GENERAL HERB FAQ's

What is the best location for my organic herb garden?
Select a location that will offer at least 4 hours of bright sunlight with an ideal sight offering 6 hours of sun. Most herbs perform best in full sun or a diffused light situation. In a full sun garden you may strategically place plants that like a little relief from the sun in the shade of a taller companion. The location should also be well drained and well ventilated.

What type of soil do herbs like?
Most herbs prefer an alkaline to neutral pH. 7.0 - 7.2 would be a good target range, especially those of the "mediteranean" type - oregano, sweet marjoram, sage, rosemary being examples. You may "sweeten" the soil with a quick liquid food for salad crops – ¼ fill a bucket with lawn clippings (unsprayed of course) top up with water and soak in sun for a few days. Dilute to colour of week tea and there you have a good nitrogen boost and it didn’t cost a thing  As with all gardens for harvest, a well feed soil wil give your plants a good start.

How often do herbs need to be watered?
This question cannot honestly be answered. Each gardeners situation is unique. Are his plants in pots or the ground? If in pots, are they on a concrete deck or in the shade of a tree or awning? In general herbs are best watered in the morning. Water herbs when the soil is dry to the touch. In containers it is likely that herbs will need to be watered daily, but again, those with silvery leaves - sage, sweet marjoram lavender being a few like less rather than more and too much water will kill them. Once established in the ground with a good layer of mulch, generally they may be watered 2-3 times a week.

What are the best organic herbs to start a garden? 
This is another loaded question. Most herb gardens begin as culinary gardens. With this in mind some good herbs to start with would be basil ( summer annual), oregano, parsley, rosemary, thyme, dill ( quick growing annual), chives and mint ( best kept confined or very shorly you will have a mint only garden). Keep in mind these are basics. There are many varieties of each of these available now.

Does an organic herb garden need to be fertilized?
Yes. Plants are like you are, if you don't eat you don't work. If you wish a bountiful harvest, they will need feeding. The slower growing plants such as sage and thyme not much, but greenies like basil and parsley are very greedy.  Remember our growing season is nearly a full year here and plants are taxed during that growing season. Feed your hungry plants weekly - little and often, especially fo those grown in containers. A liquid fish or seaweed fertiliser is ideal, if you have a worm farm, worm tea is very good. Always dilute to "weak tea" colour. Because we want to harvest leaves not flowers in the main, the plants do not need a heavy dose of potash, this promotes flowering. Fertilizers are best applied in the morning before before the sun heats up the soil. Never apply fertilizer to a stressed or dry plant as it may burn the foliage, if the soil has become too dry, give a good soaking and if it is container grown, stand it in a bucket of water until the bubbles stop rising. Feed the next day so as not to burn the roots.

How can insects be controlled organically?
Most insect pests such as aphids can be controlled with neem oil ( as a certified grower, we can only use this when we can find nothing esle is working - it is a restricted use). this is a growth inhibitor and works slowly to interfere with the bugs metabolism so needs to be used fortnightly to gain good control.Since organic methods are usually a contact kill it is important to spray the insects when they are less active. In the early evening hours bugs usually congregate under the leaves and move slower during these cooler hours. Enough pressure must be used to whip the leaves around and contact the underside of the leaves.

Biological control can be used on caterpillars with a regular application of bacillus thuringensis (bt) which acts as a growth regulator. To be effective it hmust be applied every two weeks during caterpillar season. *A note of interest: If you allow Herbs in the carrot family such as dill, fennel and parsley to flower, these will feed the hover flies, whose babies are great pest munchers. We have a thriving natural predator system at the nursery, from paper wasps to hoverflies and lady birds and they work very hard for us.

My rosemary was doing just fine and now it is all black at the bottom and only has leaves on the tips of the branches. What could be wrong with it?
Herbs are often plagued by fungal problems, especially during the humid summer months. After ruling out that the plant has not been deprived of water or overwatered, ( most likely) it is safe to say that it may have a fungus. Never trim the green foliage off at this point. It will absorb any excess moisture and continue to nourish the plant. Remove any of the brown foliage and treat with  baking soda. Baking soda may be routinely applied at the rate of 25gm per 5 litres of water to most vegetable and herb plants to help repel fungus. If we think a disease is going to be a problem, we pull and burn the plant.

My basil has black spots and is wilting, what is the problem?
To keep basil it needs consistently warm temperatures (preferably 25 or above) and long daylight hours. When the days become shorter and nights get cooler basil often develops this problem. Many times the stress of drying out or being over watered may trigger the problem. Basil is a summer annual and is best grown from October til a last planting in February. Basil, like chives and parsley is a high nitrogen feeder and needs to be fed often.

Why doesn't my coriander do well?
Corriander is a cool weather annual. When the length of the days grow longer in late spring corriander's time is up. It will usually decline in production and bolt, going to seed. Grow it in the coolest spot in the garden for Summer but remember it is not long lived, so grow it fast and replace it often.
Can I plant all of my herbs in the same pot?
Not all herbs are compatible. The simplest rule to follow is those that like a moister environment and those preferring a drier soil. Plants that work well together would be basil, chives, parsley, corriander dill, fennel, tarragon, lemon balm and another group to place together would be rosemary, sage, thyme and oregano. I personally prefer to grow herbs in seperate pots as when you are plucking them frequently they can steal food from each other. Of course these are only suggestions for a beginner. Keep in mind that to produce well they need to be well fed and plants such as parsley and corriander have tap roots so need a deep pot.

Will my herbs grow well indoors?
Herbs will not perform indoors as well as outside. Low light situations make them appear weak and pithy and they do not develop their true flavours. A sunny porch or deck would be a better place for them. 

Is rosemary a perennial in New Zealand?
Yes. Rosemary is an evergreen perennial in most parts of New Zeland but likes hot dryish weather and full sun to do it's best and develop the flavour we so love.