Maintaining and Caring for Herbs

  

Herbs will bring joy to your garden with their aromatic fragrance and pretty flowers.  You will also enjoy harvesting the leaves for flavorful teas, food recipes, and medicinal properties.   However, you will need to do specific steps throughout the growing season to maintain the health of your herb plants.

Here are some garden tips for maintaining and caring for herb plants.

Happy Gardening! 

 

Always plant your herbs in a garden bed with well-drained soil. Amend the soil with organic compost.  

Plant herbs in a garden that gets 5-8 hours of sun. Don't plant herbs too close; space herbs 12-18 inches for growth and air flow. 

Water herbs regularly to keep the soil moist but not soggy.  

It's best to keep the soil moist throughout the growing season.  To achieve this,  set up a slow-drip hose or inground water irrigation.   Otherwise, water the herb garden in the early morning.  In the peak season, when the days are extremely hot, you should mist the herb plants in the late afternoon.

 

Provide a balanced fertilizer every few weeks to encourage healthy growth.

Pinch back the tips of the plants to encourage bushier growth. Regular pruning encourages bushier growth and helps prevent the plant from becoming leggy. Pinch off the flowers to direct the plant's energy toward leaf production. 

Check your herb plants daily for common pests like aphids and mites. Neem oil or insecticidal soap can help keep pests under control.

*Image 1 is of my garden, image 2 was AI created

Growing Medicinal Herbs in Sun Garden

Normally I grow lavender, aloe Vera and German chamomile, rosemary lemon balm, and peppermint in my medicinal herb gardens but this year I intend on growing lemon balm, witch hazel, and St. Johns wort, thus creating a medicinal herb garden that will ease my aches, pain, heal cuts and help me to get to sleep.

Pretty yellow flower of the St Johns Wort herb plant

A photo of lemon balm growing in my garden. The leaves look like mint, and the entire plant has a strong lemon scent.  The bloom attracts butterflies.

The lavender, chamomile, and lemon balm are good for relieving stress and are a natural sleep remedy. Aloe Vera is good for stomach upset and constipation when taken internally however this herb is also good for your skin, a natural remedy for burns, and when used as a moisturizer will reduce the signs of aging. Witch hazel makes an excellent compress for bruises and St. Johns wort is an anti-inflammatory and is good when used as a compress for small cuts or wounds. It can also be used to treat stomach upset and mild depression.

Rosemary in garden

I grow these medicinal herbs in gardens outdoors, the Aloe Vera is grown in my kitchen in a container. My gardens are raised beds with organic soil. The area is sunny with partial shade in the afternoon because my summers are too darn hot.

When it comes to growing a medicinal herb garden I care for my plants by watering them in the early morning. And when it is really hot I will mist the herb garden in the late afternoon to prevent the flowers and leaves from wilting.

In the past, I have been successful in growing a variety of herbs in the garden and I am looking forward to growing new herbs; witch hazel, and St, Johns Wort this year.

View this youtube video to learn about other medicinal herbs that you can grow in your garden.