Well, Shaun, you've brought a wonderful array of herbs here today.

And you've also brought a container, which is a wonderful way to grow herbs.

>>Yeah, makes it nice and easy, quick and efficient.

>>It is, and not everybody has a garden to grow herbs in, and they wanna be able to have them, or even have 'em close at hand.

>>Yeah, yeah.

>>What are your recommendations for growing herbs in a container?

>>Certainly, the more convenient you can make it, the happier you're gonna be.

You start to invest some money in containers and plants and dirt and fertilizer, and before you know it, you're thinking, "Oh, should I or shouldn't I?

", so.

If you make it nice and easy, you're already buying things in the herb realm, rosemary, parsley, things that you're gonna use, it's just much easier to enjoy from day one versus having problems that, no one really needs a new problem, so kinda good to start off on the right foot with things that you like and things that you're gonna use.

>>Exactly, keep it simple.

>>Yeah, exactly, yep.

>>So let's talk about this container that you have.

It's a special one to begin with.

>>Yeah, a deck rail planter.

So fits a lot of deck rails, but we've got round, you've got ceramic.

So choosing the right style is often kinda a starting point in the sense of, "Do I want plastic, which lasts longer?, "Do I want some clay, which gives the roots air?, "Do I want stone that looks pretty?"

So a few little hurdles at the start, but once you're off and running, then, really, depth and size, good kinda place to start with, and then onto the soil and the plant selection.

>>And that's, poof, we got it.

>>That's right, yeah.

>>So let's back up.

(chuckles) >>Let's do it.

>>What type of soil did you use in this container?

>>So being that it's herbs, they love drainage.

I mean, they just, they really love drainage.

And usually, with a good potting mix, you get what you pay for.

So starting off with a really great foundation that drains very, very well really takes a lot of the nuance, kinda guesswork and problems and heavy soil and staying wet too long.

So it really does kinda get you off on the right start to get a nice well-drained potting mix.

>>I tell people if that bag they're lifting up is heavy, put it down.

>>Put it down, yeah.

>>Go to something else.

>>Yeah, because they love being worked.

If you're always watering and it's heavy soil, they don't root out, they're not really robust.

They just, plants love to grow, so they're gonna grow.

But you'll notice a huge difference on the drainage, yeah.

>>Exactly, particularly with herbs.

How did you make your choices of what to choose for this container?

>>So just some basic culinary.

What I did, though, is, this is a new parsley.

It's a menuette, it's a little easier to chop.

So put that in there.

But things that are fairly basic, fairly, again, easy to use.

Baked potato, love some chives.

Little bit of Italian with the oregano and the rosemary.

Everyone's favorite, basil, and then a parsley.

>>And they fit so well together.

Plus, you've got, you know, display-wise, from the designer eye, you've got different textures, too.

>>Exactly.

Looking at kind of the taller ones in the back and the ones that'll spill a little bit at the front, yeah, for sure.

>>So, how often do you water this container, or how do you determine when to water?

>>Hoo, we get this question all the time.

>>Yes, depends on the temperature.

(chuckles) >>Well, and sun and wind and the season, too.

It's good to, in the beginning, with spring being a little milder, it's kinda nice to let the plant know, plant let you know a little bit, where it looks a little wilty.

You know, sun hits it, but it looks a little dry, then you go ahead and water.

Quickest way to kill it is to kinda water and water.

Yeah, so it's just nice to kinda be a little bit more hands-off is usually a bit better than trying to make it grow and water it all the time.

>>When you're planting this container, what are the processes, the steps that you use?

I've got a pot, you know.

>>Yeah, so, again, with the selection, this is a nice depth, it's a nice kinda 2-foot size.

So you still want your plants to have room to grow, but herbs are a little bit more utilitarian than they are kinda aesthetic.

So keeping everything short, keeping everything kinda tender and productive, a lot less work.

And a lot less powdery mildew, diseases, place for bugs to kinda hang out and avoid you.

>>Yeah, I don't think people realize the importance air circulation plays in the garden, as well as in a container.

>>Absolutely.

>>If you pack it, you'll pay for it.

>>Well, a sweet basil will get huge, and it's no longer sweet basil anymore, it's really just basil.

So keep it a little shorter.

It might look a little uglier or rougher, but it's certainly more tender, it's less work to care for, and then it's tastier.

>>Well, we've gotta keep moving on here.

So tastier.

When is the time to harvest?

>>Essentially, as you buy the plants, if they're kinda this far established, you can be off and running within that first week.

After planting, let it show you that it's happy and established, and then, really, go to town and kinda cut on it and use it and enjoy it.

>>Sounds great.

So for this beautiful new parsley, which I just need to touch, you could say you could cut it right here, as long as you leave some of the new growth behind?

>>Yeah, so there's a little bit of difference between each of the plants in the sense that a parsley, a chive, a dill, a cilantro really throw up whole new shoots.

So as you're coming in for your parsley, you can use a little bit of it.

You can go ahead and cut a lot of it if you need it.

But again, down in the base, at the bottom there, that's all the new shoots that are coming out.

So best to leave those alone and take what's already grown.

>>Very good.

Now, this a full sun container.

Do you have... Our shade container is here.

>>Yep, sure do.

>>So we have one minute to share about this, so let's move this one back and talk about... 'Cause there are some herbs that do grow in the shade.

>>Absolutely.

And then, really, if you've got lower light, what you'd be looking to do was, you wouldn't be watering as much.

And you've ended up with more of the woody kinda plants.

So rosemary, thyme.

You've got some oregano there.

Sage would be another one that you could add for a lower light situation.

And they'll be nicely productive for you, too.

It's not you're giving up a lot of growth in the sense of the plant just won't do much.

It will certainly be productive for you.

>>Well, Shaun, I thank you for bringing this all in.

It's been very informative.

And plus, people with shade gardens know that they, too, can grow herbs and that it can be in a container convenient for them by a door so they can slip out and get whatever they need for their culinary and whatever project they're working on.

>>Indeed.

>>So thank you, thank you so much.

>>Yeah, no problem, appreciate it.