All about garden herbs

[chickengr]

Herb gardens are SO cool.
This year (i am new to herb gardens) I successfully grew:

Chives - they are still going strong and got as big as aloe plants. I used them fresh & dehydrated a bunch last week for the spice rack

Lavender - wonderful herb (maybe not an herb, but is lovely dried out used in the chicken coop and for gift ideas and smells wonderful.

Peppermint - has no trouble growing here. its really easy to grow and I love dehydrating it and crushing the dried leaves for sprinkling in the chicken coop. its also good for tea for an upset tummy. chewing it fresh freshens breath.

Spearmint - i love the mints! Amazing to me

Basil - dehydrate and into the spice rack

Oregano - research suggests Oregano has shown promise as a preventative measure towards worms in poultry(?). I am still learning the best way to utilize Oregano with the chickens. Maybe making a tincture for higher concentration to supplement in water. I too would like to learn this to consume for myself seeing that it is very good for the human body.

i wonder what I will add next year. I just want to grow everything!

our feed contains oregano and it has many benefits. unfortunately it does help with heavy loads of worms we have here. maybe it will help in your climate?

wormwood is good and easy to grow.

 

[chickengr]

I've always struggled with chives. They hate me. (So does lavender and chamomile for that matter.) I've tried to grow it from both seed and started plants. This year I THOUGHT I was going to get a good, healthy section of chives inside my hoop house....until my dreams of fresh chives were dashed by that dastardly gopher who pulled ALL my chives underground and ate them...

View attachment 3326899

I have a solution for you: buy chives in a planter (or use any container) and burry it. no gopher can fit in or dig small planters.

 

[TJAnonymous]

I have a solution for you: buy chives in a planter (or use any container) and burry it. no gopher can fit in or dig small planters.

Great idea! Thank you for the solution! I will do that....

 

[SammyJo425]

We don't cook Thai or Vietnamese foods. I'm not a fan of hot spicy and I don't know any meals that aren't...

I have tried to grow Chamomile (died), Lavender (barely hanging on), and Echinecea (one plant) with limited success.

I did grow Butterfly Pea flowers very successfully. I've been drying those flowers all summer and storing in a jar. I put the dried flowers in my Lemonade so it turns purple... Silly but I think it's cool. I'd like to brew some in the tea strainer but I typically don't drink hot tea until it's chilly outside.

Do you know if butterfly pea flowers are safe around chickens?

 

[TJAnonymous]

Do you know if butterfly pea flowers are safe around chickens?

Pretty sure they are. They are edible and safe for people so I'm guessing they are safe for chickens too. However my chickens aren't interested in them at all...

I use mine for tea. They have some awesome nutritional value.

 

[SammyJo425]

Pretty sure they are. They are edible and safe for people so I'm guessing they are safe for chickens too. However my chickens aren't interested in them at all...

I use mine for tea. They have some awesome nutritional value.

I saw someone say they were dangerous for ducks. But I can’t find any info on whether it’s safe online at all. I was thinking of what climbing plant to trellis on my covered run for spring. But I’m not sure if I want to risk it

 

[TJAnonymous]

I saw someone say they were dangerous for ducks. But I can’t find any info on whether it’s safe online at all. I was thinking of what climbing plant to trellis on my covered run for spring. But I’m not sure if I want to risk it

Why not try Amaranth?

I don't know why someone would claim butterfly pea is toxic to ducks. I've never heard that and don't know of any compounds in it that could lead someone to that idea... I've never tried to see if my ducks would eat it. I've given some to my goats, rabbit, and chickens. Didn't kill anyone or make them sick. However I only gave it to them once... They don't have unfettered access to it. But it *is* edible and used regularly in all kinds of people food, cosmetics, etc.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Okay my chance to thyme in. I have a huge herb farm. Years ago before moving here DH picked up a huge container of chives growing in a big pot like from a tree size. I have had a potted herb garden like 8 or 10 of them basil, oregano, Rosemary, garlic chives. walking onion. The mint here was planted to keep mice from the root cellar it is wild I keep it in the one planter where we have 3 cats ashes. I will take photos of it all tomorrow.

 

[Ascholten]

Right now my herbs are totally cooked from the hard freeze.
This is good though because I want to re do things.
instead of one huge mess, now that I know how easily they can get out of control when they are fertilized good, I am goint to do two totes here.

1. Eating herbs, stuff for yummies.
2. Medicinal Herbs, I have some herbs that are more of a medicinal pupose, and I want to keep the two totes separate from each other.

My original intent was to ongoing pick on the fly and when I get a try full, freeze dry the herbs for long term storage use but like with everything else in life, plans .vs. what you do tend to be at opposite ends of the planet at the end of the growing season sooooo..

We got next year to see how it goes. Im hoping my ginger comes back from the frost however am told it does so, we shall see !!

Aaron

 

[TJAnonymous]

I'm hoping that my Rosemary will regrow but I'm really worried that the polar vortex nuked it... The only other herbs out there right now are the mint (pineapple and spearmint), curly parsley, lemon balm, and lemongrass. Everything looks dead. I did save a cutting of sweet basil which is safe in the house. I will put it out in the spring. Everything else I'll probably have to start over.

I am trying a few new herbs this year - flax, sesame, and black seed (commonly called black cumin). I think there's 1 more but I don't remember what it is.