Herb gardening is a wonderful, low-maintenance hobby that can provide some of the best plants in your yard. But just because your herb garden looks great doesn’t mean you aren’t dealing with constant problems. Here are a few ways to help you get through the growing season and into the fall:
Weather-wise, your garden will most likely be cold in the winter and hot in the summer. The weather changes throughout the year. If your herbs don’t adapt to the climate and other environmental factors, your herbs will die. Here are a few tips for ensuring your herbs live through the season:
Soil-wise, your garden should be rich in nutrients and low in pests and diseases. Fresh, organic materials should be used. This means no fertilizer or chemical fertilizers.
Watering on a regular basis is essential. The best time to water is early in the morning, about an hour before the sun rises. The warm sunshine will kill off pests and will help your herbs to grow.
Herb gardening can be tough. You might find yourself tempted to add more sunlight in late spring or summer. But adding too much sunlight may stunt your growth. Check your herbs regularly for bugs and molds.
There are a lot of bugs and insects out there during the hot, dry summer days. Many times the bugs are not even visible to the human eye. A good defense against bugs is to use chemicals like pyrethrum, which is marketed as an insecticide.
Make sure you don’t poison your plants by spraying them with insecticides. It’s probably best to take them outside at night before they are sprayed. There’s a chance that if you spray them in the early afternoon, the bugs will be outside, too.
During the warm weather, diseases can strike your garden, and hot weather kills a lot of bugs. For this reason, mulch should be added. Like using light dust, this will keep the ground from getting too wet in the heat of the day.
Some herbs can be infected by a disease called powdery mildew. You can check if your garden is infected by looking at its leaves. Look for brown spots.
In order to make sure that your garden stays healthy, it’s a good idea to quarantine certain herbs. Your garden can stay healthy if you pick out certain herbs and keep them in a separate area away from other plants. This will keep your garden from becoming infected.
During the hot summer months, there will be a lot of watering. Adding mulch can help to keep the leaves of your plants dry. Additionally, natural fertilizers will help to keep your plants healthy during the growing season.
Keep in mind that herb gardening is not a complicated hobby, but it does have some special needs. Don’t forget that some herbs are sensitive to the pests mentioned above. These are good to use an insecticide on when you first start and move on from there.