Considerations When Working On Your Herb Garden

When getting ready to start an herb garden, there are several considerations you should give a bit of time too.

Growth - How well will the herbs propagate? Will they grow closer to the ground or taller in the air? We've touched on this subject already. Some plants are also invasive, meaning that they will try to take over the garden if they are not contained to a pot even when planted in the ground. Fennel, rosemary and dill are typically the tallest of the herbs while thyme, oregano, parsley and some varieties of mints are on the smaller side.

How much room do you need? With herbs, the answer is very little. You can get away with a 20x4 plot and grow a fair number of herbs in that space, when taking into account your growing requirements. Raised beds provide a more decorative separation of plants based on height, soil quality, moisture and sunlight. Container herb gardening (we'll discuss this late in the guide) is also a great way to separate and showcase your herb choices.

Soil conditions are important for any garden but especially herb gardening. Most herbs are easy to grow but can be just as easily destroyed with the wrong soil composition.

Drainage - check around your gardening area. How is the drainage? If you notice puddles of standing water or plants that have shifted due to run-off issues, then choose a more stable location for your herbs. Fertile soil will produce quite bushy and abundant herbs. If your soil is filled with clay then that could be a problem, but it can be easily fixed. The ideal soil will be a 50/50 mix of solids and porous space that allows water, air and other nutrients to permeate through and reach the roots of the plants. Some clay is okay, as a part of the solid layer, but silt and sand are also needed. Loam is a 20/40/40 mix of clay, silt and sand respectively.

The first thing to do is to improve the drainage of the soil. Before planting your herbs, remove a 15- to 18-inch depth of soil in the area that is slated to be used for the garden. Add about three inches of crushed rock or other material which will help water drain away from the plants to prevent them becoming too wet. Next, mix the removed soil with some organic matter like peat and sand or compost. This provides more nutrients and adds richness to the soil that it might otherwise not have had. Refill the bed with the soil, making sure that it is higher than the surrounding soil. This accounts for the fact that the soil will settle and the level will drop.

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