If you have read my previous posts about gardening, you have learned that I already planted some herbs in my mini garden. Sad to say, my pepper mint, parsely and rosemary withered. I was busy during the past two weeks and forgot to water them regularly 🙁 only the spearmint remained but I’m not satisfied by its current “look”. So, I conducted a little research and consulted Mr. G.
I bumped into a very informative blog and here is the excerpt from the article:
- Newbie herb gardeners can go wrong in seed to seedling transition, so begin planting herbs from seedlings which can be bought in nurseries and plant growers. I’m lucky enough to have an easy access to plant nursery so I can replace the withered plants easily.
- Starting with wrong varieties. I’m one of those gardeners who failed with starter plants. The author of the article suggested starting with basil, which is considered as the perfect trainer herb. The reasons: basil grows quickly and though basil leaves wilt visibly when not watered enough, it recovers well if watered regularly again.
- Watering herbs like houseplants. While houseplant grow beautifully with one solid watering per week, herbs (especially the delicate ones) require moderate and regular watering. This is particularly true during hot summer months…. That is why I told you in the title of this post that I already figured out what went wrong. My herbs were under-watered 🙁
- Not cutting early and often.
- Taking the leaves from the wrong place. It is recommended to leave the large old leaves at the bottom of the plant when pruning.
- Letting your plants too randy. If your want more leaves, keeping cutting off the little flower buds whenever you see them because it will encourage the plant to focus on growing more leaves. (mental note: I will do this later to my spearmint in order to save that lone plant from withering hehe)
- Using tired soil with no nutrients.
- Sticking too long in one or two herbs for a long time. Once you have mastered growing basil, the author suggested to try rosemary, oregano, mint, and thyme. Now I’m reminded again to buy a basil seedling to try these tips and see what will happen to my herb gardening experience.
- Read the labels (or conduct a simple research). I know there are mints have several varieties, oregano, and parsley, too.
- There are herbs that grow enormously, so beware (of mints, oregano and rosemary, for instance) for they can take over your whole garden or even your neightbor’s garden especially when planted in the ground. Plant them in pots instead.
If you want to read the full article, you may visit this website
A much needed info for a newbie and trying hard garden enthusiast hahaha! Thanks for sharing!
medyo mahirap alagaan ang herbs iba iba ang sunlight and water requirements hehehe…. try ka din magtanim ng herbs. nakakatuwa, nagluto ako ng pasta with fresh basil last Saturday, galing na sa tanim ko yung basil hehe.