Growing Cilantro & Chives Indoors.

[Fay]

They sell all kinds of herbs at the grocery store including Cilantro and Chives which I want to grow for myself and the pigs (Especially the cilantro). They come in black square plastic pots with holes in the bottom.

I tried to grow Cilantro and Chives twice inside my home but failed miserably! I don't have a garden or balcony where I could grow them.

What I did is put them on a plate (since I don't have flower pots or ground) and gave them water every other day. They all died within a few days. I tried looking online but couldn't find any information relevant for my situation that could work.

Any tips or tricks?

[amptondooz]

Where do you keep the plants? The best place is a windowsill where they can get sunlight, but won't burn in the sun.

Also, if you're scared about them getting burnt, give then some sun screen and they'll have no chance of sunburn!

[jabberwock]

Are you trying to keep the cilantro plants from the grocery store alive? That's not very easy to do - the plants are grown at very high density in the pot - they are then sold as soon as they reach a certain height. The nutrients in the compost will be pretty much spent by the time the plants are sold. To grow an individual plant bigger you would need to thin them out fairly drastically and repot or feed. Even then it's not easy - I've tried different approaches with little success. You will also find the cilantro runs to seed very quicky if there is any check on its growth (like being in a pot).

For cilantro I would recommend buying a packet of seed and some multipurpose compost and growing your own on window sills (you can wash out and re-use the pots from the grocery store). Plant a few seeds in each pot and probably repeat at weekly intervals to give you a constant supply. Cut as soon as they are nice and leafy so they don't run to seed.

Chives are a perennial so you ought to be able to repot the ones from the supermarket (or buy some from a garden centre) into a larger pot with new compost and they should carry on growing on a windowsill.

[Fay]

Thanks for the tips! Sadly I also don't have a windowsill and if I would put it near the window it would be in direct sunlight all day long (unless it's cloudy). I might have a look at the garden center to see what they have to offer + any tips.

[fairysari]

Hahaha, Fay I feel just like you - I have managed to kill some plants recently!

I agree that starting from seed is the way to go. It's also cheaper than buying a plant and trying to keep it alive. I also think that cilantro is a great idea, but I've never tried to feed the pigs chives. There's lots of other things you could try, too. Right now I've got a bunch of seeds just starting, hoping they'll be ready to go out in a piggie garden soon - but thats still about 6 weeks away, so they are all indoors for now, mostly in plastic beer cups with holes poked in the bottom for drainage.

I've got cilantro, parsely, dill, basil, mint, cat grass, and regular grass sprouting. I am thinking about planting some catnip and lemon balm, too, but I'm not 100% sure if they're safe for pigs. I keep the herb container in front of a window, next to the heater, and keep the soil moist. So far so good.

If you're going to reuse containers for planting, it's a good idea to wash them in a bleach solution to disinfect them. That's actually a tip from the book "You Grow Girl" which is a pretty good beginner gardening book, aimed at young hip girls in small spaces, it might be worth it to get a copy if your thumb is less than green.

Oh, and this week I managed to kill a dieffenbachia I've had for years, and I sprouted a bunch of lettuce which promptly died a week later. I also tried to start a pepper plant from seed but it doesn't seem to be sprouting.

Thankfully I have the piggie herbs going okay, and I have some sunflowers that are just starting out too.

[Fay]

Wow you been busy haha!

I've never grown herbs before but I want to grow chives not only so my pigs can have a little occasionaly but also because I really like chives and use it on a lot of things like salads and organic cheese and stuff.

I might try growing cilantro and chives myself. My pigs really love cilantro.For example I made this huge salad with all kinds of vegetables and fruits but cilantro was the first to go! I guess I have cilantro pigs

Anyway, Perhaps it would be a good idea for one of the "Herb gardener experts" on this forum to start a topic about how to grow each herb and forages guinea pigs can have. With simple facts and tips on growing outdoors and indoors with each herb. When to cut, what to feed, what ground and pots to use, where to put them (shadow, sunlight, direct sunlight) Etc..

I think this would be very helpful because I feel those lists of forages are just sitting there not being used while I think forages are pigs favorites as they forage in the wild as well! I'm guessing most of us never grown herbs before (or not with great success like me haha).

[heatherbunnie]

About how long does it take from the time the seeds are planted until the cilantro is ready? Or does it vary quite a bit? I'd really like to start growing it in my apartment, because it can be expensive at the grocery store and my piggies go through it like mad!

[MilwCavyMom]

I don't know if anyone knows this here, but how much dirt do you need for veggies to grow? We have a small balcony by the bedroom and I was thinking of putting some plants out there to grow, some herbs, I'd love to get some catnip to grow, and maybe tomatoes or something, but I was wondering how much they need for roots and so forth? THanks!

[fairysari]

I can give you some of the information I have from reading the seed packets of piggie friendly herbs.

Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum): Germinates in 7 to 14 days, matures in 45 - 60 days. Prefers sunny location, pH neutral soil. Reaches height of 38 to 75 cm, 15 to 30 inches.

Sweet Basil (Ocimum basilicum): Germinates in 14 to 18 days, matures in 85 days. Good indoor herb, prefers sun, can grow 30 to 60 cm, 1 to 2 feet. Likes warm, moist conditions, pinch tops when 15cm or 6 inches to encourage branching.

Dill (Anethum graveolens): Germinates is 7 to 21 days, matures in 70 days. Prefers full sun, grows to 45cm or 18 inches.

Parsley (sorry I don;t have the scientific name, but this is curly parsley): Germinates in 10 to 28 days, matures in 75 days. Grows to 12 inches or 30 cm, sunny or partially shaded, moist soil. Can soak seeds in water for 24 hours prior to planting for faster gewrmination.

Spearmint (mentha spicata): Grow this one in a container or it will overtake your garden! (I say that from experience, not because it says so on the package - but it also does say it on the package) Germinates in 7 to 16 days, matures in 85 days. Full sun or partial shade, grows 1 to 2 feet, 30 to 60 cm.


That's all I had sitting in front of me for now. I'll have a look and see what else I can find. Maybe I should take pictures of the stuff that is actually growing...

[cusunfireguy]

I have been growing Peppermint and Camomile (for ourselves) indoors for awhile. The are on the windowsill and get good sun until about Noon and they are doing great.

Steven

[jabberwock]

It doesn't have to be a windowsill. Any flat surface would do. I grow lots of veggies from seed and I always run out of windowsill space at this time of year so I tend to colonise pretty much very available surface in the house - we currently have only half our dining table available to eat at, for example. You can get long plastic trays so you can stand several pots on, that makes it easier to move them around or you could probably get some sort of stand for indoor plants from a garden centre or similar that you could adapt.

How long they take to grow varies with the weather and the time of year. How much soil to use is also a bit of a "how long is a piece of string question". You can put 5 or 6 cilantro seeds in a 3 or 4 inch pot. You won't get 30'' plants - you might not get 15'' plants, but I just cut them down and then replant. You could go for the very high density sowing that the grocery stores use but you're more likely to get fungal problems with really crowded seedlings.
Given the problems I have with cilantro running to seed I sow little and often and cut it relatively young.

Cilantro and Basil are both very attractive to slugs/snails so, if you're growing outside, you might want take precautions!

[MilwCavyMom]

Thanks Jaberwock. I won't do anything indoor because I have cats and they are plant and dirt lovers. And it would just be easier to put them outdoors on the balcony. I'd be less worried about ground insects or animals getting to them (like the neighborhood rabbits) since we're on the 2nd floor. What I'm thinking of getting are some bigger or longer pots and plant the herbs. I just was wondering what I could all plant that would grow well. Such as the cilantro, parsley dill, catnip or if I wanted to try other things like tomatoes or cucumbers, if they'd grow well in a pot. I could put them all on the balcony to grow and pull them off as they mature for the boys to have over the summer. Seems I could save some money and have real fresh food.

[this_lil_piggy]

I have been looking at greenhouses on ebay. Am thinking about getting one of the large portable ones for my backyard and trying it for a season or two, and if I like it, then building me a true permanent one.
Something I came across while searching are these:
eBay: 4-Tier Mini Portable GREENHOUSE Green Grow Hot House (item 280100569769 end time Apr-02-07 18:04:27 PDT)

I think those would be really neat for those of you that have to garden indoors. It is small enough that you could place it in front of a sunny window and use the top shelves for full sun plants, and the bottom shelves for plants that thrive in indirect sunlight.
An idea that I had was building coroplast boxes the size of each shelf, and about 6-8" deep, so you could just fill the boxes with potting soil and plant seeds in them, rather than dealing with multiple pots that roots will run out of room in.

[this_lil_piggy]

Tomatoe plants can do well in large enough pots--ecspecially the grape/cherry size tomatoes. Cucumbers I wouldn't advise for a balcony--they run on vines and spread all over the place taking up a lot of room. I plant cucumbers in my garden and if I don't watch them, they will smother other plants out as they spread to oblivion.
Peppermint plants are easy to grow and will fill a pot multiplying. You can also plant strawberries in hanging baskets and they do well. I also have seen some evergreen blueberry plants on ebay that make blueberries year round and thrive in pots. Cilantro, sage, wheatgrass, dill, parsley etc should all do well in balcony pots. Something else you could consider is lettuce. You should be able to easily grow lettuces in pots. If you had a big enough pot, you could probably plant bell pepper plants on a balcony as well.

[muffin]

Generally seeds are usually started off in little pots or seed trays, and then repotted into larger pots as they outgrow their own pots. I have found that double glazing can be a problem for permamnent indoor growing, because it can magnify sunlight a bit too much, but mainly I found my plants were limp and weedy because not enough UV rays (I think) were getting through the glass. (They were on a south facing window ledge and came alive when I put them in my Mum's garden!) Lettuce is really easy to grow, just follow the seed packet instructions. The 'cut and come again' types are great. You would be best off going to a garden centre. I grew lettuces last year and baby carrots. The piggies were most pleased! Lettuce needs warmth though, so can only be grown outdoors in summer. I'm going to try cilantro this year too.

Can piggies have chives? They look like a member of the onion family? I don't know?

[MilwCavyMom]

Lettuce can grow in pots? Sweet. I wanted the lettuce and peppers too but I wasn't sure how well they'd do. My balcony isn't that big so it'll be an experiment this year how much I can do. Anybody know about when is a good time to plant? Iknow this week winter returns briefly and we'll be in the 30s/40s so that's out, but maybe in a week or 2 should be good right? I'll make a trip to the Stein's garden mart and see what they have for pots and dirt and seeds.

ETA: Coroplast as a plant pot seems like an interesting idea too...if only bc I can make the size I need for the balcony. But I think they make longer plastic pots that would come in equally handy. I'm so excited to grow some veggies on my own. I'll feel better about it and it'll be cheaper in the long run for the summer anyway.