I stopped in the garden shop at Target yesterday and they had beautiful little pots of thyme, basil, sage and oregano. I didn't buy any since I had several more stops to make. Plus, I've got a ton of seeds I should use. Any thoughts on what's best to start now and where to plant it? I do want to do another hanging basket but I could put some in large containers or in ground.

I've got mine in the ground except the Sweet Basil and French Thyme. I have basil growing in another location but I want to put some in the new herb planter. All of my herbs were purchased plants this time.

I have a Sweet Basil plant that made it through Winter, still green but slow growing. ... and I have some healthy Thyme. Does anyone know if the SB plant will thrive when the weather gets warmer? I'll probably plant some more, new, plants and leave the survivor just to see if it grows new leaves.

Susie, the basil is one of summer's best herbs. I had one in full sun a few years ago and it grew into a bush that lived several seasons. Last year I planted basil in a container and it had too much shade. Never did well.

Howdy Alma
Yea, I know Sweet Basil is a great herb in the heat... just wondering if anyone as had a good or bad experience with a mature SB plant making it through the winter successfully and then thriving in the following summer. I use Basil daily and plan to plant more but just wondering about an established plant thriving from season to season.

Basil will grow season to season. I just brought some through the winter, cut it back and it is putting on new leaves. I have done it other years too. The only reason I ever take it out is if it is in the way of my crop rotation or it freezes.

I pulled all my Basil last fall because I have an Heirloom seed blend of 7 Basils I want to plant this year. Meant to plant them yesterday before the rain but ran out of time. They do well in the summer. Right now I have Dill, Cilantro and Parsley growing that were planted in October, plus my Thyme and Oregano from last year. I bought a Chocolate Mint at the Farmer's Market last weekend I will plant when it stops raining...

Wow, 7 heirloom basils? What are they? I've grown Thai, cinnamon, globe and Genovese and love 'em all. Right now I'm trying to find holy basil (Ocimum Tenuiflorum) and have no idea how I might know if a living plant is or isn't. I may have to buy seeds.

I think LazLo might have Holy Basil seeds Alma.

The Basil Blend includes: Lemon Basil, Anise Basil, Cinnamon Basil, Red Rubin Basil, Dark Opal Basil, Thai Basil and Genovese Basil. Until now I've only grown Genovese and Italian, so this will be a culinary adventure. There are a lot of seeds in the packet but of course they all look the same - lol - so won't know what is what until they start growing. I think I'm going to start a bunch in a pot and hopefully can tell them apart when they are small. You're welcome to some of the seeds or some babies when I figure out what they all are...

This company is a GW Top 5 and they have plants - kinda pricey though...

http://www.logees.com/prodinfo...

This place has them cheaper - they have decent GW reviews though some negatives...

http://site.mawebcenters.com/a...

I think you'll love the Thai basil, Kelly; it is so fragrant and delicious. It's what you get on the side when you order Vietnamese soups or noodle bowls. I always - mostly - eat it all. Now and then, I save a piece to root and plant! Globe basil is great in salads with its small leaves and subtle flavor. I'm determined to have a bunch of basil this year so I can make my own pesto. I figure if I save on the basil, I might be able to afford the pine nuts, lol.

Thanks for the Basil tutorial as I am not familiar with all the different kinds! I love the smell and the flowers are pretty if you let them flower... When I can't afford pine nuts walnuts will work in a pinch...

If I get these seeds to germinate and can tell them apart by the swap I will bring some.

Kelly, use the flowers, too. They're both beautiful and tasty in salads. And I dried them along with the leaves and crumbled them all up together to store in a dark drawer. Here's hoping all those seeds germinate!

Ooh - nice tip on the flowers - thanks!

I was in a great vitamin store in Prescott and found the tulsi tea there. The woman there found this site for holy basil seeds and I think I'll order some. http://www.seedsofindia.com/ So, Kelly, maybe we can swap a few if we can figure out if we have seeds for different plants, lol.

Btw, this is a great site for other veggie seeds, too. Just don't know where to post it.

Post it in the Watchdog Forum.

Watchdog is good.

I ran to Elgin to pick up some fish poo on my lunch break and just had to have a lemon thyme, a pineapple mint and a tricolor sage - lol.

That's a great site, Alma - thanks!

I love the pineapple mint but I passed it up because it always dies. What's your secret to growing it?

I don't know yet - it's gonna be my first time growing it so I will take notes - lol... I'm gonna be brave and plant it in the ground, too...

I was actually taking a picture of my new banana tree (compliments of Ray) and then I noticed that it isn't too bad of a pic of the herbs.

The basil croaked right away so I have to replant that. The tallest plant is cilantro and boy is it happy there. We have had to prune it several times in the last week or two otherwise it would take over the entire herb cell. In the right corner is spearmint and the little plant closer to the left corner is oregano. What you can't see is the rosemary and a rather nice sage plant. i still want to get some french tarragon in there and I think I'll plant a little dill on the banana side of the planter. All of the onions around the front edge are for anyone that wants them at the swap.