Growing herbs in a spare corner of your yard is easy,Designing a herb garden from scratch is not hard. The main thing to remember is to keep your taller plants to the back of the garden, or use them as a windbreak if you need to. Smaller hardy plants can be used as borders, and the more tender plants kept in the center. Try to mix the smaller plants up if you can. It doesn’t hurt to have parsley growing alongside sage, or another plant of similar size.
We have suggested in other pages that the best way to grow herbs is to mix them in amongst other plants, in with the flowers and vegetables. That helps to keep pest bugs away from your valuable plants. However there circumstances when you may need a dedicated herb garden. There may be a very suitable spot just outside the kitchen door, or a sunny little corner handy to the barbecue area that you would like to turn into a herb garden. On one other web page we have some information about herb companion planting, because it is important that you do not put plants which do not like each other, too close together!
Most herbs are easy to grow, but you must select the proper location to grow them. Most herbs need a sunny location, and only a few, including angelica, woodruff and sweet cicely, are better grown in partial shade. The oils, which account for the herbs’ flavor, are produced in the greatest quantity when plants receive six to eight hours of full sunlight each day. If you don’t have a good, sunny location, many herbs will tolerate light shade, but their growth and quality will not be as good! Garden soil is important, because herbs like good garden soil. The soil should not be extremely acid or alkaline; a soil nearly neutral is best for most herbs. A pH reading between 6.5 and 7.0 produces the best herbs. Most herbs do not require a highly fertile soil. Highly fertile soils tend to produce excessive foliage that is poor in flavor. Herbs grow best when soils have plenty of organic matter.
We advocate no-dig gardening, so just layer a good compost or good soil over the subsoil. The herb roots will soon penetrate the subsoil and condition it. Worms will loosen it up too, and mulch will break down and vitalise the soil. If you raise the level of the herb garden slightly with some rocks or timber around the edge, it helps drainage, and makes it easier to plant and pick. Very few insects or diseases attack herbs. In some localities, rusts infect mints. In hot, dry weather, spider mites damage some herbs. Aphids attack anise, caraway, dill and fennel. Grasshoppers and certain caterpillars attack herbs when conditions are right. Control is usually not necessary. ************************************************************
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Click here! Most herbs grow easily from seeds. In cooler climates, sow the seeds in pots or trays indoors in late winter. They need a sunny window and cool temperatures (60 degrees F) for best growth. Because some plants take longer than others to develop, start those with smaller seeds first. You may later transplant them into individual pots and plant them in the garden after danger of frost is past. The finer the seeds, the shallower you should sow them. Some herbs do not transplant well. Sow anise, coriander, dill and fennel directly in the garden. For direct seeding outdoors, plant in spring after all danger of frost is past and the soil is beginning to warm up. Make the soil into a fine, level seed bed. As a general rule, sow seeds at a depth of twice their diameter. Some herbs are propagated by cutting, dividing or layering. Layering is suitable for many perennials with flexible branches. Just score the stem and pin to the ground with a wire staple or similar. Cover with good soil and leave for 4 to 8 weeks till new roots develop. Then cut the stem from the parent plant and plant in a pot or in the ground. Thyme, lemon balm, winter savory, sage, bay and rosemary can be layered.
Cut just below a node to form a cutting that is 3 to 5 inches long. Most herbs should root in two to four weeks. After rooting, over winter them indoors in pots on a sunny window or in a cold frame. Plant them outdoors in a permanent location the following spring.
Dig up the old plant and cut or pull it apart into sections. Replant the sections and keep them moist until the new plants are established. Dividing works well for tarragon, chives and mint.
In cold climates, many herbs suffer winter damage, so some winter protection for perennial herbs is advisable. Some herbs have shallow roots that heave out during spring thawing and freezing of soil.
A loose mulch spread over the roots about 4 inches deep can provide adequate protection. Straw or oak leaves are good materials for a mulch. Don’t mulch until after the ground is frozen in early winter. Don’t remove the mulch until you see signs of new growth in the early spring. If the mulch compacts during the winter from heavy snows, loosen it up in early spring before growth begins.
Depending on the herb, harvest may include one or more plant parts. In most cases you harvest the leaves, but in some cases you pick flowers, seeds or roots. Handle blossoms just as you would handle leaves. Often, you harvest blossoms with the leaves and mix them together. Dried herbs lose quality in two to three years. Discard them if you haven’t used them in that time. While experience will tell you the best harvest time for each herb, there are some simple rules. Just as you should plant all plants by the moon, it is even more important that you harvest them by the moon too! To pick the leaves when they contain the optimum amount of essential oils, try to pick in the week before the full moon. If you read our web page about planting by the phases of the moon you will understand why this is so important. It is the oils that give herbs their special flavor or scent, so ideally you should also cut herbs just after the dew has gone. Happy gardening, Patrick! ps, Remember that if you plant a green tree in your heart, a singing bird may come!
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