If you are tired of buying your herbs from the supermarket, it may be time for you to create your very own herb garden. Here are some helpful tips on how to create your own herb garden.
First you will need to decide which herbs you want to grow. For instance, you could grow sage, rosemary, thyme, dill, mint, chives, and cilantro. Once you have decided what you want to plant in your herb garden you will need to have some information about these herbs. For instance, coriander, dill and basil will die after just 1 season whereas parsley lives for 2. There are also some herbs that will bloom every year. These include chives, thyme, mint, marjoram and tarragon.
Secondly, you are going to need to decide just how large your herb garden will be. You are also going to want to be able to keep the annuals and perennials separate from one another.
Third, you need to know that drainage is the key to a successful herb garden. Once you choose where your garden is going to be located, you will want to make sure the drainage and soil fertility are correct. This is important because without proper drainage your garden will fail. To improve your drainage you should remove the soil to a depth of between 15 and 18 inches. You will then want to place a 3 inch layer of crushed stone on the bottom. Then mix some compost or peat moss with sand and refill the site to a point that is higher than the original level so as to allow for the settling of the soil. The soil does not need any additional fertilizer because it does not need to be fertile. Now the site and soil are ready for planting, so you can purchase your seeds.
If you choose to plant parsley, then you will need to sow the seeds directly into the ground in the late part of spring. Regardless of what you plant, you are going to want to work the soil surface to achieve a really fine texture. Then wet it slightly before sowing the seeds in very shallow rows with soil over them. Once you are done, you need to cover the seed bed with either wet burlap or paper to keep the soil moist during germination. Make sure that you water the seeds with a fine spray to prevent the soil from washing away.
In order to protect your perennial and biennial herbs you should put about 4 inches of mulch on them after the ground has frozen in the early winter. You should not remove this mulch until the plants show signs of growth in the early spring. If you remove it too soon your plants could have some early frost damage. You can find more information online or by asking your gardening supply store for advice.
Recent Comments