My herbs are growing nicely in my pots, and although I'm a bit too timid to put them all out on my herb wall, I couldn't help trying a small section with a few very cheap herbs I got at a local farm store. With the gorgeous weather here in Zone 6, I feel like I'm wasting a precious gift by not putting some things out a little early. And there are always row covers and burlap to fend off surprise frost.
And so I did this...
The herbs should fill out quite a bit, so I didn't plant them too close to each other.
I used the recyclable peat pots the plants came in to fill in the gaps.
With each filled layer, I lined the gaps with the unfolded peat before adding the next layer of dirt. So far there has been minimal to no dirt loss.
I couldn't decide whether garden soil or potting soils would be better, but opted for an organic potting soil.
Starting at one section, I shoveled the soil level with the first gap, pushed the roots deep into the slats, lined the gaps with peat pots, and repeated all the way up to the top.
I've got about 5 variety of mint and a few odd thymes and a smattering of other herbs I wouldn't even think to grow on my own.
I'm pretty happy with how it turned out and haven't seen any dirt loss in the few days, several waterings and off and on showers we've had.
So as long as the plants don't all turn yellow and die, I think this is a definite repeat idea.
I am AMAZED at the variety of herbs. If I grew one of each I could probably fill my entire two pallet wall and still have a number of varieties left over. I put in orange, chocolate, lemon, and plain mints which I am super excited about. I think those are all going in homemade ice cream this summer. And Iced tea. Lots of Iced tea.
I threw my Nasturtium in at the top. They'll hang down with little edible, peppery flowers and add a bit of color.
I've still got tons of space to fill up and about 75 little herbs to spread in the gaps. I am really looking forward to the next few weeks...
What kind of herbs are you growing? Share PLEASE!!
This is such a fun idea! I think if we move again once Joe goes to grad school, I'll do this if we have space issues. Hell, I may just do it for fun!
ReplyDeleteAs far as herbs go, this year I planted lavender, chamomile, Genovese basil, English thyme, lemon balm (which the ferrets DESTROYED! Luckily, it is also growing wild around our house), bee balm, Italian flat leaf parsley, oregano, and onion chives (which, surprisingly, are not doing very well :(!!) Plus we have catnip and lemon balm growing wild all around the woods, and probably some other things I haven't discovered yet. I sooo want to get more herbs, though. I have a hankerin' for some pineapple sage and more exotic stuff.