Job:07-61264 Title:RacePoint - Herb and Spice Companion
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Job:07-61264 Title:RacePoint - Herb and Spice Companion
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(Text)INTRODUCTION- 13 –
You can test your soil’s drainage yourself by digging a hole twelve inches deep
and filling it with water; watch how quickly the water drains. It should start draining
within ten seconds. After a half hour, if there’s still a hole filled with water, you’ve got
drainage problems. If the water’s completely drained in less time, your soil might not
retain enough moisture to nourish the herbs.
Whether too heavy or too sandy, to improve drainage mix in an appropriate
compost or other organic matter depending on the soil’s needs. Sandy soils should be
amended to improve water retention, while clay soils should be amended to increase
porousness. Another way to improve drainage is to plant herbs in a raised bed or small
hill in the garden.
One more benefit of container gardening is the use of potting soil rather than
garden soil. Containers don’t offer the natural drainage found in the garden, so pot-
ted plants need to be accommodated with a healthy water supply as well as extremely
well-draining soil. Potting soil is specifically created to be the perfect medium for
growing plants in containers, and there’s no ground soil included. An ideal potting
mix will be soft, light, and loose, so it drains freely while still nourishing the roots. It
will include nutritious ingredients like bark, peat moss, lime, humus, compost, perlite,
or vermiculite. Container-grown herbs will likely also need fertilizer; while garden
herbs send their roots through the ground to collect nutrients and water, the roots
of container herbs are confined behind walls. Check the requirements on your herb
plants to know what fertilizers are best.Starting from Seeds
The easiest way to start growing herbs at home is to
purchase young plants from a nursery or garden center.
You’ll usually find great variety, including some spice
plants, and you can sample them before you buy. But,
of course, this can get costly. The more economical
(and adventurous!) method is to start from seeds. Most
seed packets sold at reliable garden centers will come
with specific instructions for your chosen plant. These
will cover light requirements, soil or potting mixes, and
sowing tips.
It’s often advised to sow seeds indoors up to three months before planting out-
side in the garden; this will allow the seeds time to germinate, or sprout into seed-
lings, and give your growing season a head start. Germination time is usually two to
three weeks, but it can be different for every plant. For example, many plants (mostlyJob:07-61264 Title:RacePoint - Herb and Spice Companion
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