How to grow healthy citrus trees

Herb Garden

Your herb garden should, at the very least, receive 6 hours of sun a day. Full sun is best for most herbs, but check the plant labels when purchasing, as there are some varieties that will grow successfully in partial shade. When setting your herb patch, choose an area that is well-drained (not an area of the garden where the soil holds water or that is at the bottom of the slope). If the only spot you have that is suitable doesn’t have good quality soil, you can easily build the bed up with sleepers, rocks or bricks. That way, you can add more soil and compost, improving the soil’s friability and drainage at the same time. When digging the existing soil over to remove weeds, add some pelletised poultry manure to enrich nutrient levels in the soil before planting.

When planting out your herbs, leave adequate space between them for future growth. Check labels for height and width so you can space and position appropriately. Taller growing herbs should be placed at the rear of the area so as not to shade out smaller herbs as they grow.

Many herbs have decorative foliage and flowers, so why not treat the area as a decorative garden bed and plant it out accordingly, rather than just planting one of everything. You could plant attractive drifts or groups of the one herb in the bed, then add a hedge of herbs, like rosemary. In the foreground, as a border planting golden or green oregano looks wonderful. Try mixing in a few flowers for looks as well as edible petals, like nasturtiums and calendulas.

No room for a specific herb garden? Try planting herbs amongst your other plants. So long as they are in a sunny position and they are planted with non-invasive, smaller plants, your herbs won’t mind at all. Keep them well-fed and watered though as herbs are fast and furious growers and do best when they receive adequate watering, mulch and a light feed every now and again. Poultry manure is great, the pelletised forms (like Dynamic Lifter) have a slow-release, sustained feeding action which is ideal for herbs. While most herbs are really hardy and don’t need this extra attention to grow, during the warmer months you can feed them every month or so with a liquid feed to provide optimum vigour and health.

Herbs in Pots

Don’t use tiny pots to grow your herbs in; larger pots are better as they hold more moisture and nutrients for the vigorous roots – and you won’t go as mad in summer trying to stop them drying out! Nearly all herbs grow happily in pots but make sure you use a quality Terracotta and a tub potting mix as poor quality mixes (and solid mixes) will not promote the vigorous tip growth you are aiming for.

There are lots of decorative troughs and planters to choose and you can put more than one herb variety in a pot. Tip: watch out for any herb in the mint family, they are so vigorous that they can swamp out the other plants in your herb planter or garden. It’s best to confine mints to their own pots, restricting their roving nature and giving your other herbs space to grow.

Herbs look great in pots, and if using Terracotta, seal them first with a spray-on Terracotta sealer. When selecting pots for your herb collection, choose pots with varying heights and arrange them in decorative groups. Many of the large bowl style planters are suitable for herbs and look great. “Strawberry pots” or pots with pockets, are a popular choice for herbs be careful, they can grow out quickly and don’t provide much growing room so choose only small growing herbs.

Harvesting Herbs

The best way to harvest herbs is often. Taking those fresh looking tips from the herbs is the best way to stimulate new growth. Leafy plants like oregano, basil, thyme, sage all benefit from constant tip pruning or picking. With chives, you can be ruthless, treat them like grass and “mow” them with a pair of scissors to leave a tuft. They’ll thicken and re-grow quickly. Even if you don’t need the herbs, prune and your plants will be better looking bushier plants.

Rinse the herbs and you are ready to use them in your culinary creation. If you are used to using bought dry herbs from jars you’ll find that you can use lots more herbs if they’re fresh.

For e.g: a recipe might suggest 1 tsp of a dried herb or 1 tbs of the fresh equivalent, You’ll notice a freshness and zing in the flavour of your dishes and once you start using fresh herbs, you’ll never go back. With herbs like coriander and mint, make sure you grow plenty though, as many modern, popular recipes like green curries and laksas call for whole cups of fresh herbs at a time!

With some herbs, there is more to use than just leaves. Coriander for example has wonderful roots and seeds. You can harvest and use herb seeds by collecting them in a brown paper bag (tied over the finished flower heads). The roots are also easily harvested by the plant up like a carrot. Wash the root well and chop very finely for a very pungent flavour.

Storing Herbs

Extra herbs can be dried on cake cooling racks in a warm spot in the house. When dry, store in airtight jars. You can also store herbs easily in the freezer – just rinse, shake off excess water, and pop into cling film or glass jar. Some people also put fresh herbs into an ice cube trays with little water and then pop the desired amount into soups, casseroles or curries as required. Try mint frozen in ice-blocks for your fruit punch this summer.

Things to watch out for

Pests

There are very few problems associated with the herb garden. Most are very hardy plants that, if grown in full sun, will never have any problems. From time to time you may notice a few aphids or caterpillars that can be pulled or “squirted” off with the hose. There are safe sprays available to use if these methods aren’t effective against your infestation.

Running to seed

Gardeners often worry that their herbs, particularly coriander, run to seed too quickly or “bolt”. It’s wise to pick herbs often and to try stop them “bolting”, as the flavour of many herbs is not as good once this happens, Try to keep your herbs evenly moist and growing vigorously. In poor, dry or otherwise tough conditions plants are far more likely to run to seed, as they feel a need to reproduce themselves quickly before they die. In some cases, excessive fertilizing can also cause plants to run to seed.

Invasive herbs

As previously mentioned, watch out for creeping, running or vigorous herbs that will take over the garden or planter. The mint family is renowned for becoming rampant so one to it’s own pot is the best idea. Be warned, once they are planted they can be near impossible to get rid of from the garden. Try a large planter, wine barrel or even a bin if you’d like to grow lots of mint without the chance it will take over.

Things to watch out for

Dill

Wonderful with potato and egg dishes. Used in sauces, dill has a slight aniseed flavour. Best grown from seed, directly into the ground, as it often does not transplant well. Approx 90 cm.

Chives

A great all-rounder herb with a mild onion taste that adds flavour to many dishes. Fresh chives make a great herb bread, try mixing with other herbs too. Sensational in omelettes. Approx 40 cm.

Coriander

Now a very popular herb. Pungent flavour, essential for many Asian dishes like soups and curries. Harvest often and replant successively to ensure more continuous cropping. Approx 50 cm.

Mint

Happily grows in shady spots and prefers moist conditions. Available in different flavoured varieties like spearmint, applemint, peppermint. Great for mint sauces, jellies, Asian cuisine and fruit drinks.

Oregano

Basil

Grows easily in sun or light shade. A popular herb, the basis for pesto and an addition to many Mediterranean styled dishes. Approx 40cm high.

Parsley

Available in a flat or curly leaf, one of the most popular herbs ever. Easy to grow, it looks great as a border in the herb or veggie patch. Aprox 30 cm tall.

Rosemary

A hardy, perennial, decorative mainstay of any herb collection. The pungent foliage is used in many dishes and is particularly sensational with potatoes. Between 50cm – 1.5m high, depending on variety

Thyme

Wonderful in stuffings, dressings and for roasting with vegetables. Available in different flavours! There’s even one called pizza thyme for flavouring pizzas! Approx 20 cm high.

Sage

An attractive grey foliaged herb. Popular in stuffings and well suited to many pasta sauces. Try pasta with pumpkin, sage and cream sauce. Approx 50cm high.

Mighty Helpful hints for your herb garden

• Your herb garden should, at the very least, receive 6 hours of sun a day.
• When planting out your herbs, leave adequate space between them for future growth.
• Don’t use tiny pots to grow your herbs in. Larger pots are better as they hold more moisture and nutrients.
• Taking fresh-looking tips from the herbs is the best way to stimulate new growth.
• You can store herbs easily in the freezer – just rinse, shake off excess water, and pop into cling film or a glass jar.
• Watch out for creeping, running or vigorous herbs that will take over the garden or planter.