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Herbal Wisdom:  how many plants?  |
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greyghost
True Blue Farmgirl
650 Posts
Lynn
Summerville
Georgia
USA
650 Posts |
 Posted - Jan 05 2008 : 6:36:46 PM
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So I just made my big order from the seed catalogs and am ALLLLL excited. I have tons of herbs, some of which I got simply because they are endangered (like black cohosh and echinacea tennessiensis). I also got the cohosh because it likes rich, moist soil and tolerates shade, which I gots in plenty.
I want to be able to have enough of these herbs to make tinctures of - lemon balm, cohosh, marshmallow, holy basil, st johns wort, muellin -- and to dry: calendula & lavender (which is already outside and has been growing for a year to three, depending on when I got it). How many of these plants do I need to take care of the occasional needs of 2 people for the year? Would 10 of each be enough? Too much?
Advice much appreciated! I am SO excited for Spring! While at Lowe's this evening, they were discounting by half a bunch of indoor plants - some would never survive and looked terrible, but I got four to play with. AND big, terra-cotta tan-painted pots, normally $30/each, I got 3 of them for $10 each, and one smaller one that matched for $7.50. I am SO PSYCHED! |
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Patty MorningRamble
True Blue Farmgirl
65 Posts
Patty
Keene
TX
USA
65 Posts |
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greyghost
True Blue Farmgirl
650 Posts
Lynn
Summerville
Georgia
USA
650 Posts |
Posted - Jan 05 2008 : 7:40:01 PM
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| Thanks for the tip! Should I keep it in pots then? |
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Patty MorningRamble
True Blue Farmgirl
65 Posts
Patty
Keene
TX
USA
65 Posts |
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Hideaway Farmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1553 Posts
Jo
Virginia
USA
1553 Posts |
Posted - Jan 07 2008 : 07:32:57 AM
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Lynn,
Ten plants of each might be too much for the needs of two people, but if you have the time and ability to harvest more, you might find swap partners (here or in your locality) to trade with. Also, you might find that not all ten plants of each variety would survive the first year so you are probably wise to overpurchase the first time out.
If they do all survive, you can still swap plants with others. Thanks for sharing your excitement with us, and let us know how does your garden grow...
Jo
"Wish I had time to work with herbs all day!" |
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greyghost
True Blue Farmgirl
650 Posts
Lynn
Summerville
Georgia
USA
650 Posts |
Posted - Jan 07 2008 : 10:52:54 AM
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| Thanks Jo! I appreciate the advice, and will keep everyone posted. :) |
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Hideaway Farmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1553 Posts
Jo
Virginia
USA
1553 Posts |
Posted - Jan 07 2008 : 11:04:19 AM
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P.S. Dare I mention that I would be a willing swap partner, anytime!
Jo
"Wish I had time to work with herbs all day!" |
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Patty MorningRamble
True Blue Farmgirl
65 Posts
Patty
Keene
TX
USA
65 Posts |
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greyghost
True Blue Farmgirl
650 Posts
Lynn
Summerville
Georgia
USA
650 Posts |
Posted - Jan 07 2008 : 3:08:40 PM
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| Virginia isn't that far away, I bet a live plant would make it fine... Happy to swap once I have the plants! |
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Rosemary
True Blue Farmgirl
1825 Posts
Virginia
USA
1825 Posts |
Posted - Jan 07 2008 : 3:58:39 PM
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I'd say you'd want a different number of each of your plants. I would start with three apiece to see how they do. If one or two (or all three) thrives, then add to them. Some, such as mullein and echinachea, will self-seed reliably (as Martha Stewart used to say on her packets of seeds for plants that will take over whole farms in two seasons:-) so buying more might really be unthrifty, and therefore un-Farmgirlish. (One of the whole points about green medicine is that it should be affordable, after all.) Also, some of the things you'll be growing can produce huge amounts of harvest per plant -- mullein being one of those -- so a smaller number will do fine.
One can never have too much lavender, though -- just remember, most plants don't live longer than a few years (although my mother had one that was closing in on fifteen when I dug it up and transplanted it to my farm, where it lived another 8 years). They like to be very well-drained (raised beds are ideal) and full sun. You might want to count on adding a few new baby lavenders every year, just to keep your "crop" young and productive. |
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Herbal Wisdom: how many plants? |
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how many plants?
