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I tend to use a lot of fresh herbs for cooking so over time with trial and error I have come up with this:

It is possible to keep herbs fresh (Parsley and Dill mostly) for around a week or more but putting them on an EMPTY jar (without water) and spraying water on them, then a plastic bag would loosely cover it. Since I use herbs bit by bit every day so I re-spray water on them every other day or so. The herbs are almost entirely green and crispy, with virtually no difference from fresh.

If I mixed water with fertilizer and sprayed it on the plants would they keep alive indefinitely or long time?

EDIT: I know that once a vegetable is picked it will start metabolizing its own nutrients at certain rate before it goes bad.

Now if I place herbs' stem ends in a pot with soil (well-fertilized), will it stop it from metabolizing itself? Since it can get nutrients from soil?

Joshua
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    questions about nutrition are off-topic, I've edited to delete that part of your question. – GdD May 22 '15 at 15:04
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    Fertilizer is basically some animal's excrement. Are you sure you want to spray it on leaves you're then going to eat? (Well, OK, so artificial fertilizers exist that aren't made from poop, but *those* have the added feature of being very close to the same thing as explosives. Again, are you sure this is what you want to be eating?) – Marti May 22 '15 at 17:24
  • Well, technically plants are meant to be fertilized from time to time if they are grown in pots, aren't they? – Joshua May 23 '15 at 01:02
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    @Joshua plants are meant to grow in fertilized soil. The fertilizer does not get through the soil onto the leaves. The roots pick up some compounds from it and then use them for growth - transforming them into entirely different compounds. – rumtscho May 23 '15 at 11:21
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    This is a duplicate of a question by the same user from some time ago: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/56104/fresh-herb-storage?rq=1 – Ecnerwal May 24 '15 at 03:18

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Dousing your herbs with fertilizer is not going to preserve your herbs, and could make you sick as many fertilizers are toxic.

If you want really fresh herbs you can keep them in pots on a windowsill, otherwise your spraying water method is about as good as you are likely to get.

GdD
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  • 1) I did not mean to directly spray the fertilizer, but mixing it in water and then spraying it, so it will be diluted, mostly water. If I keep them in water in a windowsill will they keep forever if I water it? I'm given to understand that herbs without roots will not really stay alive, that's why I had MUCH better results spraying water on them instead of just putting them on a jar with water in it. 2) Why would spraying the herb with a diluted fertilizer not work? Since the roots aren't that strong, it would help the herb stay alive right? Am I missing a point here? – Joshua May 22 '15 at 16:43
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    @Joshua Fertilizer isn't meant to be absorbed through the leaves, and it doesn't miraculously make plants "healthy" or grow or stay alive. It's for enriching soil, which the plant can then take from as needed (I'm simplifying). Mixing plant food in water and putting the roots/bottom of the stems in it (not spraying) would work much better. – Matthew Read May 22 '15 at 16:49
  • Even then, plants require exposure to sunlight to photosynthesize and grow; fertilizer and soil provide other nutrients, but are not a complete solution. This is like providing an animal with plenty of air, water, and necessary vitamins, but depriving it of food. It might stay alive and look reasonably healthy for a while, but it won't last forever. – logophobe May 22 '15 at 20:52
  • Well, does the plant have to be in direct sunlight? If yes I can provide that ;) If I mixed some fertilizer with water and put the bottom of the stems in it would it stay healthy without consuming its own nutrients? Assuming I put it in a place where it can get sunlight? My question is, WILl the plant stay alive without roots but just stems? – Joshua May 22 '15 at 22:12
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    If you are going to to that why not just have a living potted plant? If you want fresh herbs on demand it's a much simpler solution than trying to keep cut herbs fresh for longer. – GdD May 23 '15 at 06:35
  • That's what I also thought: Can I put the stems inside a pot with soil on a windowsill and keep plants alive? In this case will the plant stop metabolizing itself and die soon? – Joshua May 23 '15 at 08:59
  • You cannot stick cut-off plant pieces into a pot and expect them to grow (at least for most plants). It is easy to grow your own herbs, but you need to do it the right way. I'm sure there are many tutorials for beginners on the Internet, and you can ask on gardening.stackexchange.com for special concerns. – rumtscho May 23 '15 at 11:23
  • Well, I checked on one gardening website that you can grow herbs from the stem; I am providing it with light and soil, what would be the problem? – Joshua May 23 '15 at 15:17
  • Not all herbs can be easily grown from the stem. For further questions about growing herbs I would suggest that you head to [gardening.SE] – Ching Chong May 23 '15 at 17:06
  • @Joshua *some* herbs you can root from the stem by keeping them in a water vase or damp paper towel, but not all. Some may need rooting powder to root; but this is definitely a question for [Gardening and Landscaping](http://gardening.stackexchange.com) – Chris Macksey May 23 '15 at 21:21