Tips for maintaining an herb garden

Starting your own herb garden comes with many benefits: Not only is gardening good for stress relief, it also allows you to use fresh herbs without breaking the bank. Here are a few tips to get you started.

• Gather herbs and seeds in late morning or at midday for best results. The only exception: gather roots in the early morning.
• Collect the seeds of dill, fennel, coriander and lovage as soon as the flowers turn brown.
• Dig up garlic before the leaves dry up; that way the bulbs keep better.
• Harvest most herbs before they bloom, otherwise their flavour fades or (in the case of sage) disappears entirely. Only lavender, thyme and oregano are harvested at flowering time.
• Pick lemon balm in the afternoon; that's when the leaves develop their greatest intensity, before or just after the flowers open.

• Give herbs only a little water; they don't usually require very much.
• Make sure that the water is able to run off effectively, e.g., through a drainage layer of gravel or topsoil.
• Regularly hoe the ground between herbs to keep it loose and let the water run off without soaking in.
• Add garden lime to give herbs an additional source of calcium and magnesium; varieties that thrive with its help include savory, tarragon, caraway, marjoram, mint, parsley, rosemary, chives and thyme.
• Plant a hedge of boxwood, lavender or hyssop to protect your herbs from wind and winter frost.
• Cut back bushy herbs like lavender and thyme in the fall to prevent frost damage.
• Keep herbs from spreading out too much by cutting them regularly.
• Plant mint and lemon balm in clay pots to restrict their growth. They can form strong runners that quickly take over the entire bed.
• Seed annual herbs in a different location every year. This form of herbal crop rotation will help to keep the soil from becoming too depleted.
• Remember that many herbs need room: lovage can damage adjacent plants, and dill shouldn't be placed next to fennel.