"Glenna Rose" wrote in message
news:fc.003d094101c72b713b9aca006f259c95.1c72b82@p mug.org...
writes:

As for switching the balm for verbena -- hmm, maybe so. I've found the
balm to have a pleasantly citric flavor, but I've never tried to grow
verbena. I'm loathe to stop growing the one perennial I have which
seems to be doing what it's supposed to, though.

Keep your lemon balm and enjoy it. Lemon verbena is more of a shrub
compared to lemon balm; it grows to four feet tall (or more) and has a
woody stem, more like a small tree-like shrub. It would do better as a
potted plant than in a box with other herbs. At least that's the way mine
is.

My attitude is to keep doing what works. If the lemon balm is growing
well, no need to replace it, just add another plant.

I've been growing lemon balm for a couple of years now - I planted it from
seed in a window box type pot and off it went. It even seems to be
everygreen - in the winter it was quiet but still greenish (I'm in the UK).

However, I'm intrigued about what another poster said about too much ferts
being obvious by the salts accumulating on the unglazed pot. I wonder about
this cos - here goes, don't freak you guys - many of my pots that I grow
stuff in (outside in the garden) are graves for my pet rats. This way I get
to take the lost ones with me if I move house (which I have done many times
over the last ten years). Pretty much all of what I grow (both herbs and
flowers) seem to do very well. I guess I shouldn't be surprised at this. I
don't use any other sort of fertilser (except abit of horse cack now and
them) on the pots at all.

One of my pots (has dill in it) has white stuff that looks to my untrained
eye like it could be salts on it. I don't think the rat inside the pot was
particularly salty though. ;-)

So - how might this affect me dill ? And why one rat pot and not any others
(I must have about thirty pots all told). And another thing - I have never
ever considered the fact that herbs grown in pots that have little dead
bodies in might not be good to eat. I have not suffered from eating the
basil and parsley and so on that I have been growing for the past few years
anyway. But it's just occured to me that it might not be a good idea to grow
edibles in them. Thoughts ?

They are probably very dessicated little bodies, cos I have a wood chest
that I put the pots in when they are newly used in order to let the bodies
dry out and thus not be so attractive to foxes, who would like to dig
freshly smelly things up IME. I also wire the top of the pots with chicken
wire to prevent them being violated.

Please don't freak you guys - this way my little ones carry on being
beautiful for years after they die.


Rachael