Indeed. Livin' off the fat 'o the land

This explains where you have been.....

 amox - my stuff's organic too ( that's part of the point! ) and that's why the herb cages got built. I wasn't about to use any kind of pesticide and since the herbs are all annual anyway, they don't need the bees ;-) Keeps snails out, too.

 Thanks for the great tips.

Odunford: I agree about cilantro being so cheap in the store, but I love to make salsa and was hoping I could have almost all the ingredients growing in the backyard. Hadn't thought about cageing the peppers because I have no idea how large they get, but I'll be sure to get some cages this weekend.

Griff: I like the idea of your herb cages. Haven't had any problems with insects yet, but we're trying to keep the garden organic so not sure what we'll use to kills the pests if and when they arrive.

ebartley: glad to hear the cilantro has a chance. I thinned the brownest stems and it does look a little healthier. How great does basil smell on your fingers. Delightful. Thanks for the overwatering warning. It's a tightrope I tell you, a tightrope!

Mr Sperber: I had been wondering what to do with the stuff that doesn't look so great!

 Cilantro is a finicky herb! My cilantro is looking brown too, and I pamper them. Thing is, cilantro likes cooler weather - which it doesn't get a lot of in Bakersfield! I had my best success growing them in pots indoor by the window.

After some insect came by in the dead of night and ate all my herbs a couple years ago, I've taken to growing them inside "herb cages" - which is just some big wooden boxes with insect screen netting sides and hinged top that we built. We just started calling then "herb cages". Works fantastically - nothing eats my 'erbs, watering them through the screen is easy, and opening the top to harvest herbs is a snap.

The herb cages are on the patio, though, where it is cooler and they only get morning sun. It takes some tweaks to get it right!

 Good luck with the herbs outside!  I have grown peppers, tomatoes, squash etc. in a little garden in my backyard's landscaping for a few years with some success (mostly with the peppers, even in pots on the patio) but have failed miserably with most of the herbs.  I either over or underwater, or the snails or slugs gobble 'em up first.  Plus, with a bunch of cilantro running less than $0.50, that has been a better route to go (once you mentally get past the pesticides and fertilizers used to grow what you buy in the store).  I have been able to grow thyme, oregano and basil (sometimes) but found that they are best grown inside, on a windowsill which gets lots of sun.  My biggest success has been with a huge variety of peppers and chiles (jalapeno, serrano, anaheim, Thai, sweet cherry, poblano and - to a lesser extent - the colored bells:  red, purple, yellow and orange).  Be sure to stake or cage them -- it's easier now when they're small.  Also, some pepper plants will last through the winter (even if they look like they're dead or dying).  With tomatoes, you can/should bury up to 1/3 of the lower part of the stem when planting.  My best results with tomatoes have been with the smaller varieties (golden globe, cherry, Roma).  I find that the larger ones split open at the top before they seem ripe enough to pick.  Growing tomatoes and peppers means an endless supply of salsa for parties all summer long!  Watch your squash carefully:  one day, they're tiny but the next, they're overgrown, tough and seedy.   One year, I had pattycake squash that were the size of dinner plates! 

 And you're gonna bring any surplus to work and give 'em to your appreciative coworkers with black thumbs, right, Andrew?  :)