Starting an Herb Garden -CONT-
One neat idea for setting up containers is outlined in Effie Romain and Sue Hawkey's book Herbal Remedies in Pots: Growing and Making Herbal Remedies for Common Ailments. Just set up one container for each category: one for respiratory ailments, one for digestion, one for skin, another for first aid, etc. The authors suggest pots and plants for each theme.
To start your container garden, decide on just a few plants you especially like or need. You can include a few vegetables in your first effort. I would certainly suggest a tomato plant, if you don�t already have some growing in your garden. Good herbal candidates are oregano, basil, sage, dill, thyme, tarragon, mint and marjoram. Start small and learn as much as you can about each herb you plant so you can provide the proper soil, watering regimen and
nutrients. You can start from seed or buy plants. For a first garden, I suggest buying plants that are well-established. It gives you that
extra boost so you can concentrate on planting and care. Try starting from seed the second year.
Select healthy plants without spots on the leaves, discoloration or wilting. Look at the roots to see that they are full and healthy. You may want to make a list of your local nurseries and shop around before you make your final selections. Knowing your local resources is always valuable anyway.
Now that you have your plants, you�ll need containers. Consider hanging pots, containers on the ground, window boxes and even some unusual arrangements. Whatever the container, the basic procedure is the same. Put some gravel or broken pot shards over the drainage hole(s). If your container doesn�t have drainage holes, you�ll need to make some or simply use the container for decorative purposes and keep your plant in a pot that you insert.
Anything can become a container for herbs: old tins, tea pots, baskets, wire containers filled with sheet moss, terra
cotta planters, wooden boxes, even an old boot! Be sure to provide something to catch the water that drains out if the container is not waterproof. Also mind where you set it, since you don�t want to ruin a piece of furniture or a windowsill.
You can buy a commercial potting mix or make your own. Depending on the plant, you may want to vary the formula, which is easy to do if you're making your own mix. Otherwise you can sometimes adjust a commercial mix to suit your needs. Read up on your herb plant and find out which soil mix is best for it.
Herbs generally thrive on minimal conditions. They don't need a lot of fertilizers, but will benefit from occasional feeding. Whether in containers or in the ground, natural fertilizers are the best for feeding your plants. Use compost mixed with manure and other natural additives, such as bone meal or blood meal, rather than chemical fertilizers, which provide a burst of
nutrients when first applied, but do
nothing to improve the soil.
Most herbs like their fair share of sunlight, but experiment based on what you�ve learned about your individual plant and what you observe by moving it to different locations. In our Arizona sunlight, "full sun" is often too much sun. I've learned to adjust the common suggestions on seed packets and in books to our particular conditions.
Tip: Prepare a maintenance list for your plants. Some herbs need to be pruned regularly. Others need to be harvested at a certain time of the growing season or a certain time of day. Note which parts of the plant you will be using and how much you can harvest without damaging the plant. If it's an annual, you may want to save some seeds or take cuttings for next year, so take that into account as well and note instructions. Decide, also, which plants you will be bringing indoors for wintering over and prepare a location for them now.