Hey there, I too will share what I have learned... Basil - It will grow in a pot or garden (if you use a pot I suggest it has own pot), one plant will take all the dirt if you let it(unless in the garden), more plants and the dirt runs out sooner. I suggest you kill it early, having planted one every other week or so, that is unless you want free seeds. In that case let one or a few plants live till they flower and die, or if you want just trim the flower/seed part off after the majority of the flowers have open and turned brown, then harvest the seed, very easy to do, just a little time consuming. You can keep using the basil though some think that the basil becomes bitter after it sets flowers, i cannot tell the difference. As for starting from seeds, start them in your normal pot, just broadcast a few seeds on the dirt, water it and it will grow. If you harvest your own seeds you will no longer worry about how many seeds you put down(i.e. you will have too many!) Garlic Chives - mine are in a sq ft garden, Mine are three years old now, started from seed, and transplanted. They will over winter fine (they just look ugly during the winter). The leaves have gotten broader each year, they look nothing like the chives at the store, but they taste good! I agree with what others have said each plant has a bulb it works from, and has a few to several leaves per bulb. I am sure these would work in a pot, but I think if you can put them in the yard or garden it would be much better for you they are a very tidy decorative plant. These too will go to seed, they produce a cool little flower for each plant (the bees loved these!!!). That is where the seeds are developed. also you can eat the flower if you want, just tear it apart and use like chives. You can save the seed for spring if you want each flower makes like 25+ seeds, way too many for me use, as you do not have to replant chives each year. Cilantro - Really easy to grow, broadcast some seed, water if you want, they start regardless. They do have a hard time in the heat, just plant more (seeds are free!) I think they do like a mostly sunny spot that has some shade in the day (they did better when I had a lot together, probably kept the ground cooler). Leave a couple or more to go to seed again, and free seed!! Each plant (depending on size) make like 10-50 seeds. Again you won't care about the amount you plant you have plenty from each plant. Again the plant tends to lose flavor when they go to seed. Their ok in a pinch (nutritionally they should be ok just not as much flavor). I suggest a planting each week if you really like it, or every other week if you don't. Takes a few (2-4) weeks to reach a collectable amt per plant. These will over winter BUT the plant has no flavor (sometimes a bad flavor) in spring time. Suggest tilling in, unless some one knows if the plant will recover? I have one plant that has overwinter and is becoming bigger than any cilantro plant I have every had, it is the size of a large parsley plant now, I want to see if it recovers or not. Btw collecting their seed is way easier than the basil's, they have a large seeds. Btw the seed as a spice is called Coriander, I set some seed aside for cooking with. Thyme - A store bought starter plant, is several years old now overwinters fine, but has thick (2-3mm) stock now like kinda like a little bonsai tree (haha). Not as productive as first year (but that may be because I STUPIDLY put pasta water on it, DOH there is salt in that!!! It's not good for the plant you know, didn't kill it though, just made the leaves really tiny. haha that hurt to write). Even though it has flowered, I have not found how to get seeds yet (though I have not searched yet). It has pretty little flowers, could be something ornamental if you wanted. I have started other plants from clippings, just give be sure it has enough plant to give it the chance to live. Parsley - I started with seed (this year, and last year), I have it in the garden and in pots. in the garden it might overwintered fine, last years plant was older with a large root the size of a carrot or so, it rotted before the middle of winter, this years plant is still alive and is growing fine, go figure. Though it is not a bushy little plant, now it is a flat plant very close to the ground, tastes fine though. The plants in the pots are from last year, they are still doing well, I had them inside during the winter, seem to fare well in the window, almost no growth as expected though, that is until I put them outside in the late winter sun. These did not go to seed, though I thought they should have (would have been nice, but no free seed!). Garlic - This is the first year for me, and they are still in the ground. Pots should work, I think ground is better. I started the first batch in the garden in October, the second batch was in pots planted about Nov-Dec, they sprouted inside the house by the window. The first batch in the garden really took off now the weather has warmed, with some of the stalks now about an inch in diameter (much bigger than I expected as it is not supposed to be ready to harvest until August). The second batch isn't doing as well. These were put out before the last frost, and taken in at night (to avoid the frost), to take advantage of the warmer weather and sunlight. But they have not had the growth the first batch have had, they just seem spindly, but I think they will catch up. I have just planted another batch in the garden. I really think that the way these are sprouting they may catch up to the first batch. My original spacing was with 4 per sq ft, I think that is too far apart though, I think that you could probably squeeze 5 in a sq ft easily. I'm told the garlic leaves are edible (might be thought though), use them like green onions. Garlic may develop a bulb looking item on a stalk (and/or flower) this is a seed/clove and is also edible or you can plant it. I saw a video from some farmer on expertvillage.com and he had a great Idea. Intended for plantings in a garden, but works in a pot also. Say for example you have a garden full of winter vegetables right now, no room for garlic. Well what you do is plant the whole head of garlic in October like normal in a small area or a pot. The cloves sprout, you let them grow like normal till spring, then remove the bunch of sprouts and separate them (carefully) and transplant them where you want when the ground is ready, viola you have a jump start for the garlic. I have tried this, so far the plants seem good. Mint - grown from seed in a pot, grows and grows and grows... Once established will take over anything you put it in pot, garden, yard... beware the mint! Its not as bad as that, but I have heard the horror stories... Also I don't know why but... my mint sucks, It has no flavor, no aroma, little leaves. I'm gonna give it till the summer to shape up or I'm gonna compost the little sucker. Gonna have to find a better mint, suggest you try before you buy a plant. Oregano - Grown from seed, in pot, this might overwinter. Grows similar to mint with it's long stems,though they do grow a lot slow than mint. It might be able to grow up a trellis, and may be worth it as it has nice little flowers. The stems will take root to begin a new plant if you want, not sure about how to get the seeds though. Oregano in an 8 inch pot got root bound by end of the season. Sage - Was grown from seed in a pot, started last spring. It is a shrub so should have no problem overwintering. I have several plants in one 8 inch pot, does not seem root bound yet. Alright hope this helps, sorry I was so long winded!!.

It's not important what it says on the outside of the bag - what's important is what's IN the bag; and all "cactus mixes" are not created equal. Cactus mix 'A' may be entirely appropriate for a particular herb, while cactus mix 'B' may be entirely inappropriate for the same plant. There is no way to make a determination based on what label the packager put on the bag. If anything, I'd be concerned that some cactus mixes hold TOO MUCH water to be appropriate for either cacti or herbs; so Rhizo's hedging was entirely appropriate and essentially what I'd have said. Neither of us are willing to accept what it says on a bag of soil at face value unless we know the soil. Ideally, you want a soil that holds good amounts of moisture, but doesn't support perched water. Perched water is the water that occupies the soggy layer of soil at the bottom of the pot that occurs as a result of using MOST commercially prepared potting soils; so I would say that from the plant's perspective, what most of you consider to be ordinary, good-quality potting mix is too water retentive to offer your plant to grow at even close to its potential. I tend to look at things from the plant's perspective; and to a plant, there really isn't such a thing as draining too fast. There is a balance to be reached when it comes to watering frequency, but you can almost predict an increase in potential growth and vitality as the need to water increases. IOW, soils that need more frequent watering can generally be counted on to significantly increase the potential for growth and vitality, while at the same time increasing the growers margin for error when it comes to watering and fertilizing. Let me know if you'd like to know more. Al

It's good to be the first one to sell a new item at the market. You might ask around and see what others have sold bunched herbs for in the past. Many times customers are attracted to something new and you may find that herbs attract a particular class of customers whom would buy other things. I don't find it a waste of time and in fact consider the space used by the herb plants to be a profitable part of my whole sales effort. The herbs that I don't get sold are usually taken home and dried and packaged for further sales efforts. I sell basil $1.00/bunch, with a bunch consisting of enough 1 foot long stems to cover a 12" span at the widest part of the "bouquet", and tie them in bunches with rubber bands. I pick the basil early morning(by flashlight) before leaving and pack them into a cooler without ice. Warning- direct contact of basil with ice will burn it. Sales tip- Frequently wave the basil about while at market, so it will scent the air and draw in customers wondering "What is that heavenly smell?" For thyme marjoram and sage I cut and bunch springs about 4-6" long, and rosemary about 8-10", with the bunches about 1" diameter at the band. Parsley& cilantro bunches are about what you find at the grocery. I will be adding mint this year but plan on selling it about like the rosemary, maybe a bit longer sprigs. I price all my herbs at $1.00/bunch. I've seen other markets that sell for prices considerably higher than mine, but I'm satisfied with what I get. Don't neglect potential for sales at restaurants. Professional chefs are far more apt to be familiar with herb use, and I have set up enough regular deliveries to them alone to support growing the herbs. I usually will drop off free samples to various restaurants early in the season, giving away items which went unsold at market. Schedule conversations with chefs away from their peak cooking hours, otherwise they get too busy to take time. Basil, especially, would be welcome at Italian restaurants as nothing dried matches fresh basil. The link below is an attempt to let you see search results of this "market gardener" forum for the word herb. If it doesn't work, just look at the bottom of the market garden forum main page and select "search this forum", input the word herb, and you will find several threads speaking about prices, methods, etc. Here is a link that might be useful: Market gardener forum search-keyword herb

Oh, and if you're selling sachets and things those are "crafts" and will be a business, not a farm AFAIK and you will need to collect sales tax, file a Schedule C, though I don't know if you need to register as a business and get an EIN if you keep it small. My sister has friends who sell a lot of lavendar products, and I know someone who sells soap and knitted (not from her sheep, she only has goats) washcloths and such, I could ask them what they do for those products since they also sell eggs and farm "produce" (edible) - though a lot of people make goats milk soap instead of cheese, etc. b/c there are just so many regulations and expense involved with a dairy. I also know someone who used to sell at New Hartford market who has a commercial kitchen and does dried herb mixes, bean soup mixes, etc. so you will be competing with established business if you pursue this line. It might be worth looking into a wholesale market (with your acreage, all in herbs?!) with her and/or restaurants, the mom and pop grocery store down on Rte 44, etc.