greenleaves]

Welcome to the vine, enjoy the benefits of the advice and humour

[Scarlet]

Welcome to the vine Ipstoe, as the others have said Lemon balm can be very invasive, keep it in a pot. I foolishly planted mine in a border and have lived to regret to ever since!

I have sweet basil, chives, oregano, peppermint, thyme, parsley, garlic chive, dill, coriander, cress and rocket.

Read the backs of the packets for correct sowing dates. These are best left until the spring for sowing now. As VC has said some are annuals, basil I find tricky to keep outside and generally grow it in the greenhouse but it's also very happy on the kitchen window sill. Coriander likes a shadier spot as it can go to seed very quickly, dill is very easy, garlic chives are one of my favourite herbs and I'm still picking it now.

[Guest]

Hi and welcome do the vine.

Just checking, why do you want to grow comfrey? It is great for attracting insects and makes a great feed for plants, but it is dubious on the edible front. I don't know anyone that eats it and there are some suggestions that in can cause organ failure (I am not sure if there is proof of this) Hopefully another grape will prove me wrong and say they have summer salads using it.

Anyway have fun on the vine and enjoy

[Verinda]

Hello Ipstoe and welcome to the forum

[sparrow100]

Hi Iptsoe, welcome to the vine.

Re the comfrey, it might be worth checking the variety you buy. Bocking14 is sterile and won't self-seed everywhere. It can be divided by root sections to make more plants.

[cariann88]

Hello and welcome

[mothhawk]

Hello Iptsoe, and a warm welcome to the vine.

Most people grow comfrey to use as a fertiliser for other plants. It has a very long tap root that goes way down into the ground and can draw up minerals from there into its leaves that the roots of other plants can't reach. So you can chop up those leaves and scatter them around your other plants and as they decompose all those minerals become available right there near the surface for other plants to reach.

edit - bees love the comfrey flowers, I would grow it just for that