Green Wall of Herbs

[Ferdinand]

One of my little get back on the wagon projects this spring is putting a small green wall of herbs for cooking in the normally unheated north facing conservatory off my kitchen.

 

Has anyone done something like this?

 

I am imagining perhaps a dozen herbs in felt type pockets with growing matter, perhaps with a drip feed watering system that can be turned on every day or two.

 

Any experiences or  comments would be welcome.

 

Thinking about something like a smaller version of this:

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jazooli-Planting-Hanging-Vertical-Planter/dp/B075KKP9SJ/

 

Ferdinand

Edited February 1, 2020 by Ferdinand

[ToughButterCup]

Brilliant

Exactly what we have planned for the Winter Garden.

[Declan52]

You can also use an old pallet. 

https://www.cbc.ca/life/video/diy-wood-pallet-herb-garden-1.4208532

[MaryM]

most herbs like lots of light, if you can put a light source in there you will get better results

I know lots more about gardening than building   ?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ROOT-Spectrum-Growing-Kitchens-Propagation/dp/B078WJMLL1/ref=asc_df_B078WJMLL1/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=230204386967&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1704992636428449924&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007247&hvtargid=pla-421648809808&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

[Ferdinand]

57 minutes ago, MaryM said:

most herbs like lots of light, if you can put a light source in there you will get better results

I know lots more about gardening than building   ?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ROOT-Spectrum-Growing-Kitchens-Propagation/dp/B078WJMLL1/ref=asc_df_B078WJMLL1/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=230204386967&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1704992636428449924&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007247&hvtargid=pla-421648809808&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

 

it is actually in a conservatory with a glass roof and front, so quite bright. Will post piccie,

 

The only thing missing is direct sun, which I always keep out of my conservatories as far as poss.

 

Cheers

Edited February 1, 2020 by Ferdinand

[Ferdinand]

So which herbs work well.

 

And if I add in veg, which veg?

 

My first veg thoughts are radishes and cut and come again lettuce.

 

 

Edited February 1, 2020 by Ferdinand

[Big Jimbo]

Garlic would grow in those little pods Ferdinand.

[Ferdinand]

For herbs I think

 

Thyme

MArjoram

Chives

parsley

chervil

dill

 

Edited February 1, 2020 by Ferdinand

[Declan52]

Mint grows like a weed. You need to contain the offshoots as it will spread like wildfire and choke everything else.

Sage is pretty robust.

Rosemary is a slow grower.

Dill grows very fast and gets big so needs cut often.

Parsley needs plenty of room as well.

Lemon thyme is nice and very hardy.

Spring onions, radish and most lettuce take little work. 

Dill and lemon balm also attract good bugs that will eat the ones that take a shine to your veg.

[Ferdinand]

6 hours ago, Declan52 said:

Mint grows like a weed. You need to contain the offshoots as it will spread like wildfire and choke everything else.

Sage is pretty robust.

Rosemary is a slow grower.

Dill grows very fast and gets big so needs cut often.

Parsley needs plenty of room as well.

Lemon thyme is nice and very hardy.

Spring onions, radish and most lettuce take little work. 

Dill and lemon balm also attract good bugs that will eat the ones that take a shine to your veg.

 

Really useful. thanks,

 

Yes I have rampant mint in its own frame in the garden, and also rosemary. TBH I do not use rosemary much.

 

Lemon balm is a good suggestion.

 

Wonder about sorrel?

 

I think there is also a technique to learn about replanting several times a year, and rotating new little pots of herbs and micro veg (which are harvested too young to regenerate) across the face of the wall in ‘pulses’. That would keep them all young and juicy.

 

Amd also perhaps it may be a good idea to focus on flavourings and garnishes .. so the spring onions are good.

 

In one sense treating perennials as annuals May be a good technique.

 

Also some hanging fruit seem to be good on external living walls, but that may not fit mine .. which I think may be a 1m x 1m space to start.

 

But I am new to this.

 

F

Edited February 2, 2020 by Ferdinand

[MaryM]

@Ferdinand I wouldn't try any of the Mediterranean herbs: basil, oregano/marjoram, thyme & so on, they like heat & sun and the shrubby sort like rosemary (good you don't like it much) will need more root space than the small pods, so will any of the tap root types like parsley/dill

 

I'd go for microherbs/greens, you can buy packs of mixed seed and see what does best:

https://www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk/micro-leaves-seeds-cid614.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiA4NTxBRDxARIsAHyp6gAmVBM8yT6ldbGo8eLq7hfCcO3zx1GN0xm5QDMxoHrgCXsyr-trRGAaAn9zEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

my first choice would be rocket, you can cut the leaves when they are really small and still get a lovely peppery kick to a salad, and peas for the shoots, you can keep re-sowing them 

 

what a great initiative to use a bit of spare space!  I've written about my mouldy conservatory in another thread and I'd never be without one, mine is south facing and hot as hell in summer, but I had tomatoes (in a pot) right up to Christmas, it's down to finding the right plants for the conditions

 

best of luck!

[Miek]

Rocket, one of the fastest and easiest plants ever and adds a lot of flavour.

[Ferdinand]

@MaryM

 

Suspect that microclimate is also important, so this is a sketch of my setup and a couple of piccies.

 

My conservatory links the lounge and kitchen on the NW corner, and gets bright light but little or no direct sunlight, which is my recipe for 3.5 season conservatories without horrible technical bodges like huge heating / cooling systems. it is well insulated .. 100mm Celotex In walls and floor ... and has a modest electric ufh system. Also 2  walls are against internal rooms.

 

So I think it can be termed a Temperate Conservatory.

 

The way it is used is that the internal patio doors to kitchen and lounge are kept open from approx April to Oct to give a single living space and closed for the remainder.

 

These are plans and piccies. The sofa is being junked and the green wall will go where the current hat display is located. Hoping to rig up a tank on the high windowsill to do drip watering, set to be manually refilled once a week or so so that the tank will run dry and keep it bug free every few days.

 

If necessary I could actually put one of those mini lean to greenhouses there, butI think the environment should be OK. Those cactususes really thrive with no attention. only issue might be humidity, but I think auto watering and damp soil should fix that locally.

 

 

 

Edited February 2, 2020 by Ferdinand

[MaryM]

@Ferdinand  looks a useful orientation, I guess you get some afternoon sun when it's higher in the sky, and not directly on to the wall you're planting, that's good

 

if you wanted to try some veg, I'd stick with the wall idea for things that don't need too much root space and can be replaced fairly often, then get a small veg trug to sit under it

https://www.primrose.co.uk/vegtrug-wall-hugger-small-103cm-46cm-h80cm-p-97637.html?cPath=734_737_12407

 

I can't grow anything except tomatoes in mine in the summer, but I'm kicking myself into action now by sowing an indoor window box with rocket this afternoon!

 

thanks for the idea and it's lovely to be able to post something on this site in return for all the useful info everyone has given me in connection with my garage disaster

 

focussing on the positive, my attached neighbour is building a massive extension that puts a brick wall immediately outside my conservatory, as I am not like you clever lot on here and can't do it myself, I got my fencing chap to build a sort of 'pergola' last week so I can grow a 'green wall' of my own  (great minds thinking alike)

 

the idea is to put planters on the gravel base and grow climbing things, starting with peas, up canes, and to hang baskets from the top trailing down, there are some super cherry tomatoes you can grow in baskets, roll on summer!

 

 

[Ed Davies]

Neat integrating the bench like that.

[MaryM]

57 minutes ago, Ed Davies said:

Neat integrating the bench like that.

my garden faces almost due south, very hot in summer

 

I'm not much of a garden-sitter but one of those who plonks down with a cuppa and 5 mins later sees something that needs doing, and there wasn't anywhere to do that out of full sun, that part starts to get shade by early afternoon

 

so the seat my idea, but design down to my clever fence builder

 

however, much more important @Ferdinand peas don't like hot & dry so a couple of deep troughs either side and more temperate  - we'll see!

[Ferdinand]

1 minute ago, MaryM said:

my garden faces almost due south, very hot in summer

 

I'm not much of a garden-sitter but one of those who plonks down with a cuppa and 5 mins later sees something that needs doing, and there wasn't anywhere to do that out of full sun, that part starts to get shade by early afternoon

 

so the seat my idea, but design down to my clever fence builder

 

however, much more important @Ferdinand peas don't like hot & dry so a couple of deep troughs either side and more temperate  - we'll see!

 

Aubergines and figs...

[MaryM]

2 minutes ago, Ferdinand said:

 

Aubergines and figs...

@Ferdinand

only if slugs don't eat them - I've got about an inch of soil over builders rubble so I put some raised beds in with decent soil, the slugs round here must use stepladders, they get everything even when I put copper rings round bean seedlings

 

but I do very well with this sun-loving crop!  this is what happens when the conservatory gets too hot

[Ferdinand]

44 minutes ago, MaryM said:

@Ferdinand

only if slugs don't eat them - I've got about an inch of soil over builders rubble so I put some raised beds in with decent soil, the slugs round here must use stepladders, they get everything even when I put copper rings round bean seedlings

 

but I do very well with this sun-loving crop!  this is what happens when the conservatory gets too hot

 

Have you considered a built in planter to the same height and depth dimension as the bench?

[MaryM]

@Ferdinand yes I have thought about it, I want to be able to move things around until I get an idea of where the sun hits & when, the brick wall will act as a radiator so I need to find out if things bake in hot weather

 

my fencing chap is very ingenious and if I want a permanent planter he will come back and do that

 

up till now I've been fighting ivy, brambles & ground elder (as well as slugs & snails) crowding through the fence every year so I haven't used the space much before

[Gone West]

19 hours ago, Ferdinand said:

For herbs I think

If you haven't seen this book, it's a good read, Wendy swears by it.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jekkas-Complete-Herb-Book-Horticultural/dp/1856267806

 

 

[PeterW]

I really like these - could soon diy one with some 50mm pipe

https://www.supragarden.com

[Jeremy Harris]

19 minutes ago, PeterW said:

I really like these - could soon diy one with some 50mm pipe

https://www.supragarden.com

 

 

There are probably already good designs for doing just that on some of the alternative hydroponic growing sites. . .

[Ferdinand]

As it happens I am within 20 mins drive of the huge NT herb garden at Hardwick Hall so a dozen visits between Feb and July to quiz the staff will work wonders. My sister did that in her teens for her herb garden.

 

Also happen to be a life member :-). Best Graduation present ever.

 

Edited February 2, 2020 by Ferdinand

[Ferdinand]

Is not the challenge with hydroponics that you have to mix your taste from the nutrients?

Edited February 2, 2020 by Ferdinand