DigitalVinyl wrote:

Henriette Kress wrote:


Kswck wrote:


What are the proper conditions for growing these 2?
Please note I am an apartment dweller and grow these in pots. Is heat a
factor? I have a south-facing apartment, gets sun most of the day.
I also have problems with curly leaf parsley, but the basil grows like a
weed.


Funny, i couldn't get any of my basil to germinate yet I can't kill my
parsley. And half my parsley is in shallow pots (4" & 6" deep). The
4" deep pot was devoured to sticks by four swallowtail butterflys but
it has since grown back.

You don't really say what is wrong with your plants.

I've read that mediterranean(sp?) herbs prefer dryer conditions.
Aromatic herbs supposedly can become better flavored when allowed to
endure drier conditions (i.e. dry out between watering) A side note:
my friend's a beekeeper and the honey was the tastiest during a big
drought year--this may be a common aspect of nature.

With full sun I'd look at soil, water or fertilization. Compacted,
dense soils are worse for potted plants. You want the soil to be light
and loose when first potting. I don't like clay pots myself. My
smaller clay pots require watering twice a day on a hot day. Plastic
swings the other way--too easily retains moisture. Despite the worries
of root rot, molds, I prefer plastic. Containers also require
nutrients more than grounds since they tend to get washed out more
often. Natural cycles of decay and earthworms won't replace nutrients,
so you got to amend it yourself.



Dill and parsley are both in the Apiaceae (Umbelliferae).
Most, if not all, of the plants in this family have taproots - including,
among others, dill, parsley, carrot, angelica, coriander, lovage, osha,
sweet cicely, ...
If you give them shallow soil they'll die.



Henriette



DiGiTAL ViNYL (no email)
Zone 6b/7, Westchester Co, NY, 1 mile off L.I.Sound
1st Year Gardener


Both plants brown and die from the 'ground up'.