Go you grow it organic? Do you use fertilizer? how often do you feed your herbs?
thank you
anna
what do you use to feed your herbs?
Nearly all my plants, herbs included, get a sprinkle of Osmocote (time release pellets) when they're planted.
There's a myth floating around that herbs must be grown in dry, poor soil. Although herbs are tough enough that they can survive where other plants won't, I think they enjoy rich soil, fertilizer, and regular watering (as long as there is excellent drainage) as much as any other plant!
Yes, I read in De Baggio's book that high nitrogen feeds with give herbs bigger leaves so they have more oil glands., hence stronger fragrance/taste.
Yay for Tom!! I told you he taught me pretty much everything I know about growing & propagating herbs, LOL.
I use organic Epsoma flower-tone and plant-tone mixed together for herbs (and everything else too) also bat guano if I can find it but this year it has been hard to find.
Debbie
Hey dmj1218..didn't realize Espoma reached all the way to Texas. It's made here in New Jersey. I use Espoma Garden-tone 100% Organic 5-3-3 on everything in my garden and have for many years. This is a pic of 8 Nufar Hybrid Basil plants in an EarthBox. 3 cups of the Espoma was mixed into the potting soil about a week before transplanting. The basil loves it!
Rich
Rich--those are fabulous basils! This time of year basils down here go to seed long before they reach that point--have to successively sow. We've had Espoma for about 3 years now--I'm in Houston though so we have several real good nurseries. I really like bat guano for basils but there must be a supplier problem this year, nobody has any. The shortage started late in the season last year. I'm not really sure why I mix those two but I guess it makes me feel good--lol
Debbie
This message was edited Jul 15, 2006 9:33 AM
You know, I worked really hard on my herb bed to make it very well draining, dry, and as free running as possible. Some of my herbs do well in it, some HATE it. I decided like critterologist says, that herbs don't necessarily like that. The ones we grow are not necessarily the wild forms that grow in medterranian soils, but are bred for garden or potting soils. Boy, was I slow to learn that. My basils grown in the vegetable beds are fertilized with fish emulsion only. They are tasty, lush, not going to flower as soon as they are planted...
Live and learn.
In the fall I'll dig almost everything up (the spanish lavender , japanese catnip and rosemary love the super dry areas) and throw something yummy and moisture retentave into the soil!
GGG
Thymes will do well in that dry bed area also. I know what you mean.... DH added a lot of sand to one herb bed before we realized it wasn't necessary (although the lavender loves it). As long as your soil drains well so that it's not soggy around the root zone, herbs appreciate moisture. Basil is one that, as you've discovered, doesn't do well at all in dry soil. I plant it in front of my tomatoes, and it thrives! I also fill in my landscape beds with different basils... love them!
I use fish emulsion.
Cheers Annette
We are using seabird guano for the leafy herbs. I mix it with water, at half to a third of the recommended strength for a root feed and feed it more regularly. The seabird guano doesn't smell as bad as the fish emulsion and the smell dissipates overnight. It also washes off your hands easily.