Preparing the Soil and Planting
The final and very important step before actually planting is to prepare the soil. If you encountered earthworms while digging, consider yourself lucky. Earthworms are a sign of healthy soil. Along with other organisms, they turn decomposing plant material into humus. Humus is organic matter that has been broken down to its most basic level. It builds healthy soil with nutrients that plants need. This organic matter helps aerate plant roots and helps the soil hold moisture. The best approach for creating a healthy garden is to feed the soil, which in turn will feed the plants. Also, go organic. You want the soil to be healthy and free of chemicals so your herbs will be healthy and offer the best healing and health to you. After all, the point of herbal remedies is to get away from chemicals. Adding chemicals to the soil means that you are adding them to your herbs, which in turn gets ingested by you and your family.
Fertilizer, Compost, and Mulch: Wondering What to Use?
A stroll through a garden center may give you the impression that you will need to put a lot of different stuff on your garden. Truth be told, you don’t. Building and maintaining healthy soil is not complicated or difficult, and it does not require you to buy a lot of bags of different stuff.
The first thing that comes to mind, of course, is to use fertilizer for a healthy garden. The problem is, many fertilizers are synthetic, and, while they may produce bigger plants, they do not enrich the soil. They do not feed the earthworms and microorganisms that build healthy soil. Plants may get a good initial boost from fertilizer, but the state of the soil will decline and then the plants will too. To save the plants you then have to add more fertilizer. The result is that your garden will be thrown into the vicious cycle of feast or famine. To avoid this, use an organic fertilizer that will not cause this problem because it feeds the plants while it also builds healthy soil.
Before saying “fertilizer, yuck,” you may be thinking that organic fertilizer means manure, but there is a big difference. While manure may be used as fertilizer, fertilizer doesn’t have to include manure. Manure is animal waste, and pets should never be considered as a source for manure. The waste from cats and dogs not only smells bad but it contains harmful bacteria that can make people sick. It can also harbor parasites. Fresh manure from barnyard animals is equally bad. Any urine that was mixed in with the manure has a burning effect on herbs. Then there’s E. coli, salmonella, and other problems. Bagged manure that has been processed to kill E. coli and other pathogens is available at some garden centers. However, if it isn’t guaranteed to have come from an organic farm, there is the risk of pesticide residues, antibiotics, and other medications that may have been given to the livestock. In my opinion, it is not worth the risk.
The best thing you can use on your garden is compost. Compost is a natural fertilizer that conditions the soil, improving drainage as well as the capacity to retain water. Compost speeds up the process of organic breakdown, keeping the earthworms and microorganisms happy, which in turn produces healthy plants. The best thing of all, it’s free because we can make it ourselves. There are special compost bins on the market, but it’s not necessary to use them or any bin for that matter. I keep a good, old-fashioned compost pile. The advantage to using a bin is that it keeps the temperature of the material hotter, which speeds up the process. Whichever method you use, the important thing to remember is that compost needs to be turned a couple of times a month otherwise it will disintegrate into a useless, slimy mess.
A compost pile can be unsightly, but it is easily hidden by creating a small fenced-in area that is open on one side for easy access. Because the pile should not rest against wood, as the wood will rot over time, it works well to stack a few cinder blocks to create an enclosure and then surround the blocks with a decorative fence or shrubs. Locate your compost pile on level ground where it won’t get direct sunlight and where it will have good drainage.
Compost is made with soil, vegetable and fruit scraps, leaves, small twigs, grass clippings, straw, shredded newspaper, coffee grounds, used tea leaves, and plant trimmings. At the end of the summer, I empty the contents of my flower boxes onto the pile, too. Also, instead of throwing out plant material after making infusions or other remedies, add them to your compost pile. Avoid cooked fruit and veggie scraps, meat, and milk products, as these cause odors and attract rats.
Start the pile on bare ground with a couple of inches of small twigs. This aids in getting air into the pile to help start the process. Shovel a couple of inches of soil over the twigs and then add the organic material listed above. Try to use a mix of things; not just vegetable scraps or not just grass clippings. Top off the pile with a thin layer of soil. Wet it down, but don’t make it soggy. Use a shovel to turn the pile over a few times a month especially when you add new material. Moisten the pile each time. Turning the pile helps to aerate the material, which aids the process of decomposition. The compost will be ready to use in a few months when it becomes dark and crumbly. Shovel the compost on top of the soil in the your garden, use a rake to mix it in, and then water.
If you are growing chamomile, add spent flower heads after making remedies or any part of the plant to the compost pile as it is a good activator to get the process going. Yarrow is also a good activator. Another very beneficial item to add to your compost pile is seaweed. Even if you are not near the coast, seaweed in liquid and powder form is available at some garden centers. Using seaweed in the garden is beneficial because it adds trace minerals to the soil. If you are near a beach, go at low tide to gather a few handfuls of seaweed. Dry it, crumble it up, and mix it into your compost.
Last but not least, there’s mulch. The first thing to know about mulch is that there are two varieties: organic and inorganic. In this case, “organic” does not refer to it being free from pesticides, it means that it came from something that was living at one time. This type of mulch is made of wood chips, shredded bark, straw, leaves, grass clippings, pine needles, sawdust, or paper. An organic mulch will break down and feed the soil. If you decide to use mulch, look for an organic mulch that came from a pesticide-free source. Cocoa shells are also used for mulch, however, while they smell nice (who doesn’t like a chocolaty aroma?), they are toxic to cats and dogs. The inorganic mulches are made of gravel or plastic and, obviously, will not enrich the soil.
The purpose of mulch is to hold in moisture and regulate the temperature of the soil. It keeps plants cool in the summer and protects them in the winter. In addition, mulch helps deter weeds and pests. However, instead of buying mulch, you can use grass clippings, leaves, or compost. As previously mentioned, compost is worked into the soil, however, when it is used as a mulch, it is left on top of the soil and not raked in.
When using any type of mulch, dampen the ground, pull out weeds, and then layer the mulch about an inch deep around the plants. Be sure to leave some space around the stems so air can circulate, which will prevent rot. Mulch after plants are at least six inches tall so they won’t be buried and it will be easier to get the mulch underneath them. Slugs and snails really like mulch, so try to leave about eight inches of bare ground around the mulch. Grass clippings make a good mulch for annuals as they release a lot of nitrogen that these plants need. While mulch is applied in deeper layers to other types of gardens, it can keep the soil too moist for most herbs, which can encourage the growth of fungus. Be sure to follow the needs for your particular plants.
Planting Your Herbs
If you are new to gardening, buying plants the first season will serve as a good introduction for the tasks involved. Make a list of the plants that you want (common and scientific names) and take it with you to the garden center. Look for plants that seem sturdy and have short spaces between the leaves rather than ones that are tall and leggy. Also, look for ones that have a healthy color and are free from pests.
At some point, if you decide to try your hand at starting herbs from seed, sow them indoors about three months before the growing season in your area. Seed packets should have both the common and scientific names for the plant as well as planting instructions. Also, check the packet to make sure the seeds were not treated with chemicals.
Items needed for starting your herbs from seed include seed trays that are divided into sections, a bag of potting mix, and a spray bottle. Consider recycling plastic egg cartons for seed trays. Other alternatives to seed trays are peat or newspaper pots, which are biodegradable and can be planted directly in the ground, where they will decompose. A potting soil mix or a seed starter mix are blends of mediums that aid seed germination. A spray bottle is good to use because the seeds need to be kept moist, but we don’t want to drown them.
Whether you are sowing seeds indoors or outside when it’s warmer, start the day before by soaking the seeds in warm water overnight, which will help them to germinate. When you are ready to sow, place a little potting mix in the seed tray, drop in several seeds per compartment or pot, cover with soil, and use the spray bottle to gently water. Most seed trays come with lids, and if you are using the clear plastic egg crates, they have built-in lids. Otherwise, use a piece of plastic wrap and make a tent over your seed pots. Covering them helps to create a warm, moist atmosphere. Place them in a warm, dark spot, which will aid the germination process. Check them every day for sprouts.
When seedlings begin to appear, remove the lid or tent, and keep them in a warm, bright spot out of direct sunlight, which is too harsh for these baby plants. If there are multiple seedlings per compartment, remove some of them and leave only the strongest one or two. After the seedlings develop several sets of leaves, transplant them into separate small pots so the roots will have room to develop. Put soil in the pot and make a well in the middle. Remove a seedling from the tray with a teaspoon and carefully place it in the pot. Gently fill in soil around the roots. Continue to keep the plants moist but not wet. If you are using the biodegradable peat or newspaper pots, you will not have to repot the seedlings. Let the plants develop for a few weeks.
Whether you purchase plants or start them from seed, they need to go through a process called “hardening off,” which takes a few days. After all threat of frost has passed, move the plants outdoors in stages so they can gradually adjust to the light and temperature in your garden. Move the pots out to a porch or sheltered area for a day or two, and then place them in the garden where you will plant them for another day or two. Plant them in the ground on a cloudy day or after three in the afternoon so they will not be in the direct, hot sunlight right away.
Using your trowel, dig a hole for each plant. Follow the needs of your plants for spacing to avoid overcrowding. Plants release moisture from their leaves and when they are too close together the humidity level around them is elevated, which can foster the growth of bacteria and fungus. Crowded plants have to compete for resources of soil and sun and do not get as strong and well developed as those that don’t struggle to survive. To remove a plant from its pot, water it, gently tilt the pot, and then carefully slide it out. Support the plant as you fill soil in around the roots and pat it gently but don’t pack it down. When all the plants are in the ground, give them a good watering.
Seeds can also be started directly outside. Unlike those sown indoors, you can’t get a jump on the season because the ground must be warm enough. Follow the information on the seed packets. When you are ready to sow, make one-inch diameter holes in the soil and drop in two or three seeds per hole. Cover with soil and pat lightly. To make sure that you remember where everything is, mark each area with the name of the herb using special tags available at garden centers, or use Popsicle sticks. For a unique look, write the herb names on wine corks, poke each cork onto one end of a wooden barbecue skewer, and stick the other end of the skewer in the ground. Keep the soil moist until seedlings sprout. Thin them by pulling out extras so they are at the distance indicated on the seed packet to avoid overcrowding.