growing asian herbs (mini polytunnel?)

[oandy]

hi i'm a chef who's mad about thai and southeast asian food

i've got a small garden now and would love to grow some interesting herbs good in thai food, like:

- thai basil
- holy basil
- lemon basil
- vietnamese mint
- coriander

and if possible, long leaf coriander (sometimes called sawtooth or thai parsley), perilla, asian celery etc

the top five i've seen as pot plants (from herbalhaven.com). which i guess is preferable to growing from seed, which ive never done.

would appreciate any tips as i know very little about gardening. should i get one of those cheap mini polytunnels? are they any good?

Thanks!

Andy

[otherside27]

You can pick up a nice asian seed mix in one of the poundshops and at about 17p/seed packet (usually 6 packets or so) it's not a total waste for you to buy&give them a try on the windowsill even if they don't work! If you're a novice gardener as you suggest I wouldn't waste money on buying plants as if you kill them you'l be gutted&really out of pocket but you've got a lot less to lose growing from seed! I'd try growing on a windowsill first, mini polytunnels are ok (I have really cheapo ones that overwintered a few things ok) but mainly I use them to keep my cat off my seedbeds!!

[chickbob]

Vietnamese coriander is amazing and available from most garden centres now. Arrow shaped green leaves with red chevrons. Beautiful plant. But it isn't hardy (frost will kill) so you'd need to have it as a house plant over winter. Thai basil, coriander etc. definitely cheaper to buy seed and grow yourself. If you are feeling really brave, buy some lemon grass and galangal from supermarket put the lemon grass in water until it grows roots and put in a pot of soil - grows into lovely plant and useful. Galangal or plain ginger, find a piece with a little nodule and plant it deep in large pot - my 4 yr old was excited that from single piece another piece grew. Your not going to be self sufficient in ginger, but you can grow it! Perilla cheap from seed - wouldn't bother buying a plant.

[chickbob]

Ps - Asian celery - do u mean celtuce? It looks like lettuce on top but has thick asparagus or celery looking stem? This too very cheap to buy seed - grow yourself. I love oriental veg and once you've tried the few u mention take a look at oriental veg by Joy Larkom, amazing what will grow in this country with very little effort, especially if you invest in a cheap little mini greenhouse - look for a sale tho - with wind/rain they really only usually last one season.

[Alison]

I've grown Thai basil, lemon basil, coriander and perilla from seed and on the whole grown them in pots on the window ledge or in the greenhouse. Have also had Vietnamese mint plants from the garden centre. All are tender and will need some protection and I find that basils in particular benefit from being protected from the rain and wind as well as being a bit warmer.

[dandalady]

grow long leaf coriander. the seeds are very slow to germinate and not many came through but if you buy the leaves from an asian grocer the stumps root easily if put in compost and kept on windowsill or greenhouse

[Scarlet]

I find that basils in particular benefit from being protected from the rain and wind as well as being a bit warmer.

I've got lime and lemon basil growing in my greenhouse but its suffering a little at the moment with the cold during the night.