My herbal bed. How does yours look like?

jowitt.europe

This is my herbal and bee bed. Well, one of my herbal beds. All the plants in this bed are more or less the same height. In this one I have oregano (dominating), echinacea, soap wort, St. John’s wort, peppermint, Jerusalem artichokes, primrose, wild teasel, yarrow…

it would be nice to see your herbal beds. This is a high season for herbs. At least in Europe.

I have other beds for lower herbs and they are all over my kitchen garden next to vegetables.

SuperC

In my herb bed, the oregano has dominated, even more so than the thyme. The dill is growing very slow. I have a lot of containers with herbs. They’re on the deck; cilantro, rosemary, lemon balm. We just container-planted lemon grass and curry leaf. In the front near the mailboxes are spearmint and fennel.

vickeym

@jowitt.europe My herbs are scattered around in containers anywhere I can find a spot that they won't get ruined (I hope) from either my dog or my husband. We are bringing it equipment next week to do some major work and I had to find areas he would not run over them.

I do have a question though. I ordered some Jerusalem artichoke online. Picture showed nice looking fresh, whole artichokes. What arrived was cut pieces like a diced potato that were dried and hard. Was advised to plant anyway. No instructions or information was included.

Would you have any suggestions? How long should they take to get started. We typically get our first wave of cold temperatures by the end of August or early September. Is it too late or will they establish enough to survive the winter?

jowitt.europe

@vickeym I plant my Jerusalem artichokes in early spring. They are ready for harvesting in late September or October. If you plant yours now, I am not sure whether they will have enough time to grow and produce tubers. However, they might produce tubers next year. I have noticed, that my Jerusalem artichokes survive when left in the soil and we do have low temperatures down to -10 or even -15 sometimes. I would plant them anyway.

jowitt.europe

@SuperC my dill loves kitchen garden. It does not like growing on its own. It likes the company of carrots, potatoes, strawberries… It likes some leafy protection against sharp sun.

JodieDownUnder

@jowitt.europe you do live in a gorgeous spot. With your very 1st photo, do you plant seedlings or scatter seed around or maybe they are perennials that come back year after year. What’s your planning look like please?

marjstratton

Wow, your herbal beds look spectacular. I only have a few interspersed herbs in my beds and need to get a lot more going.

VermontCathy

My attempts at herbal beds have mostly led to frustration.

This year I bought a range of herb seeds, including very easy plants like parsley. Almost none of them have come up! The two types of basil are the only thing I am sure is growing.

Perhaps I should start herbs inside and transplant them out later, but I doubt that @jowitt.europe did that in the large fields I see in the pictures.

I have grown parsley in the past with no problem, so I don't know why it failed this year.

jowitt.europe

@JodieDownUnder Thank you! They are perennials. They grow every year. My only task is to see, that one kind (like Jerusalem artichokes or golden rod) do not spread too much, thus I weed some out or give to friends and neighbours. My ‘planning” is allowing herbs to decide where they want to grow and allow some of them to produce seeds. I also keep an eye that I have a variety. I have bees, that is why oregano is dominating. You should see hundreds and hundreds of bees on the flowers. If some herb feels suppressed I move it somewhere where it has more space. It happened so with monarda and peppermint. Camomile used to dominate this bed, now it moved into the kitchen garden next to potatoes.

nicksamanda11

I sprinkled seeds all around my property (1/3 acre), loosely recorded what and where, and it is quite enjoyable this year to see what pops up. It feels more like foraging and I love it. There's no pressure- I get what I get😊.

I went out to find an african daisy saying hello one day and a variety of milkweed that surprised me, then a California poppy hiding under a zucchini- that was cool. In another spot there was a gigantic icicle radish right in the grass!

nicksamanda11

I will mention that I did alot of intentional planting in my 7 garden beds too. The sprinkling was my experiment this year because I had an excess of seeds getting older.

jowitt.europe

@nicksamanda11 I like your idea of sprinkling seeds. There is no empty space in any soil, unless we weed all the time. Otherwise the gaps are filled with whatever plants. By sprinkling seeds, or allowing plants to self seed we get what we want in all the gaps. It is useful no to have empty gaps between plans because of the heat. I have to water much less when all the surface is covered by plants. My cucumber started growing only when it got a shade from a borage, but when borage got too big, I pulled it out. Plants need some interference, especially when some begin to dominate.

Lisa K

@jowitt.europe love your garden, you live in a truly beautiful place!

SuperC

Wow! Your pictured garden looks stunning and the amount of work that is done daily! It’s lovely!

VermontCathy

I continue to have major problems growing herbs from seed. This year the basil is doing well, but only about three parsley plants came up from a whole pack of seed, two different types of thyme don't seem to have come up at all, and I don't think the sage came up either.

Nearby beds with similar soil and sun exposure are bursting with lettuce, mustard, garlic, beans, and strawberries. The problem is the herbs.

Are most of you herb growers starting from purchased plants, or starting seed indoors and transplanting out, or are you starting by scattering seed directly on the bed?

jowitt.europe

@VermontCathy it depends what herbs. Many Mediterranean herbs like very poor soil, sun and mainly dry conditions, thus they do not feel fine in rich soil full of compost. They grow in the area which I never fertilise, nor water.

I am not very successful with parsley. Usually it is suppressed by other garden plants. What concerns perennial plants, I just let them self seed. I watch where they are strongest. They feel fine where they develop seeds, thus baby plants feel fine as well. I am sure that after a couple of years your herbal plants will be flourishing. It is more difficult when one wants immediate result. Then, May be, it is better to plant young plants and take proper care.

VermontCathy

That makes sense, @jowitt.europe. The Mediterranean soils are often poor and desert-like.

My basil is doing extremely well. I tasted one leaf yesterday, and it was amazing. I'll definitely be growing more basil in the future, as it's expensive in stores. Perhaps next year I can dedicate a bed to it and grow enough to make several months worth of pesto, which is expensive and freezes well.

I'm thinking of bringing a few basil plants inside under lights this winter to see if I can keep them growing.