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Herbs/Questions
| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
| Fungus on and around Basil | 11/15/2011 | Leroy J. Wilton |
| Q: We survived a bug infestation and two pot relocations to have a much bigger basil plant than anyone ... A: Matthew: It has a fungus. My memory just went blank on the name. I believe it can be too much water ... | ||
| Mint | 11/8/2011 | Leroy J. Wilton |
| Q: I live in in New York City and have successfully grown culinary herbs in window boxes in my south ... A: Ron: Normally the mints will return each year. Do not bring indoors,it is a death sentence for mints ... | ||
| Stevia | 10/10/2011 | Leroy J. Wilton |
| Q: I'm very new to Stevia. It's harvest time in the garden, and I read a little bit on your site. What ... A: Jan: I have taken my website down this year, but will replace it later in 2012. I have the info of ... | ||
| Passion Flowers | 9/26/2011 | Leroy J. Wilton |
| Q: I found that the property that we just bought has a field of nothing but Passion Flowers. Is there ... A: Frank: There are a few varieties of passionflowers. The 1 that I know more about is the "passion ... | ||
| armco | 8/31/2011 | Leroy J. Wilton |
| Q: did you also work at armco steel A: Debbie: Yes!!! Are you who I think you are? We work together in the melt shop. I wondered if you ... | ||
| rue | 8/13/2011 | Leroy J. Wilton |
| Q: I have a small pot of garden rue. I think it's a herb... because that's what google says. I kinda ... A: Soely: Rue does need well drained soil, but it do need need to be water daily.Too much moisture is1 ... | ||
| Repotting cilantro plants + temperature and bolting | 7/26/2011 | Leroy J. Wilton |
| Q: So i have 4 cilantro plants and a in a week or so, i will repot them. right now they are in a very ... A: Selena: Cilantro is a special herb for growing. It needs morning sun and filter sun the rest of the ... | ||
| Watering Sage | 7/4/2011 | Leroy J. Wilton |
| Q: I was wondering how often does sage have to be watered? I live in Hawaii and I notice it does very ... A: John: The regular sage only need water once a week. If rain comes that week, good no water needed. ... | ||
| Lavendar and Basil Plants In Ohio | 6/25/2011 | Leroy J. Wilton |
| Q: My issue is this, I live in NE Ohio and just bought 5 Basil plants and 2 Herb Lavender Plants ( One ... A: Stephanie: Both plants should receive morning sun first, especially the basil. Locate to receive ... | ||
| Summer Savory, something is eating it, no me! | 6/7/2011 | Leroy J. Wilton |
| Q: I have grown summer savory for years, I never had an issue with pests, just like Basil, little or ... A: Keith: Since there are no footprints, I suggest that bird(s) may be the culprit(s). I can only ... | ||
| established rosemary plants are dying | 4/29/2011 | Leroy J. Wilton |
| Q: we bought a house in the South Plains area of Texas one year ago. There are established 3-foot tall ... A: Bryce: Normally rosemary this old and start dying usually can be from being water logged for any ... | ||
| Rosemary bush | 3/19/2011 | Leroy J. Wilton |
| Q: I am visiting my mother in New Mexico and have seen a lot of Rosemary bushes every were. I would ... A: LeeAnn: "Hardy Hill" or "hill hardy" and "Arp" Rosemary These Rosemary's will with-stand -10 below ... | ||
| rosemary | 3/9/2011 | Leroy J. Wilton |
| Q: I have a rosemary plant approx 4 years old in my small herb plot. I want to keep it fairly small due ... A: Patricia: You can wait until you see new growth starting and start pruning from the top down on each ... | ||
| Rosemary and Basil growth | 2/6/2011 | Leroy J. Wilton |
| Q: Mr. Wilton, I live in a zone 10-11 area and am growing rosemary and basil in pots. The problem is ... A: Sean: Both plants need morning sun first. Basil definitely need the sun all day. The root system of ... | ||
| Lemon Balm | 1/27/2011 | Elyse Grau |
| Q: Elyse, I'm interested in planting lemon balm in my 12" deep, 14" wide pot. I don't know how deep ... A: Sean: I don't think Lemon Balm has real deep roots, but the pot you're considering is still rather ... | ||
| Safe spices for this dish? | 1/23/2011 | Elyse Grau |
| Q: I made a slow cooker split pea soup out of: split peas, baked potatoes, kale and leeks. It's an ... A: A little sour cream or creme fraiche, stirred in at serving time might be nice. You might also try ... | ||
| CORIANDER | 1/17/2011 | Elyse Grau |
| Q: I live in Australia and I have a question about growing Coriander. Can you tell me why it goes to ... A: If your weather is mild, yes. I sometimes have it coming up in winter, but it doesn't do much. It ... | ||
| CORIANDER | 1/17/2011 | Elyse Grau |
| Q: I live in Australia and I have a question about growing Coriander. Can you tell me why it goes to ... A: Juliette: It's just the nature of the plant. It does bolt faster in warm weather. the solution is to ... | ||
| Herbs and fertilizer | 1/9/2011 | Leroy J. Wilton |
| Q: Mr. Wilton, Thanks for answering my previous question so quickly. I've read that herbs don't need ... A: Sean: True, you can have poor soil, but need some nutrients to have the plant absorb to give maximum ... | ||
| Slugs and herbs | 1/8/2011 | Leroy J. Wilton |
| Q: I've read that there are some herbs that slugs don't like, rosemary being one of them. ... A: Sho: I don't know of any particular herbs that deter the slug. I do know they hate anything that ... | ||
| herbs | 12/19/2010 | Elyse Grau |
| Q: We had healthy chervil, sage and other herbs, Chervil started first and was nothing but nubs down ... A: You didn't mention where you live. Do you have deer or other wildlife? Rabbits? Insects are rare on ... | ||
| Sweet Basil | 11/20/2010 | Leroy J. Wilton |
| Q: Mr. Wilton, I've been growing basil for a few months and the herb was growing plenty of leaves ... A: Sean: I am sorry to say that the basil is about to give up it's life. Once the sun & heat starts to ... | ||
| Rosemary Bush flowering | 10/23/2010 | Leroy J. Wilton |
| Q: I have two large Rosemary bushes. They seem very healthy and are regularly trimmed. However I have ... A: Maggi: The only thing that may be why they are not blooming, is that they are pruned too early or ... | ||
| saving herbs I grew outside this past summer | 10/22/2010 | Leroy J. Wilton |
| Q: I used to know a lot, but it's been years and years. I live in an apartment, but managed to grow ... A: Ruth: Rosemary seed is difficult to grow. You can take cutting during spring and do the sand bit & ... | ||
| Spearmint | 10/18/2010 | Elyse Grau |
| Q: I grow culinary herbs in pots on my window sills (city dweller). I have a 7 1/2" wide terra cotta ... A: Ron: It is probably not getting enough sun. If you can put it outside at least for part of the year ... | ||
| Mint | 10/18/2010 | Leroy J. Wilton |
| Q: I grow culinary herbs in pots on my window sills (city dweller). I have a 7 1/2" wide terra cotta ... A: Ron: It may be root bound and/or not fed with anorganic fertilizer. I would cut the whole plant into ... | ||
| herbs-fall cutting/prunning | 8/24/2010 | Leroy J. Wilton |
| Q: when do i trim herbs for winter. i have french tarragon and i have been told not to prune or cut ... A: Barbara: You may cut back by 1/3 on each branch of tarragon, thyme,mint,sage & dill. Hold back on ... | ||
| Shiso herb-Not sweet,what can I do to improve | 8/23/2010 | Elyse Grau |
| Q: My Shiso Herb is losing its sweetness.What can I do to improve? ANSWER: Patrick: When do you ... A: Patrick: Since I've never even tried this herb, let alone grown it, I can only guess. I never ... | ||
| Shiso herb-Not sweet,what can I do to improve | 8/22/2010 | Elyse Grau |
| Q: My Shiso Herb is losing its sweetness.What can I do to improve? A: Patrick: When do you harvest it? Herbs are best harvested late morning, on a dry sunny day. Are you ... | ||
| Chives? | 8/13/2010 | Elyse Grau |
| Q: Elyse, Several years ago I planted a couple of chive plants in my back yard and they did just fine ... A: Interesting. I really can't say what the problem might be. Garlic chives have flat leaves, like ... | ||
| everlasting life | 7/23/2010 | Leroy J. Wilton |
| Q: Can I trouble you for your handout on the everlasting life plant. It has been growing quite well ... A: Noni: Here is some extra stuff on it. The plant has a high level of calcium and cloride. It also ... | ||
| Growing Herbs in Pheonix, Arizona | 7/22/2010 | Elyse Grau |
| Q: I planted sage, oregano, thyme, and mint together in a pot (12 inches in diameter and 10 inches ... A: Graycat: I'm not sure, you didn't say how large the plants were that you were using. It sounds like ... | ||
| Black spots on my mint plant | 7/2/2010 | Elyse Grau |
| Q: My "Mojito" mint plant is getting black spots on the edges. The container it is in now dries out ... A: Karen: Are they actual spots, or are the edges turning dry? Mint does like moisture, and daily ... | ||
| rosemary | 7/2/2010 | Leroy J. Wilton |
| Q: what is the foamy substance on my rosemary bush A: Den: I believe the white foamy stuff is from the spittle bug. I don't know anything about it, but ... | ||
| mint plant | 6/21/2010 | Leroy J. Wilton |
| Q: I have 2 large healthy mint plants and within the past week the leaves are staring to get holes in ... A: Barbara: The mint usually gets root bound if they have been growing in a container for some time. ... | ||
| changing potting soil of basil plant | 6/13/2010 | Elyse Grau |
| Q: I planted sweet basil seeds in a cheap potting soil in a 10" terracotta container indoors in a ... A: Arus: I doubt you need to change the soil - no potting soil contains fertilizer, that I know of. The ... | ||
| Corsican Mint | 5/23/2010 | Elyse Grau |
| Q: I live in Louisville Kentucky and had been doing some research on growing Corsican Mint or The Blue ... A: Susanna: I think both will do fine in a shaded area, I have planted them in both shade and ... | ||
| Basil in AZ summer | 5/6/2010 | Leroy J. Wilton |
| Q: I read your advice to a grower in Tucson, AZ, about using a perforated plastic milk jug to ... A: Kim: Your pot must be large enough to hold the gal. milk jug. You can use any size container that ... | ||
| Herb legislation | 4/21/2010 | Leroy J. Wilton |
| Q: I would like to ask you regarding legislation about distribution and wholesales of different kind of ... A: Rania: The best web site is "herb world.com". The contact person is Maureen Rogers. The other site ... | ||
| stunted basil | 4/20/2010 | Leroy J. Wilton |
| Q: I have numerous basil plants. I have noticed some of them have stunted internodes, which make the ... A: Ingrid: I am not familiar with basil doing this. Basil must have morning sun all day It must have ... | ||
Leroy J. Wilton
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
I have been growing herbs organically for 27 years. I have also written and self-published a book, "Herbman`s Journal".144+ pages of herbs that I have grown. Photo & short profile at the Smile Herb Shop on "you tube".Sign in "The healing herbs part 3A & 3B". My face book "the Herbman" You can request it from my e-mail.It is $24.95 with free shipping. 5517 Nome Ave., Balto..Md.21215. It is loose -leaf, 151 pg. A free "Herbman" t-shirt included while they last(large,X-large).It covers many names of herbs that I have grown, such as culantro,shadow bennie, recao de monte & 97 other names.
Experience
I have been growing herbs organically for 27 years. I have also written and self-published, loose leaf binder, "Herbmans Journal". 2008 is my last year at Smile Herb Shop. I plan to grow herbs in my small back yard and sell at David's Natural Store in Columbia, Md. on saturdays. I also will return to the Baltimore Herb Festival in May 2009(memorial day weekend).I used the word organically grown, but the state came into the picture and stated that I could not use the word unless I become certified & paid a $300.00 fee. I decided to add to my name (99% chemical-free) since nothing on this planet is 100%, except Jesus Christ, taxes & death. My customers were satisfied with this instead of paying a large fee and raising my prices,with no guarantee that it is organic except for a label.Their belief was in my word.
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