Growing Herbs for Beginners

You can start your own herb garden by going over to the local greenhouse, nursery or home improvement store to purchase them. You could also start your own herbs from seeds. Those are all good and well, but a third method, called propagation is less costly than purchasing your herbs or starting them from seeds.

Propagation is simply locating a friend or neighbor who already has some plants and then taking either part of their plant through division or by taking a cutting of their herb and allowing it to grow roots for before planting it.

When using division, breaking up isn’t hard to do, you just split the plant into smaller, separate plants. Some plants are easier than others to divide, like chives and thyme. Dig all the way through the herb with your shovel and the roots, which will completely separate the plant into parts. If you are dividing a creeping plant like English chamomile, it will be much simpler.

You don’t have to use a trowel; you can take a couple of regular forks and use them and your hands to separate the plant. One thing you will need to do is water the herb you will be dividing the day before, the soft, moist dirt will be ready for you. Once you get back home with your new plant, treat it just like you would a plant you get at the greenhouse.

One thing that is different is that you’re going to want to fertilize the new little herb when you put it into the ground. I’d also recommend that you use a root stimulator to aid in supporting those tender roots that will need to grow to support the divided herb.

Taking a cutting is even simpler than division because you will not have to dig up anything. Just keep in mind that your cuttings won’t have any roots and can’t be planted in the ground or in a pot until it does, which could take several weeks.. Not all herbs respond well to cuttings, so do your research before you get out your garden shears.

The best herbs for cuttings are the young plants instead of older, more established plants, because they can be woody.  But like I always hear; make do with what’s at hand. When making a cutting, follow these guidelines:

• Find a branch that has at least 3 leaves and then cut it off at the stem and remove the leaves

• Now here is where I am different from other people: they recommend that you only dip the stem into a root stimulator while I recommend that you soak the stem overnight in a diluted mixture of root stimulator and water.

• Either way, once you do that you will want to then stick the stem down into your moistened, rich dirt. You will want to cover up the stem so that no bare part (where you scraped off the leaves) is seen.

• After a few days, add a little more water. This will keep the stem moist. But you do not want to drench it. Be sure to give your cutting four weeks to start growing its new leaves.

Some of my favorite herbs to start from cuttings include: rosemary, salvias, scented geranium, vervain and white willow.

Good luck with your herb gardening. Be sure to let me know how your herb garden grows.

Here is more Herb Garden Information.  Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Herb Gardens.