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Fresh Herbs & more for cruising...

2K views 15 replies 6 participants last post by  MikeOReilly 
#1 ·
I'm curious what ideas you have for growing fresh herbs ( for starters) on a boat while cruising...
An idea I saw already was using a shoe hanger that typically hangs on a closet door. Filling the insert with potting soil and your favorite herb... Any other ideas?
 
#2 ·
Michele just grows them in small plant pots. Basil, chives, rosemary, and other weedy-looking things that I eat but don't understand. They just sit around the cockpit in less-used corners and might get put in the shower if things get sporty on a passage. Most of them don't do well in salt spray or too much direct sun, which isn't an issue for our cockpit, but could be for others.

I'm not sure of the shoe thing you talk about, but if it is the fabric type that I'm thinking of, this doesn't sound like a good idea for many reasons. It would be a moldy, wet, rotten mess in no time.

Mark
 
#3 ·
We always have a small herb garden going while we're on the boat (about 6 months/year). We use standard pots, about 15-20 cm in diameter. They stay in the cockpit or on our small aft deck while we're at anchor. We usually put them down below while underway because of the salt spray. For extended passages we put them in a swinging hammock right under a deck hatch so they continue to get some sun. Basil, sage, rosemary, chives, thyme, mint, oregano, etc. Anything that is easy to grow.

We also have a sprouts garden going while underway. We sprout all sorts of seeds from mung beans to alfalfa. Great way to add some nutrition and fresh crunch to sandwiches and other meals.
 
#4 ·
Basil is good at sea. Everything else doesn't like salt and dies in the butt.

Tried the sprouts thing through the Pacific and after a week of constant work we got alphalpha for half a sandwich.

Tried mushrooms in this cardboard box thing kept in the dark in the lazarette. Got 2 mushrooms the size of tadpoles. More fungus in the bathrooms. :(

Captain Cook had sheep. I'm gunna try that next.
 
#14 ·
I'm sure our Chefs have a unique affinity for fresh herbs. I've been a home cook, ever since I was 10 (first meal I made for my family, lasagne), so I understand the quality difference. However, the old saying that everything tastes better aboard I find to be very true. I think it's because our senses are overpowered by many other odors around us, that anything tasty seems more notable. I have some drink and food recipes we make aboard that have never been quite as good at home.

In any event, I've grown herbs at home, never aboard. Love them. However, I either find them to be too short lived for the effort, or for those that continually grow, I either bore of them or the more mature forms are woody (mint). Personally, when aboard, I prefer a good pantry of dry herbs and spices. More variety, more volume, less work aboard. To each their own.

I never understood sprouts. I suppose they can add a freshness to a dish, but not one I particularly crave, nor do I find them substantial enough to be worth the effort.
 
#15 ·
BTW My basil plant died today. I bought it 2 weeks ago but was away a few days and I think it died of cold.

On a 39 foot boat space is critical.

Some dude in the Caribbean was trying to plant potatoes in a garbage bin on his foredeck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously? When potatoes are cheap everywhere (and are bad for you anyway)?

The reality is to grow for fun, but exterminate for space. For economics... I would think its a close run thing between well bought market/supermarket produce and home grown.



Mark
 
#16 ·
BTW My basil plant died today. I bought it 2 weeks ago but was away a few days and I think it died of cold.

On a 39 foot boat space is critical.

Some dude in the Caribbean was trying to plant potatoes in a garbage bin on his foredeck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously? When potatoes are cheap everywhere (and are bad for you anyway)?

The reality is to grow for fun, but exterminate for space. For economics... I would think its a close run thing between well bought market/supermarket produce and home grown.

Mark
Yeah, I've chatted with folks who turn their boats into floating gardens. But even when it's successful, I truly don't get the rationale. There is no way even a large boat can have the space sufficient to produce enough volume to make it worthwhile. Even stuff like potatoes, which are easy to grow and can produce relatively large amounts -- even here it just doesn't make sense. You might get 20 meals out of four months of effort. Meanwhile you're definitely not able to sail, or even move around much.

If you want to garden, then move onto land. Far smarter and easier than trying to do it on a boat.

But man, I do love my sprouts :grin.
 
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