Herb Garden Basics
Before you begin growing many herbs, it helps to know that the great majority of them fall into two major categories: perennials, herbs that live for more than two seasons, and annuals, those herbs that live only one season. When you begin, it also helps to choose herbs that are generally easy to grow. In most climates these are the sun-loving perennials: thyme, oregano, French tarragon, and chives. All originated in Europe and, with the exception of chives, are drought-tolerant and need little fertilizing unless grown in sandy soils. In hot, humid climates and mild desert regions French tarragon can't tolerate the heat, so you might want to try Mexican tarragon (Tagetes lucida) instead, which is also easily grown and may be available from local nurseries (or ordered from many of the sources listed in the back of the book). The popular perennial herbs can be purchased as small plants at most local nurseries from spring through early fall.
There are few gardeners who grow herbs and don't include basil. While still easily grown, basil needs annual planting every spring, rich soil, and some TLC.
Basil seeds are available from your local nursery, but most beginning gardeners find it easiest to grow basil from young nursery transplants. (If you prefer to start your own seeds, see "Starting from Seeds" in Appendix A.) When selecting your basil plants, avoid those that look yellow or wilted or have started to flower. (Note: In some nurseries basil seedlings are sold a dozen plants or so to a small four-inch container. When you take it home, gently separate the young plants and plant them out. Failure to separate the plants will create a sorry clump of basil.)
For your first herb garden, I suggest planting one plant each of thyme, tarragon, and oregano, two chive plants, and three or four basil plants. If you're new to cooking with herbs, learning to grow and becoming comfortable cooking with these tried-and-true herbs will be all you need to make a dramatic change in your cooking as well as your gardening.
Planting Your Herb Garden
Gardeners in cold-winter areas will do best to plant in the spring or early summer; gardeners in mild climates will be able to plant all but basil through the fall. To plant your herbs, clear an area of the garden that gets at least six hours (eight is better) of midday sun and has great drainage. If you live in a cool-summer area, try to locate the garden near masonry to give extra heat for the basil. In hot-summer areas herbs grow best with late-afternoon shade. An area four feet by six feet will be enough for the suggested herbs.
Remove rocks and any clods, rake the area smooth, and spread four or five inches of organic matter or compost over the soil. With a spading fork, work it into the top six inches. Place your herbs with the short ones—thyme and chives—in the front, tarragon in the middle, and the taller oregano and basil in the back. Thyme and chives will spread to about a foot, the others up to two feet, so space them accordingly. Dig a hole about a foot across for each herb and sprinkle a few tablespoons of bonemeal or other form of phosphorus around the bottom of each hole and mix it in well. In the holes for the basil plants, add a few coffee cans full of manure or good compost, then add a source of nitrogen such as a few tablespoons of blood meal or fish meal. Mix the amendments into the bottom of the hole.
My front entry overflows with herbs. In the ground are the showy society garlic (the mauve flowers are used in salads), chives, savory, borage, and thyme. In containers are nutmeg geranium, and many different sages and thymes.
Gently nudge each herb seedling out of its container by putting your hand over the top of the container, turning it over, and tapping it to loosen the plant. If roots are collected in a mass around the outside of the root ball, gently pull them apart and spread them out. Put the plant in its hole, making sure the crown of the plant is level with the bed. Cover the seedling with soil and firm it in place so there will be no air pockets.
If you are putting in a drip watering system, this is the time to lay your ooze tubing around the plants and secure them. Make a small watering basin around the plant and fill it with water. (Many gardeners find it helpful to put a label next to each type of plant so they can identify their herbs.) Water a final and critical time to make sure all the roots have received a soaking. Mulch the area with two or three inches of mulching material to cut down on weeding and watering. Watch for slugs and earwigs on the basil—a flashlight foray the night after a watering will usually reveal these critters. Pick them by hand and drop them in soapy water to kill them.
To prepare the soil (top), spread four inches of compost and two inches of manure over the soil and work it in with a spading fork. Dig a hole four times the size of the herb's root ball and work in ¼ cup each of blood meal and bonemeal. Plant the herb at the depth it was in the container (middle) and press down around the plant. Install drip irrigation and mulch (bottom) with two inches of compost.
Keep the new plants moist for the first week or so. Slowly start letting the plants get a little drier between waterings. Use your judgment—if it's very hot or windy, or if the plants start to wilt, water more often. If weeds come through the mulch, pull them so they will not compete with the herbs for water and nutrients.
Maintaining Your Herb Garden
After a few months your herbs will be growing well, and a watering maintenance schedule will become established. In climates where rain is reliable, you will probably need to water only during a drought or in very hot weather. In arid climates a weekly routine is sufficient for all but the basil, which may need watering every four or five days.
Fertilize basil every six weeks or so with fish emulsion or fish meal according to the directions on the package. If you don't have a chance to harvest your basil, when it gets large and starts to flower you will need to prune it back by taking clippers and removing the top half of the shoots. This will encourage the plant to put out lush new leaves instead of setting seeds and declining. Unless the soil is sandy, the rest of the herbs seldom need fertilizer.
Prune all the perennial herbs using hedge or hand shears in late spring. Most herbs need to be cut back by at least half, though if the plants are not growing vigorously, remove only a third of the growth. Oregano and thyme are only hardy to USD A Zone 5, or to minus 10 to minus 20 degrees; chives to USD A Zone 3, or to minus 50 to minus 40 degrees; tarragon to USD A Zone 4, or minus 30 to minus 20 degrees; and in cold climates, all will overwinter best with three or four inches of a straw or compost mulch layered over them in the fall after the ground has frozen. The mulch is not used to keep them warm but to ensure that they will not heave out of the ground when the soil freezes and thaws.
After a few months the basil is in full production and the chives, tarragon, and thyme are ready for harvest.
Most common herbs and a few unusual ones are available from local nurseries in small plastic containers. It's important to label your plants so you can identify them, especially those that are less common. In addition, I find I need to record the location and planting date of my new herbs in a journal because the labels sometimes get lost or become faded.
harvesting