Cultivating a new herb garden is a wonderful adventure. The benefits of herb gardening could be obtained from any of the herb usage classifications selected by the herb gardener to grow. The plants are easy to grow, hearty and for the most part insect free. The following tips can find the new herb gardener off to a fantastic start.
Sizing The Herb Garden
It’s helpful to diagram your own garden. Determine how much space you’ll need and this will be dependent on the kind and quantity of plants you need from the garden. A 4 by 20 foot area should be a perfect size for a kitchen garden. Each herb ought to be allocated a 12 by 18 inch area. The type plant ought to be considered in plant location. For example colorful or often used herbs like basil or parsley ought to be utilised as border plants. Annuals and bi-annuals must be separated from perennials.
Soil and Site Conditions
The most significant element in the herb growing success formula is soil drainage. Herb plants hate wet feet and won’t grow in too damp ground. With that in mind let soil drainage be your first consideration when choosing the location of your herb garden. If you don’t have a well drained spot for your garden, not to worry. A well drained garden area can be produced by eliminating the backyard area ground down to 16 inches and then putting down a 3 inch layer of gravel. Mix a tiny sand with the dirt you removed earlier and then replace it on top of the gravel. Now you’ve got a well drained garden plot.
The dirt for herb growing shouldn’t be too rich. Usually highly fertile soils will lead to herb plants to produce more leaves and stalks than taste and aromas. Some herb plants like lovage, summer savory, fennel and chervil require small quantities of fertilizer.
Sowing Herb Seed
With few exceptions herbs can be successfully grown from seed from the gardener. Herbs are resistant to just about all insects and diseases. Among the few exceptions is that anise, caraway, fennel and dill occasionally bothered by aphids.
It’s wise to sow seeds in the late winter and transplant the seed sprouts out in the backyard in the spring. Herb seeds can be quite small so care needs to taken not to sow them too heavy. Usually one eight of an inch of soil is adequate for finer seed such as savory, thyme or marjoram. During germination finer seed ought to be covered with burlap to keep the soil moist throughout the procedure. Fennel, dill and coriander seed should be planted straight into the garden since they’re not amenable to transplanting.
Harvesting Herbs
You can start harvesting fresh herb leaves as soon as there are sufficient on the plant to keep growth after you choose what you require. Good material insures excellent flavor and fragance. The best time to pick leaves or seed heads to get the best oil content is only after the dew has gone away and before the sun becomes too hot.
