How To Grow Herbs

Learning how to grow herbs is not as difficult as some may think. You just need some basic tips and techniques to care for and grow your own herbs.

Caring for your herbs begins once your herbs are transplanted or have emerged from the small seeds you planted into tiny green seedlings.

If you've planned and prepared properly, taking care of your herb garden will not require much time or effort.

In fact, learning how to grow herbs is so easy a "caveman can do it." Just kidding! All joking aside growing herbs is so easy that you'll probably want to grow an even bigger garden (depending on space available) with more herb varieties the following year.

I hope these basic tips and techniques will assist in helping you learn how to grow herbs and care for your herb garden.

How To Grow Herbs And Thin Your Herb Garden

What is thinning and how does it benefit the health of your plants?

Thinning is basically giving your plants enough space to breath, so they can reach their full potential.

Herbs or any other vegetable plant are usually thinned once they have developed one or two sets of true leaves. Please refer to the "list of herbs" section of this website to find out the proper spacing distance of different herb plants.

Thinning gives the roots of each plant plenty of space to gather food and water. Overcrowded plants have a tough time growing to their full potential because they have a hard time getting the nutrients they need. Overcrowded plants can also suffer from inadequate light if they're being shaded by taller neighbors.

Thinning also helps in preventing a variety of fungal and bacterial diseases.

All plants release moisture and unless a breeze is blowing, this moisture can remain close to the leaves, raising the relative humidity levels around the plant. This humidity can lead to a number of bacterial and fungal diseases.

There are two ways to thin your plants.

The first is to just pull the extra plants from the soil, and the second is to cut them off just below the soils surface.

I happen to prefer and recommend the first method! Why? When you cut off the unwanted seedlings, the open wound that's left behind is an open invitation to rot organisms. These organisms usually stay with the dying plant, but in some cases can build to populations that can harm your other plants. Why take any chances when you can just thin by pulling?

How To Grow Herbs Through Succession Planting

In order to have a steady supply of popular annual herbs such as basil, cilantro, and dill, you'll need to plant more than one crop each year.

Because these plants mature so quickly, you'll need to spend some time removing the plants that are past their prime and replacing them with young seedlings.

How To Grow Herbs And Water Your Herb Garden

Throughout the first season of any garden, you'll learn how quickly the soil dries out and how frequently the soil dries out and how frequently it needs watered.

There are several factors that determine how fast soil dries out.

• 1. The type of soil you have. (sandy, silt, or clay)
• 2. Its humus content.
• 3. The amount and intensity of the sunlight it receives.
• 4. How windy the site is.

As you tend the plants in your new herb garden you'll begin to develop a "watering sense" about the soil. I recommend getting into a habit of checking the soil at least once per day while the seeds are germinating and every other day after they are established.

Your gardens watering requirements will change with the season. You can expect to water more in the summer when the plants drink more, and less in the fall when they are going dormant. Mulching can help decrease water loss, so you won't have to water as often.

Drip irrigation systems and soaker hoses can save time as well as water when learning how to grow herbs. Make sure to set the timer (if you have one) to water deeply every few days instead of a little every day. The soil should be moist to at least 8 inches below the soils surface. This also holds true if you are watering with a hose or can.

The time of day you water is also very important. Try to water early in the morning or later in the evening. That way the roots will have time to soak up the water before it evaporates.

How To Grow Herbs And Weed Your Herb Garden

No one enjoys pulling weeds (except for my mother-in-law) but it is a necessary chore in order for your garden to flourish.

The key to staying ahead of weeds is just that - staying ahead. Setting aside time to weed your herb garden will help give your plants enough room to grow and plenty of food and water. Weeding also helps cut down on disease and insect problems.

You will need to weed often during the first part of the growing season. After your herb garden is prepared, planted, and weeded, avoid turning the soil. Every time you turn up the soil, you expose new weed seeds to light, allowing them to sprout. I recommend pulling the weeds out by hand instead of using a hoe.

Weeding can seem like an ongoing chore, especially since there are weeds for every season. It finally starts winding down by July. By August weeding is only a memory for most gardeners.

TIP: Don't ignore the tiny rosettes of winter annuals that begin to appear then. If you pull them now, they won't be a problem next spring.

How To Grow Herbs And Mulch Your Herb Garden

If you want to cut down on the time you spend weeding, there's a simple solution: mulch. Mulches can drastically cut weeding time by preventing the weed seeds from getting the light they need.

The best mulches include landscape cloth, usually covered with a layer of wood chips; wood chips alone; shredded leaves; and straw.

Grass clippings should only be used for your annual herbs. Grass clippings release lots of nitrogen as they decompose, so save them for your annual herbs. They will appreciate the extra nourishment.

You can mulch around plants that like cooler growing conditions as soon as they are several inches taller than the mulch. For heat-loving-plants, wait until the soil has warmed so you don't cool them down too much.

To avoid encouraging pests that love mulches, leave a 6 to 8 inch circle of bare soil around the plant stems and leaf rosettes.

Thanks to microorganisms, the bottom layer of organic mulch will gradually decompose, turning the mulch into humus. This is great for your plants, but it means you'll probably have to replenish your mulch during the growing season.

Anyone can buy a few seeds or plants and stick them in the ground, but learning how to grow herbs properly will save you lots of headache in the future.

Make sure to check out the other sections of my website. They are loaded with useful information on how to grow herbs and their many uses.