Growing an Herb Garden
A Primer for Newbie Green Thumbs
by lulujones

Spring is in the air, at least where I live, and if it hasn’t arrived in your neck of the woods yet, don’t worry. It shouldn’t be long before the spring sunshine graces your hometown.

Spring is the best time of year to start a garden, and even though I wouldn’t say I had a green thumb I am going to try to cultivate some herbs and vegetables this year. There’s nothing more wonderful than the smell of fresh herbs around the house and in fresh salads and luscious meals. I would love to be able to grab these sumptuous herbs from my own garden.

This year, we’ll just see how well the garden grows. I’ve been doing some research since I didn’t know much about it previously. I’d like to share some information with you if you, by chance, might have similar gardening aspirations.

Basics to Consider

* Herb gardens tend to do best when they receive between at least 4 to 6 hours of sunlight per day.

* Herbs can handle a variety of soil conditions - with the exception of rosemary, sage and thyme: they need moderately moist soil that is well drained.

* Herbs tend to thrive in soils that are of low to medium fertility.

* If the area has very low fertility, add compost and incorporate it into the soil thoroughly.

* Herbs are categorized as annuals, biennials, or perennials.

- Annual herbs are usually grown from seed; they grow, flower, and produce seed during one season, then die.

- Biennial herbs grow for two seasons, flowering the second year only.

- Perennial herbs stay alive throughout the winter and flower each season. Some herbs are tender perennials and do not survive severe winters and are best grown as annuals or indoors during the winter.

* Prepare your garden by cultivating the soil with a depth of 6 to 12 inches. Remove any rocks, debris and large clumps. Rake area and level.

* Decide on what kind of garden you’d like and which herbs will be included.

Themes

If you would like to choose a theme for your herb garden here are some ideas: 1) A kitchen garden could include thyme, sage, basil, tarragon, dill); 2) A single color garden such as gray-green could include horehound, lavender, artemesia, and wormwood; 3) A scented garden may include mint, scented geranium, lemon balm, silver thyme, and rosemary); or, 4) A garden with different varieties of a specific herb such as sage, tricolor sage, golden sage, purple sage, clary sage, pineapple sage. Let your imagination run wild and grow a custom created herb garden shaped by the limitless possibilities of your own creativity.

Plant your seeds according to the needs of that specific herb. Certain herbs are better planted in small containers first than moved to the garden later. Also, make sure you understand the needs of each kind of herb in terms of watering and pruning, etc. To find out specifics about planting and garden care, look at the seed packet instructions or ask a local garden store (or do a search online).

Garden Care During the Summer
You will have to care for your herb garden throughout the growing season. Make sure you control the weed growth and provide adequate watering. If you’re in an area where the rainfall is less than 1 inch per week, provide additional moisture. You might consider the use of a mulch to maintain constant soil moisture and temperature for the root systems of your herbs. Possible mulches that you could use include bark chips or shredded bark, compost, ground corncobs, pecan hulls, or dried grass clippings. The mulch should be applied at least 3 inches deep around the plants.

What About Winter?
Most perennial herbs are hardy plants that are able to survive winter unless weather conditions are severe. Oftentimes plants are killed by extreme temperature fluctuations, rather than extreme weather. To ensure plant survival, consider:

1. Most herbs prefer to grow in well-drained soils. If the soil is overly wet, herbs will grow poorly and are subject to root rots. Soils that are heavy should be adjusted with organic matter to loosen the soil constitution. You can improve drainage by planting herbs in raised beds.

2. Fertilizing and pruning late in the season should be avoided. Prune during spring and summer and avoid excessively cutting the plants back in the fall. Growth in the fall is useful to help insulate the plants in colder weather. Mulch should be placed around the plants. Make sure the mulch stays relatively loose to avoid it getting packed down and overly wet during the winter because this can cause the plants to rot.

3. Plants that are hardy to some extent (such as rosemary and Greek oregano) should be dug up, potted, and grown indoors during the winter. You can move them back to the garden the following spring. If you live in a moderate climate, this may not be necessary.

The Book Corner
    - Books available from Amazon.com

Lastly, this list of books may help you on your way to a great herb garden and turn that thumb of yours greener and greener!

Little Herb Gardens: Simple Secrets for Glorious Gardens by G. Brennan & M. Luebbermann offers growing instructions for over 30 herbs, with ideas on planning, maintenance, harvesting and cooking. This is a warm and inviting book that is useful in the kitchen and the garden.

Your Backyard Herb Garden : A Gardener's Guide to Growing Over 50 Herbs Plus How to Use Them in Cooking, Crafts, Companion Planting and More by Miranda Smith. Miranda Smith's no-nonsense advice on soil building, fertilizing, pest control, and watering is pure gold. She also covers harvesting and using herbs in teas, vinegars, cosmetics, potpourris, crafts, and more.

The Edible Herb Garden by Rosalind Creasy. Included are sections on growing herbs and designing an herb garden. An appendix addresses pest and disease control, and there is a selection of recipes using fresh herbs. The heart of the book, though, is the "Encyclopedia of Culinary Herbs: From Angelica to Thyme." Here each plant is pictured in color with text explaining how to grow and prepare it.

The Herbfarm Cookbook by Jerry Traunfeld(Chef at Herbfarm Restaurant near Seattle) includes 200 recipes, information on growing herbs and how to use them to transform your own favorite dishes.

The Edible Container Garden by Michael Guerra explains how to plant, grow and harvest vegetables, edible flowers, fruits and herbs when time & space are limited. Illustrated with beautiful color photos this book will create a bounty of edible delights.

The Herbalist's Garden: A Guided Tour of 10 Exceptional Herb Gardens: The People Who Grow Them and the Plants That Inspire Them by Shatoiya De LA Tour, Richard De LA Tour, Saxon Holt. Somewhere between a coffee-table book, a manifesto of spiritual inspiration, and a practical guide to plant use, The Herbalist's Garden transports the reader in many ways--and the photos are to die for.

Herbal Tea Gardens: 22 Plans for Your Enjoyment & Well-Being by Marietta Marshall Marcin. Completely updated with new a format, 25 new herb profiles, and 100 new tea recipes, this edition provides both the novice and herbalist with a complete guide to growing and brewing 95 tea herbs. Two-color illustrations.

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Lulujones is a journalist and green thumb wannabe based in the South of France.