The autumn leaves are falling rapidly, the oranges turning to browns. It’s not the brightest time for most gardens, but as winter sets in, it is a good time to look ahead to spring and plan your herb garden.
Herb fundi Bridget Kitley, who has been growing and teaching about herbs for over 25 years, is full of ideas for using every nook and cranny of your garden for planting.
One of her workshops is on planting in small spaces. Lack of space and money is no excuse – pots, innovative containers, planting between other plants – there is always somewhere for a lettuce, a parsley plant, a rocket.
Although it may seem a strange time to plant herbs, as many are dormant in winter, planting now gives the roots time to establish, and in the spring you’ll have an instant garden and strong plants, she says.
Herbs basically need about five hours of sun a day, preferably in the morning. They also need well-drained soils and regular feeding, especially if they’re in pots. Although herbs can tolerate harsh conditions, they thrive best in well-nourished soil.
“I like the slow-release Talborne, an organic fertiliser,” says Kitley. “And worm compost – you can’t get a better-balanced food. And if your plants are well fed, they don’t get diseases.”
Another essential is watering, more regularly in summer. And the more you water, the more you need to feed as nutrients leach out.
Back to small spaces. Kitley has collected some unusual containers for her workshop: a washbasin, complete with its pedestal for drainage; tomato tins, paint tins – with holes punched in them and painted blue; wine barrels, an old fruit palette with wheels attached.
She’s also made a vertical garden with chicken wire to which she has attached wire nets as pockets. Hessian lines the pockets, and the plants are planted in a soil mix. They’ll grow, and spill over the sides, making an easily accessible, attractive herb larder. Old wastepaper baskets, an egg-basket – any container can be planted.
Kitley has great flair when it comes to her herb gardens. “You don’t need a lot of money to make a great herb garden. It’s largely common sense but let your artistic flair go. It doesn’t have to happen instantaneously, and winter is a good time to get started as it’s cooler, the rain makes the ground workable, you don’t have to worry about watering, which is all good.”
Use what’s available. Look at what’s in your shed or garage, let your imagination go wild. A pot of paint, some trellising, a few poles, and you have a structure for climbing roses or runner beans. Old wheelbarrows, a ladder, a chest of drawers – you can use anything. Then look around your garden – use every available space for things like lettuce, which have a short growing season, rocket or tatsoi.
An intriguing way to add interest to your garden is using optical illusion “furniture”. Kitley has an archway that looks as though it’s leading to a shed. It’s a frame with a mirror, a clever way to create the illusion of space.
Kitley uses a special planting mix made by vermiculturist Franz Mentz at Wurmbosch (on the R44).
And the secret to success, says Kitley, is to dip your seedling plugs into the vermi-tea, a thick, muddy-looking gloop (produced by the earthworms) that sticks to the plant and results in phenomenal growth.
It’s important to “nag” herbs, she says, pinching off the tops to encourage growth, and cutting back plants where there’s new growth.
One plant I’ve always struggled to keep alive is the garden sage. “I’ve given up on that one,” she says. “The broadleaf sage and the Salvia clevelandii however do well, so plant them instead.”
It’s worth attending one of her regular workshops, which are great fun, as she shares her experience in using herbs. Contact her at 079 499 2209.
Tips for starting a herb garden
Here are some tips from Kitley on starting a herb garden:
* Measure up the area to be planted.
* Decide on the types of herbs and vegetables you need and will use.
* Group your herbs: that is, salad herbs, lush herbs (ie dill, caraway, coriander, chervil) requiring morning sun and afternoon shade, labiates like rosemary and thyme can be grouped together as they need more sun.
* The normal rule is three to seven plants per square metre depending on the growth habit of the plant.
* Ascertain the soil conditions – heavy clay soil will require double digging, added stones, coarse compost and topsoil. Another solution is to build raised beds, remembering to install drainage. Dry sandy soil is easier to deal with but there is a special method of planting and it is sensible to lay mulch after planting to alleviate weed problems and to keep the soil nice and moist, not too thickly, however, as in the winter rains this can cause the roots to rot and die with too much water.
* Access to your plants is important. Your design should allow pathways or stepping stones so that you can reach all areas of your garden without walking all over it.
* A herb garden designed for culinary use should be positioned as near to the kitchen as possible to alleviate problems in harvesting.
* Remember that herbs are low maintenance but the more you use them the better they grow. Do not allow your plants to become straggly. Cut back regularly and if you do not need all you have cut back, throw the herbs into a dish in the kitchen and, once dried, use in dishes or make a herbal salt out of them. - Cape Argus