Basic herb gardening is quite a joy. Especially in the springtime. By this time of year, we’re tired of the cold winter days and long to escape in the warm sunshine and dig in the soil. Spring upkeep of your herb garden is a superb way to begin the gardening season.
About Herbs
Most herbs are relatively easy to grow and they can be grown in every area. Many are annuals and are started from seeds bought as small plants annually after the last frost. Garden centers and mail-order catalogs are great places to buy herbs.
Following the springtime care tips below will provide you a fantastic start in your outdoor herb gardening season.
Locating Your Herb Garden
Herbs aren’t that picky about where they develop, provided that you give them the fundamentals. They need 6 hours of sun, well drained soil, correct light requirements and moderate temperatures. Avoiding sites where the soil is too wet or too dry, indicating too much sand or clay, is beneficial.
Growing Herbs From Seeds
Maybe you began your basil and fennel herb seeds within four to six weeks before the final frost date of April 18th. If so, soon they’ll be prepared to put out in the backyard.
Once the frost free date is past, you’re free to plant seeds of anise, coriander, dill, fennel, summer savory directly outside.
Easy Perennial Herbs
Some perennial herbs such as rosemary, mint, lemon balm, chives, and oregano will return annually. Other perennials that do well in the Mid-South are lovage, hyssop, lavender, sage, sweet marjoram, sweet woodruff, tarragon, and thyme.
Springtime Pruning
The middle of March and early April is the time to cut back perennial herbs here in the Mid-South. Herbs like artemisia and other woody herbs are pruned to keep them from getting leggy. If it’s been awhile since you pruned, cutting back to about 6 inches is advised.
Also in the middle of March, prune back herbs like rue, sage, and thyme to new green timber to eliminate dead stem tips and to help shape the crops and to promote new growth.
Did your rosemary get hit hard by the freezing winter? Being a marginal perennial herb, it may take a while cold, but when it gets down to 8 levels your rosemary will endure. If yours took a hit this winter, it could be time to replace it with a new one rather than attempting to prune it. If it was planted close to your home and lived with the warmth of your house, then pruning an inch or so off the hints will help keep it bushy and stop it from becoming too woody in the center.
Fertilizing
One thing which makes fundamental herb gardening so simple is that you don’t actually have to worry about fertilizing. Herbs generally don’t require any more alterations than a little organic matter like compost. They do take advantage of a beverage of compost tea made from soaking compost in water. Straining it, and adding enough water to create a liquid the color of tea is beneficial.
Nothing can compare to the joy of going out into your yard and reaping a few stems to use on your favourite meal. Basic herb gardening permits you to create your own vinegars, wreaths, and potpourri and can bring hours of enjoyment throughout the year.
