I find I have to cut back my mint, oregano, and thyme periodically, especially if they are in pots, because they become ragged and unruly very quickly. This is an apple mint that is growing back nicely after being cut back. I will stick potted plants anywhere. If I run out of room on the ground I'll go up.

Looks so nice!

One of two potted Patchouli plants I babied over the winter, cut back, and now are putting on lots of nice new growth.

The leaves smell exactly like you expect them to.

Such a beautiful shade of green!

This one looks like it's doing okay after the winter and should really take off once the weather warms up. The pots of chocolate mint and spearmint still look a little scraggly but they will come along also.

These definitely need trimming again! There's only so much Thai food that I can make!
I think that I have to trim my kaffir lime trees. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
Not the greatest photo, with that intense sunlight today! But that keeps these plants growing all winter.

pepperhead212 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 27, 2020 10:30 am These definitely need trimming again! There's only so much Thai food that I can make!
Not the greatest photo, with that intense sunlight today! But that keeps these plants growing all winter.

Wow, those limes look so nice! I take it they spend the summer outside?

Pepperhead! those thorns!

Spookyshoes, what do you do with the patchouli? I didn't even know it was a plant. I just know to run when little old ladies come wafting through anywhere I happen to be... ruuuuun faster!

I too used to hate patchouli. I once sent someone a package that I scented with some patchouli oil because they liked it and had no way of getting any. I had read that it is relaxing and thought it a good idea to give this person something like that. After I had removed the cotton with the oil on it before mailing the package it remained forgotten in the car. As I was driving to work there it was.... that patch smell, ugh I thought. Not able to stop I kept driving with that thing in the car and realized that it did not smell nearly as bad as the sickly sweet patch perfume and that actually it seemed to be doing the migraine some good! Patchouli essential oil smells more like tea tree oil than anything else, to me now.
It is good for relaxing and for keeping moths out of clothes but I don't use it for anything.
I have smelled what I think is patchouli on hitchhikers in the past but it also smelled awfully like mold. Yuck!!!
What's up with that?

Peace and love to you, haters of patchouli. I like the fragrance of patchouli. I like to have the plants because nobody else has them and they are a novelty. They bloom with tiny white flowers.








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Beautiful plants! Do any of you preserve your herbs? I never have but plan to try dehydrating parsley this year.

PlainJane wrote: ↑Fri Feb 28, 2020 5:30 am Wow, those limes look so nice! I take it they spend the summer outside?

Yes, they go outside in early May, and come back in sometime in October. I usually trim a whole 32 gal trash can of branches from those lime trees! I haven't found a restaurant or store that wanted those. The Curry Tree is another that grows like crazy in the summer, but I have a grocer that loves getting those "excess" curry leaves from me - I just barter with them! Same with the excess epazote, at the Mexican market.

Clkeiper wrote: ↑Fri Feb 28, 2020 8:46 am Pepperhead! those thorns!

Those are the absolute worst thorns I have seen on any plant!

Texgal wrote: ↑Fri Feb 28, 2020 9:04 pm Beautiful plants! Do any of you preserve your herbs? I never have but plan to try dehydrating parsley this year.

I only dry a few of my plants, and only a small amount of them - thyme, Syrian oregano (a.k.a. thyme scented oregano), a little bit of sage, and some of the spearmint, to add to tea occasionally. Most herbs just don't taste as good dried, and some don't even taste similar. In fact, what got me into growing hydroponics was wanting to have fresh basil and Thai basil all of the time! I used to grind them up in the food processor, with just enough neutral oil to make a paste, then I'd put them in popsicle molds, and freeze them. This kept the fresh flavor, but it's still not the same. I tried that with cilantro, but it wasn't the same, but fortunately, cilantro is available year round, all over my area. I simply can't grow cilantro here - bolts every time!

pepperhead212 wrote: ↑Sat Feb 29, 2020 12:08 am
................. I tried that with cilantro, but it wasn't the same, but fortunately, cilantro is available year round, all over my area. I simply can't grow cilantro here - bolts every time!

are you starting with seeds or transplants? fyi.. only start with seed. as soon as you mess with their roots they go to seed. cilantro doesn't have a long plant life either. It does bolt fairly quickly.

@Clkeiper I always planted seeds, and tried a large number of varieties, but had the same results. The best results I had was with a type with some leaves sort of like dill (Confetti, I think?). The only way I could get them to grow was growing indoors, though even there, they eventually bolted, and they just don't get to the size it is when I buy cilantro!

I did find that GA-3 greatly helps germination of the seeds, though what good does that do, if the plants bolt too soon?

I have one late planted pot of cilantro that has survived the winter which was mild but not THAT mild! I was going to pick it one day and left it to bloom and seed instead. There is bronze fennel that has self-sown in the same pot that I am going to leave anyway. Lots in pots due to tree roots everywhere.

Indoors I tried some seeds from 2014 to see if the holy basil, tulsi, would germinate. It did! It's always amazing when seeds as small as dust particles grow. Before I cut it back I took a close-up of the dainty flowers.

Korean hyssop coming back nicely after being cut back for the winter. I'm growing it to attract bees.

The Korean hyssop did not flourish last year, but now it looks healthy. It just started flowering with tiny lavender blossoms. We'll see if it attracts any bees.

A rather large patchouli. These take a lot of water.

I have some Italian sage, which I keep around mainly for the flowers, as I have a sterile large leafed variety. It gets more flowers than anything else, at least early on. And this photo isn't even the whole plant!
Italian sage, flowering more than any other plant in my garden. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I got that smaller kaffir lime tree out, but I need help with the other! I did trim them way back, and here's what I threw out (I hate doing that!).
Clipped kaffir lime tree branches. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

And when I put those plants outside, after trimming, they start growing immediately!
The smaller kaffir lime tree, with several areas of new growth, after being transferred to outside. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I also trimmed a number of branches off my bay plant, but I still need to remove a few more, since there are also some dried leaves. This is one type I do dry leaves from, though the fresh ones I use more often than the dried.
Bay laurel plant, 5-24 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Sunday I transferred some parsley from my hydroponics to my Jr Earthboxes, on my deck. I usually do this, with no problem, but this time I had a twin plant, grown from one seed, but two plants, joined at the root base! I'll see if it works. While I prefer flat leaf parsley, the varieties I have tried ended up overgrowing in the containers, and in the hydroponics, all ending up like Hamburg rooted parsley! Those go in the ground, in my herb garden.
Twin parsley plant, from the hydroponics. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Separated twin parsley plants. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Larger of the two hydroponic parsley plants, in a Jr EB. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Smallest hydroponics parsley plant, in another Jr EB. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I am going to have to make something with a lot of parsley!
Trimmed parsley, from hydroponics plants, before transplanting to Jr EBs. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Rue blooming