'Erbs

corblimey

I bought some herbs in pots from tesco a few months back, rosemary, thyme and bay leaves. However, they've all gone a bit tits up. They're dry and the actual leaves fall off willy nilly. The bay leaves in particular look pretty bad. I watered them regularly (standing in saucer of water til all the water was gone) but maybe I didn't do enough or too much? Any way of saving them now? Are they still good as cooking aids? Should I get dry versions of these as apparently I've not even got the wherwithal to take care of 3 small house plants.

The Hill Billy

The good folk over in the Gardening forum may be better able to advise you than the foodies here.

I'd imagine though that the plants would probably need re-potting though & a bit of feed like Baby Bio. Just a guess though.

kenco

Not sure if you have the room or space but I would think Rosemary and Bay needs a biggish pot. I ended up planting them in the garden and they are both bush like! Dont think a saucer would work for them at all.

If you dont have a garden then try big flower pots. If you do have a garden plonk down the Bay and Rosemary and believe me they grow like mad!

Thyme definately works in a flower pot

Mr Magnolia

I don't think most of those plants were designed for cultivation at home. I've read here that some of the boardsies do raise them though. I had a disaster of a year with herbs so I'll leave the advice to others.

There are a few posters here that grow their own, let me know if you want it moved to gardening as Hill Billy pointed out though

corblimey

Well, I'm more interested in :

1. Are they still usable in cooking even when dried out and flaky?
2. Since I can't grow my own, what's my best bet for thyme, rosemary andbay leaves? Get them fresh as I need them, use a dried alternative, etc?

kenco

I would guess that they are not as good as the dried versions as it would appear that in this case the leaves have died or withered.

Buying fresh is more expensive than the dried variety so it would depending on what you are using them with and how fussy you are. Special occassions or large amounts would warrant fresh herbs imo

Dont give up in growing you own. Try it again as that way you have the cheapest fresh option

corblimey

kenco wrote: »

Buying fresh is more expensive than the dried variety so it would depending on what you are using them with and how fussy you are. Special occassions or large amounts would warrant fresh herbs imo

I'm not in the least bit fussy I use them mainly at the weekends when doing my big roast - the bay leaves have been used three times, in 2 stews and once with a sausage roast. Nothing fancy, and frankly I've been living without them for the last x years, so maybe dried is the way to go?

The Hill Billy

corblimey wrote: »

Well, I'm more interested in :

1. Are they still usable in cooking even when dried out and flaky?
2. Since I can't grow my own, what's my best bet for thyme, rosemary andbay leaves? Get them fresh as I need them, use a dried alternative, etc?

1. Yes, but not great. Better buying properly dried herbs.
2. If you want to have fresh herbs to hand - go to a garden centre & buy properly cultivated plants.

Carawaystick

I've a bay shrub, 2 rosemary bushes, a sage plant and Thyme, and had Basil and Coriander.
all bought from those little pots in supermarkets.

the bay is in a big pot about 25cm wide at the top, the rosemary is planted out in the garden, they're both thriving - I feed and water the bay very occasionally.
the Sage I repotted into a 10cm pot and it; was gong grand for about 2 months til Aphids invaded my kitchen cill over Christmas
Thyme is planted out, not so vigorous, but thriving as long as I keep the grass away, Basil lasted the summer on the kitchen cill, til I went on holidays and it parched with the thirst.
coriander thrived in a 15cm pot til it bolted and went to seed - the flowers stink so it became compost.

So it can be done. check the roots before you by in the supermarket, water when you get home and keep in a suitable place

I've also run out of a pack of bay leaves I bought fresh about 3 years ago - kept them in the fridge since and used them for soups and stocks while fresh leaves are picked in good weather when I can go out to get them.

The Sweeper

Herbs - annuals: coriander, parsley, basil; sage, biennial to perennial; rosemary, thyme, oregano, marjoram, mint, bay (which is a tree).

Keep moist: parsley, basil, mint. Water less: bay, sage, coriander. Rosemary and thyme in particular like dry, poor soil and strong sunshine.

Bay grows extremely slowly. This is a tree, not a herb as such, so treat accordingly - feed occasionally, keep in an appropriate sized pot.

Water herbs from the top and pour off any standing water after 15 minutes. Do not feed most herbs.

If you're buying herbs from the garden section of a supermarket, they'll survive the same as a garden centre's would. If you're buying them from the deli section, they're overplanted and forced and don't survive well - basil is the exception, but it's hit and miss and you have to weed out the poorer seedlings and repot the plant within a couple of days of geting it home.

Personally, I find growing herbs from the supermarket fruit & veg section are rubbish - cut fresh herbs last longer if they're put in a ziploc sandwich bag with a little sprinkling of water and stored, uncramped, in the fridge door.

corblimey

I gave up and just bought the dried variety (goodalls in case anyone's interested). The bay leaves went into sunday's stew and they were a lot easier to pick out later than the ones I'd gotten from the plants.