starting herbs from seed?

[UrbanSimplicity]

i'm wondering how long it will take to have have big mature plants? should i spend the extra money on seedlings?

thanks!

[ambersrose]

In my experience, it depends on the herb, what are you planning to grow?

[MsVyky]

I'd buy seedlings for more temperamental herbs like rosemary, and the slow to sprout herbs like parsley.

The rest I started from seed yesterday, actually, in a little mini-greenhouse in a windowsill. (We are about 6 weeks out from last frost)

[MAMom]

I'm in zone 5 and have had great luck growing parsley and cilantro from seed in pots in past couple of years.

This year I'm also growing stevia, basil, dill, chamomile, Celery "Amsterdam Seasoning" (a parsley-like herb from Renee's Garden) from seed.

In the past I've bought seedlings for thyme, rosemary, lemon verbena, lavender, and most have lasted as perenials in pots and in my garden (sometimes I have to replant the lavender & rosemary depending on the winter).

Seedlings certainly provide more instant gratification, and shouldn't be too expensive if you're only buying one or 2 plants of each herb

[purslaine]

I have had no isues starting basil, oregano, thyme and pasley from seeds directly in the ground. They seem to come up pretty quickly (about a month, I think). Some of them are perennials - I have usable thyme and oregano in my garden as we speak!

I have not had luck wih lavender - for that I would do a trasplant.

I like to order seeds from seed catalogues - not sure why but I have a much higher success rate with them than buying seeds from stores. YMMV.

[tankgirl73]

I've bought seedlings for rosemary. Last year I grew oregano from seed and from seedling, and by the end of the season saw no real difference in them!

I grew wild thyme from seed last year. By the end of the season, it was cute and bushy and I had a lovely harvest which I dried and used all winter. Then it started growing again in early spring, and before the snow was even all melted, it was JUST AS BIG as it had been at the end of last summer! Now that it's been growing a couple months, it's now twice as big as it was last year! We haven't even had our official 'last frost' date here yet (though it is the most bizarrely warm and early spring on record...)

I've also got huge basil growing in my indoor pots right now, waiting for last frost to transplant outside. Last year I grew dill straight from seed in the garden, they got HUGE and I made yummy pickles and had lots of seeds saved too. And I grew summer savory straight from seed, they also got huge and yummy!