Reverse Transplant

I'm wondering if it's possible to transplant in reverse. I.e. from the garden to a pot. I want to have my herbs in the garden and then put some in a hanging basket at the end of the season so I can have them in the house. Does this work well or is it better to just go from pots to the basket?

Thanks guys.

I have about 75% success rate with reverse transplanting. (By the way- how cool! I never thought to refer to it that way!)

I wouldn't bother with basil - grown inside it is very susceptible to bugs. But I was picking fresh rosemary, oregano and sage throughout the winter. (Sage wil overwinter, but we wanted some to use.)

Basil is a great to plant in a pot to bring inside during the fall. I'd skip the garden-grown plants, and start from seed in August/September, so you have young, fresh active growth inside. Just be sure the inside plants have adequate light, either from a very bright, south-facing window, or auxiliary plant light. Good luck, and show us your winter basil!

Nonna, you don't have bug issues with inside basil?

When we have inside basil, I watch carefully for aphids, which seem to be the only villains to show up. Of course, I use a sterile potting soil in which I plant the new seeds, and grow the pot in the sunroom, away from outside contact, except for two lime trees that live inside during the winter. This is the Pacific Northwest, so once the pot has sprouted, nights are too cool for it to be outside anyway. I usually get a month or a month and a half out of each planting, but have to supplement with artificial light. We use lots of basil, so it's worth the little extra in electricity for my favorite herb.

I use a ton of basil too in what I call my triple threat herb combo for salads. I've had it in pots in the house before, but I never knew there could be bug problems with it. I guess I was lucky.

I'm having a hard time getting rosemary to grow; any tips? I'm not familiar with the term "overwinter" Martha, does that mean in the garden I can just leave it and it'll grow again in the spring?

Nonna, I don't think I've ever seen sterile potting soil in the store. What brand should I look for?

Thanks to both of you. I really appreciate the help.

I hope it works because that's what I plan on doing with my rosemary.

The Cynergist wrote:I use a ton of basil too in what I call my triple threat herb combo for salads. I've had it in pots in the house before, but I never knew there could be bug problems with it. I guess I was lucky.

I'm having a hard time getting rosemary to grow; any tips? I'm not familiar with the term "overwinter" Martha, does that mean in the garden I can just leave it and it'll grow again in the spring?

Nonna, I don't think I've ever seen sterile potting soil in the store. What brand should I look for?

Thanks to both of you. I really appreciate the help.

Howdy Cynergist:

How about a recipe for your triple threat herb combo. We eat lots of salads and are looking for ways to make them different.

Over-wintering is what you described. In our garden (Zone 7a - coastal Virginia) we have had onions, leaks, carrots, rosemary and spinach overwinter and come back strong in the spring.

We purchased our rosemary in a pot that had the plant pruned into the shape of a Christmas tree and planted it in MM next to our house against a south facing wall. It is growing wild now and we give away as much as visitors would like.

Sterile potting soil can sometimes be purchased and it can also be homemade. Do a Goggle search for exact directions. As I recall some folks put the potting mix in their oven and heat it and others microwave.

God Bless, Ward and Mary.

Thank you Ward and Mary. I really appreciate the information. I have heard of sterilizing in the oven and the microwave. I just thought it'd be easier to buy it already sterile.

My triple threat herb combo consists of basil, tarragon and dill. I lay out some olive oil on a cutting board, then add salt, pepper and lay on the herbs. Then, I chop the herbs into the oil until it looks like a mushy mess. In a bowl I have my salad mix; it's usually a blend of leafy lettuces, spinach etc. To the salad mix I add thinly sliced sweet onion, and match stick cut carrots. Take the herb mix and toss and rub it all over the salad mix. The oil acts as a carrier transferring all the flavours to the greens, onions and carrots.

That's the base. From there I will add different things like cucumber, tomato, grilled chicken. Whatever you want. Just add the heavy things when you're done tossing because they will sink to the bottom of the salad otherwise.

The dressings I favour for this are creamy poppy seed or greek with feta. I like to marinate chicken in the greek with feta and grill it. Have it on the side of the salad or slice it up, put it on top of the salad and add more greek dressing.

I don't measure things; it's all to taste, but at some point I'm planning to add this recipe to my garden blog with pics and / or video.

Sometimes I'll add shredded red cabbage to the base too.

Cynergist, By "sterile" potting soil, I meant something that's never been used for plants before and contains no garden dirt. Right now I'm using a combination of fine vermiculite, dry peat moss, kelp meal and some sand (mostly to anchor pots and keep them from tipping over). I moisten it, pack it into seedling pots or trays, and plant away. When the seedlings are looking good and ready for their own pot or a larger pot, they go into pots with Mel's Mix. Not too long ago, when using some Miracle Grow potting soil to start some seedlings, a lot of the seeds never germinated and many of the few that did damped off. The whole bag seems to have been a bad batch, so it was thrown into the remains of the row garden and turned under, where it'll probably act as compost for the corn block.