Growing basil and thyme in Shanghai

[JohnKillerDoe]

Hi,
I'm going to Shanghai University of Economics and will be there for 2 years. I'd like to grow basil and thyme there. Is it possible to grow them on a windowsill in Shanghai? I'd like to start with growing in November. I'm not sure because in Shanghai is different weather comparison with Germany. And second question: Can I take seeds of basil and thyme on airplane? I'm not sure if it's legal to take seeds to China. I don't not, if I ask the right place. If not I'm sorry.
Thank you for your reply

[Shelley]

I have no idea about growing things in Shanghai but I do know most countries have regulations about importing seeds, plants and other fruit and veg. I would err on the side of safety and not take them with you.

I am sure you can buy such seeds in china, I see no reason why not.

[abcdefg]

2 hours ago, Shelley said:

I am sure you can buy such seeds in china, I see no reason why not.

 

Though they might be available in Shanghai, I've found it impossible to locate basil and thyme seeds in Kunming. The reason being that they are Mediterranean spices, not used in Chinese cooking.

 

Original Poster -- Though I cannot do a search for you just now, I recall a post earlier this year by Alex Hart about growing herbs on a windowsill in Hangzhou. Since Hangzhou and Shanghai are not too far apart, it might be helpful and relevant.

[JohnKillerDoe]

Thank you both. Yes, I thought that it could be a problem to take them with me. I found some seeds on eBay which are from China so I will have to hope that I will be able to buy them direct in Shanghai.

[abcdefg]

1 hour ago, JohnKillerDoe said:

Yes, I thought that it could be a problem to take them with me.

 

"What ever happened to John K. Doe?"

"Oh, he got busted for basil seeds and is doing hard time up in Heilongjiang somewhere. Due for release in 2030 or so."

"Wow! No kidding?"

"Told me it really has improved his Chinese, all other things being equal."
 

[imron]

12 hours ago, Shelley said:

I do know most countries have regulations about importing seeds,

There might be regulations, but in my experience, Chinese customs never seems to bother or care. 

 

Personally, I'd bring the seeds and then dispose of them at customs if there was a problem. The seeds will be easy and cheap to find outside of China and the opposite inside China. 

 

At at worst you'll be out a few bucks. At best you'll have proper basil. 

[JohnKillerDoe]

38 minutes ago, imron said:

Personally, I'd bring the seeds and then dispose of them at customs if there was a problem. The seeds will be easy and cheap to find outside of China and the opposite inside China. 

 

Yes, I thought about it and probably I do it. I suppose they will not send me back to Germany, just they will confiscate the seeds.

[Lu]

26 minutes ago, JohnKillerDoe said:

just they will confiscate the seeds.

They won't send you back to Germany, or to a Heilongjiang prison, but they could probably fine you if they feel so inclined. That said, I'd probably take the seeds. The legal risks are small and I don't think basil and thyme would be harmful exotic plants in China (on the other hand... I really don't know anything about this, so for all I know they might be?)

[ChTTay]

You can buy basil and thyme in import supermarkets in Beijing easily. They also sell it at a few better markets that stock hard to find things. Either buy a fully formed plant to take home or buy the cuttings for use in your cooking. 

 

I'd imagine Shanghai has the same situation. I can't see why we'd have all the herbs. You can also get mint and a few others. 

 

So, if it's easy to find a fully formed plant here in Beijing... then there must be seeds available too. 

 

I would just buy a plant and take care of it myself. That way you don't have to wait. 

[歐博思]

Agree with the posters who're saying you don't have anything to lose but thyme to gain.

 

Wouldn't hurt to know the names of the plants in Chinese in the off-case you're pulled aside because of them.

[abcdefg]

"Poor guy was busted for basil and is now doing thyme in a Heilongjiang prison."

[somethingfunny]

Wasn't his name Basil?  He'll be an old Chinese sage when he's released.  Unless he can curry some favour for early release.

 

Enough.

[Mati1]

Semi off topic:

I've heard that China has an extremely strict anti drugs policy. Do they have a fixed list of "drugs", or does it concern everything that someone might burn, sniff, ...?

 

Note: I am not a drug user and don't plan on becoming one.

 

--

 

28 minutes ago, somethingfunny said:

Unless he can curry some flavour for early release.

Fixed.

[Alex_Hart]

1 hour ago, abcdefg said:

"Poor guy was busted for basil and is now doing thyme in a Heilongjiang prison."

 

Back to the question at hand: Yes, you can absolutely grow basil in Shanghai. It grows much better here in Hangzhou (less than an hour away from Shanghai) than it did back in New York, which has relatively similar weather to parts of Germany (we're a few degrees colder and warmer than Bavaria in winter/summer respectively).  I planted mine rather late (May) and in August had two pots absolutely overflowing in basil. My classmates both have their pots still going.

 

As to seed sources, there are many. Last year, my mother mailed me a small packet of seeds [oregano, thyme and basil] all of which flourished - they fit in a letter envelope and got here no problem. Second, I went away for a month in August and my plants sadly perished, so I bought a whole plant off Taobao which I just received a week ago. Taobao plants do not arrive in great condition having spent the past 2 days in a cardboard box, and the soil always sucks, so I don't really have any hope for it, but it has lasted a week (the mint I bought off taobao died off right away). If you were to follow this route, I would recommend buying another pot and replanting the basil. Third source is Taobao seeds. There are plenty of options, though they don't seem to be labeled quite as well as seeds tend to be in the US (i.e. you might end up growing Thai basil, or lemon thyme, when you thought you were getting sweet basil or normal thyme)

 

I don't know if you could plant them in November - that's quite late in the growing season and basil really thrives on warm summer weather. If you were to try, it would almost certainly not grow enough to harvest - Shanghai apartments almost never come with heating so the nights will drop below ten degrees often, and not go that much higher during the day. You could buy a grow light and stick the basil in a closet, but space is at such a premium that I doubt you'd be able to follow that method. Wait till spring to sow. If you really want to start in November, buy a rosemary or mint plant off Taobao - they handle cold weather better.

 

Something to note: you can almost certainly find basil leaves in Shanghai. There is a farm in @abcdefg 's hometown that grows western herbs, the "Metro" and "Ole" supermarket chains both seem to have them once in awhile. You can also easily buy dried basil online; believe they also have fresh basil. Fresh herbs cost a fortune in China. I only bought them once and it was really more for fun than anything - the chain supermarkets don't really compare to your local 农业市场 for most stuff and I've never found any reason to go except to buy a chunk of Parmesan. Vegetables cost twice as much and aren't as fresh, but come wrapped in enough plastic to make you feel guilty about even looking at them. 

[Shelley]

22 minutes ago, Alex_Hart said:

you could buy a grow light and stick the basil in a closet

Hmm could be mistaken for something else, here in the UK unless you are large known garden establishment, there is only one reason to buy a grow light and its not legal.

 

Just grow what right for the season, tastes better anyway.

[Alex_Hart]

3 minutes ago, Shelley said:

Hmm could be mistaken for something else, here in the UK unless you are large known garden establishment, there is only one reason to buy a grow light and its not legal.

 

A lot of people now grow herbs with grow lights - they're not quite as industrial or professional as what you're thinking of! You could buy them off Amazon back in the US - not sure about elsewhere as I prefer my food seasonal as well. Most easily fit on a kitchen counter.

[Mati1]

Oregano Pizza is always in season.

[Shelley]

1 hour ago, Alex_Hart said:

industrial or professional

Not so, one grow light available online or else where as described by you is just the sort of set up people have growing 1 or 2 or maybe 3 plants in a closet. Not at all uncommon.

[JohnKillerDoe]

Thank you all, especially Alex_Hart for the exhausting answer. On Wednesday, I'm going for visa so maybe I'm going to ask them about seeds. It's written on a website that I can take seeds with me but with a permission.

I grow chilli peppers under LED lights home in a cupboard and it's without problem but the chilli peppers need more light than basil and thyme (ca. 12 hours per day). I made everything myself, I bought LED with important spectrums for plants via eBay for 20$ and power source and that's all what I needed. I will see how it's going. On some websites I read the basil is possible to grow home in Germany the whole year and the weather is better in Shanghai than in Germany. Of course I know that it isn't optimal during autumn and winter and a crop will not be so good as during the summer.

[imron]

55 minutes ago, JohnKillerDoe said:

I'm going for visa so maybe I'm going to ask them about seeds

Call my cynical, but my guess is that they will be able to offer zero insight.