Plant An Herb Garden

Are you ready to plant an herb garden? Planting is one of the most exciting parts of the herb gardening process.

After all the planning and site preparation you've done, it's a wonderful feeling when you form the first furrow or transplant your first seedling.

The next step in this process is to decide whether to grow your herbs from transplants or from seed.

Some herbs are best grown from young plants that have been propagated by cuttings or divisions. Others will grow easily from seed sown directly into your garden and some will do best when their seeds are given an early start indoors.

The reality is to plant an herb garden that has everything you want, it's very likely you'll be transplanting some purchased plants, transplanting some seedlings you grew yourself and seeding some herbs directly in the soil.

I personally love growing as many herbs as possible from seed. To me it's very exciting seeing a little seed grow into this beautiful plant. It's kind of like watching your kids grow up.

Starting Your Seeds Indoors

Its very practical and a lot of fun to start some of your homegrown seedlings indoors. Herbs such as thyme and oregano are so tiny as seedlings, you may loose track of them if you sow outdoors. If you start them inside, you will be able to grow them to a manageable size.

Some other herbs you may want to start inside include betony, parsley, and rue. These herbs are very slow growing, so you'll want to give them a head start indoors.

Starting seeds indoors gives you a head start on the season, which is a useful trick if you are growing annual herbs. By starting them indoors, you will be able to harvest them earlier in the season.

Starting seeds indoors is also much easier than you may think. Some tips to being successful are:

• - Follow the germination requirements, including soil temperature.
• - Make sure the starting soil mixture is consistently moist.
• - Set flats or pots where they get air circulation and light once the seedlings appear.

Herbs are not like most vegetables! They may take several weeks before they germinate.

Patience is definitely a virtue when starting a perennial herb indoors. These seeds usually take at least three weeks to one month before they sprout. During this time make sure to keep the seed-starting medium moist and keep the container in the correct environment. If there is still no sign of life, double check the germination requirements. Some perennial herb seeds require very special treatment to get them growing.

You will need to grow your seedlings at temperatures slightly cooler than what they germinated at. Indoor temperatures are usually warm enough but the air is often too dry. To increase the humidity, I like to use a humidifier for about 20 minutes in the morning and evening.

Transplanting Herbs Into Your Garden

When do you transplant your young herb plants into your garden? That really depends on the cold-hardiness of the plants.

Keep in mind that you'll need to allow several days for "hardening off" your tender seedlings. This is a process of gradually exposing them to the conditions of the garden.

It's best to begin transplanting on a cloudy day, or wait until after 3 p.m. when the sun isn't as hot. Since I live in Florida, I usually have to wait until after 6 p.m. Before you begin transplanting, soak each seedling's root ball in a mixture of 1 part seaweed and 1 part fish emulsion.

After the herbs are in the ground, firm the soil around each one to bring the roots into contact with the surrounding soil.

If you purchased you herb plants from a nursery or greenhouse, you can plant them in your garden the same way you would your own seedling transplants. Keep in mind that the plants you buy will need hardening off too.

Sowing Directly Into Your Garden

There are many herbs including perennials that you can sow directly in the soil when you plant an herb garden. Remember that a little extra care in the beginning will make things a whole lot easier in the long run.

Before you plant an herb garden make sure you address the weeds. Even if you've stripped away the sod or planted a cover crop, weeds will eventually pop up. They're just waiting in the soil for their chance to germinate.

A good way to prevent this is to use the old "farmers' trick" of making a "stale seedbed." This is done by preparing the soil as you normally would, but don't plant right away. Instead wait a week. During this time the weeds close to the soils surface will begin to germinate. Once they sprout, you can then dig them out with a garden hoe.

Make sure not to dig deeper than about an inch below the soils surface. This technique will eliminate the weeds close to the soils surface, without bringing up the weed seeds that are buried deeper.

Germination requires the right soil temperatures and nearly constant moisture levels.

When you plant an herb garden with herbs that take a long time to germinate, cover the planting rows with a couple of sheets newspaper, weighted down at the edges to keep it in place, and water thoroughly. The newspaper helps retain moisture, allowing you to water just once a day during sunny periods. If the seeds require light for germination, cover them with a "floating row cover" material instead of newspaper.

Before you plant an herb garden or any garden for that matter, its best to properly do the necessary work at the beginning, so you can do less work once your garden begins to grow.