Gardening With Herbs From Seeds or PlantsBefore I tell you how to begin gardening with herbs, I'm going to show you where you can buy many of them already processed, packaged and ready to use. If you still want to grow your own, keep scrolling. Herbs can be grown in your garden or indoors in pots. The Botanical Source Specialists in organic seeds and healthy herbs. Wellness Charts suitable for framing. Herbal remedies for common ailments, vitamin and mineral chart, pregnancy nutrition chart and more. Great gift idea!
Growing and Harvesting Your Own HerbsIn a botanical sense, an herb is a plant that does not produce a woody stem and dies back to the ground each winter to a perennial root system. Herbaceous plants in the landscape and garden normally include annuals, perennials, biennials, bulbs and grasses.In the garden sense, herbs are plants that serve as a major source of seasonings in the preparation of foods. In an even broader sense, herbs include those plants that are also useful for scents in cosmetics or for medicinal purposes. Some of them are woody and out step the definition of an herbaceous plant. In the gardens of American pioneers, herbs were the major source of seasonings for foods. They were also used for curing illnesses, storing with linens, strewing on floors, covering the bad taste of meats before refrigeration was devised, dyeing homespun fabrics and as fragrances. With the advent of the supermarket, growing herbs in the garden declined because a wide range of dried herbs became available in stores. Now, however, with an increase in the popularity of ethnic foods, combined with a realization that fresh herbs have more distinctive tastes than some dried herbs, more gardeners are growing at least a few herbs for fresh use, drying or freezing. General culture Light: Most herbs are easy to grow, but you must select the proper location to grow them. Most herbs need a sunny location, and only a few, including angelica, woodruff and sweet cicely, are better grown in partial shade. The oils, which account for the herbs’ flavor, are produced in the greatest quantity when plants receive six to eight hours of full sunlight each day. If you don’t have a good, sunny location, many herbs will tolerate light shade, but their growth and quality will not be as good. Soil: Herbs will grow in any good garden soil. The soil should not be extremely acid or alkaline; a soil nearly neutral is best for most herbs. A pH reading between 6.5 and 7.0 produces the best herbs. Most herbs do not require a highly fertile soil. Highly fertile soils tend to produce excessive foliage that is poor in flavor. Herbs grow best when soils have adequate organic matter. In preparing average soils, incorporate 4 inches of peat moss or compost into the garden area to improve soil condition and help retain moisture. Drainage: When selecting a site for an herb garden, you must consider drainage. None of the important herbs grow in wet soils, but a few, such as mint, angelica and lovage, thrive in fairly moist soils. If the only area available is poorly drained, you need to modify the area. Build raised beds or install underground drainage tiles to grow herbs successfully. Preparation: Once you select a site, cultivate the soil to a depth of 12 to 18 inches, and then level it. If only a shallow layer of topsoil exists above hard subsoil, remove the topsoil temporarily. Break up the subsoil and add organic matter. Even though the topsoil may be better than the subsoil, the topsoil may also need additional organic matter. Pests: Few insects or diseases attack herbs. In some localities, rusts infect mints. In hot, dry weather, spider mites damage some herbs. Aphids attack anise, caraway, dill and fennel. Grasshoppers and certain caterpillars attack herbs when conditions are right. Control is usually not necessary until you notice a problem. Propagation: seeds. You can grow many herbs from seeds. If possible, sow the seeds in pots or flats indoors in late winter. They need a sunny window and cool temperatures (60 degrees F) for best growth. Treat young plants for the garden just as you would treat young salvia or pepper plants. Some plants take longer than others to develop, start those with smaller seeds first, preferably in February. You may later transplant them into individual pots and plant them in the garden after danger of frost is past. The finer the seeds, the shallower you should sow them A few herbs do not transplant well. Sow them directly into the garden. Plant anise, coriander, dill and fennel directly in the garden and don’t transplant them. For direct seeding outdoors, plant in spring after all danger of frost is past and the soil is beginning to warm up. Make the soil into a fine, level seed bed. As a general rule, sow seeds at a depth of twice their diameter. Propagation: cutting, division, layering. Some established herbs are multiplied asexually by cutting, division or layering. Layering is suitable for many perennials with flexible branches. Division works well for tarragon, chives and mint. You can propagate lavender, lemon balm, scented geraniums, sage and rosemary from cuttings. You can take cuttings of herbs any time during late spring and summer from healthy, well-established plants. Those taken in fall take longer to root. Healthy tip growth makes the best cuttings. Cuttings of vigorous soft shoots or old woody stems are less desirable. Cut just below a node to form a cutting that is 3 to 5 inches long. Most herbs should root in two to four weeks. After rooting, over- winter them indoors in pots on a sunny window or in a coldframe. Plant them outdoors in a permanent location the following spring. Division is useful for multiplying healthy, established plants that may be two to four years old. Division allows modest increase for plants like chives, mints and French tarragon. Divide herbs in early spring before growth begins. Dig up the old plant and cut or pull it apart into sections. Replant the sections and keep them moist until the new plants are established. Layering is the simplest and most reliable method to increase perennial herbs such as thyme, lemon balm, winter savory, sage, bay and rosemary. The basic principle is to produce roots on a stem while it is still attached to the parent plant. After you root the stem, detach the new plant from the parent. Select a healthy branch that is growing close to the ground and that is flexible enough to bend down to the soil. While holding the branch close to the soil, bend the top 6 to 10 inches of the stem into a vertical position. It may be helpful to scrape the bark on the underside of the branch at the bend. Bury the bent, scraped portion 3 to 6 inches deep, and anchor it with a wire loop. Insert a small stake to hold the top upright. Water thoroughly. You can layer anytime from spring to late summer. Allow the rooted shoot to remain in place until the following spring. Then cut it from the parent plant and plant it into the desired location. Winter protection: Many herbs suffer winter damage in our climate, so some winter protection for perennial herbs is advisable. Many herbs have shallow roots that heave out during spring thawing and freezing of soil. A loose mulch spread over the roots about 4 inches deep can provide adequate protection. Evergreen boughs, straw or oak leaves are good materials for a mulch. Don’t mulch until after the ground has frozen in early winter. Do not remove mulch until you see signs of new growth in the early spring. If the mulch compacts during the winter from heavy snows, fluff it up in early spring before growth begins.
Herb Descriptions
Angelica: A very tall biennial with large clusters of small greenish flowers. The main use is for a condiment or confection. Hollow stems may be candied. Roots and leaves are collected in late summer of the second year of growth.
Anise: A dainty annual that has finely cut, serrated leaves with very small, whitish flowers in flat clusters. Leaves and seeds have a sweet taste that suggests licorice.
Borage: An annual with coarse, hairy leaves and attractive sky-blue, star-shaped flowers. Flowers and leaves give a cool, cucumber like flavor to summer drinks. Borage is attractive to bees.
Catnip: (Pictured right) is a hardy perennial with leaves which are green on top and gray underneath. Flowers grow in purple spikes. It is used for tea and seasoning and is attractive to cats.
Cicely, sweet: Decorative fernlike downy leaves. White flowers in umbels. It needs partial shade. Its seeds are picked green and used fresh with other herbs. Leaves may be picked for use at any time. It was once used as a sugar substitute and a furniture polish.
Comfrey: A very coarse perennial plant with prickly hairs on the leaves. Flowers may be yellowish white or pink in drooping clusters. Its leaves large and have a somewhat bitter taste. More about Comfrey Coriander: An annual with umbels of pinkish-white flowers and feathery leaves. Its leaves have a somewhat disagreeable odor. Its seeds are widely used in spice mixtures and curry powders. Its seeds may be used whole or crushed. More about Coriander Dill: An annual with dark green stems and feathery bluish-green leaves. Flowers are yellow in flat shaped umbels. Chopped leaves and seeds have many uses. More about Dill Fennel: There are several species, but sweet fennel is considered most desirable. Leaves are bright green and delicate below umbels of yellow flowers. It has a faint anise fragrance. Traditionally used with fish, but now has many uses.
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Basil: An annual that has light green or dark purple leaves. A number of varieties with different growth habits are available. Flowers are small, white and appear in spikes. Spicy leaves have many uses. I use it in just about everything.
Bay, sweet: Also called laurel. Bay is an evergreen tree used as a potted plant in cold climates. This plant produces the well-known bay leaf, which may be picked for use or dried at any time.
Chives: Small, onion like plant in clumps that produces light purple flowers. Chives are useful as an ornamental plant. Its leaves provide onion like flavor.
