Floral Design with Cara: Herb Gardening in Containers
By Cara Ewald on June 06, 2014 from Floral Design with Cara via Connect-Bridgeport.com
Although many herbs are easier to grow than house plants, there are a few keys to successfully planting, growing, maintaining, and harvesting an herb garden in pots. How do you enjoy summer barbecues with delicious foods flavored by a thriving herb garden? Here's my advice...
1. Diligent watering and feeding. If you are not lucky enough to have a great location for a garden, just remember that some herbs grow quite large and do much better in the ground. Container gardening requires diligent watering and regular feeding, but it can be easy and fun. Be careful not to overfeed or overwater, and most importantly follow your plant and fertilizer instructions.
2. Placement. All you need is a sunny, warm place and containers large enough for your plants to grow. Sunny decks, patios, and other such areas are great for container gardening. By growing Herbs in containers, you save yourself the difficulty of digging that starting a garden plot requires. Plants should get at least four hours of sunshine per day (certain plants appreciate a bit of shade in the hot summer months during the afternoon hours).
3. Proper water drainage. Choose containers that allow proper drainage. A hole at the bottom of the container is critical. Healthy roots mean healthier plants. So be sure there are holes for drainage. It allows water in the soil to drain freely so adequate air is available for the roots.
4. Water only if soil is dry. Water the plant immediately after planting; afterward, water them only when the soil gets dry to the touch. Overwatering can be just as bad for herbs as under-watering. Wet soils favor root rot, because they leave little space for air to get to the roots. Plants rarely recover from root rot.
5. Harvest to allow future growth. For harvesting, you simply cut off about 1/3 of the branches when the plant reaches at least 6-8" tall. By cutting close to a leaf intersection your plants will regrow very quickly.
