river of herbs two

8/9/2019 River of Herbs Two

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Growing and M ultiplying HerbsHopefully by now you have chosen a suitable herb meadow location and have begun to plan how you would like it to look.

Today we will look at:Seed sowing tips, Ways to multiply your herb plants,

How to help young seedlings and Some ways to use your herbs.

Seeds Sowing TipsSowing seeds is probably the least labour intensive method of growing new herb plants - if they can be sown direct into the outsidesoil and are able to germinate and develop well in your givenconditions. But in sites where there is lots of traffic and other issues,they may not manage to germinate or to reach maturity.

Here are a few tips to help your seeds get off to a great start:1. Sow in sun-warmed soil. Wait for better weather to avoid waste.

2. Choose favourable and protected positions.

3. Sow indoors and germinate in suggested optimal conditions.

4. Clean plant pots very well in hot soapy water before reuse. Thiscan reduce the chance of plant disease.

4. Place germinating seed pots within an inflated, sealed plastic bag to preserve moisture. Remove the bags as seedlings start to show.

5. Mist your seedlings, or place pots in a water tray, rather thanpouring water over them.

6. Most herbs prefer to live a little on the dry side. Try not to over- water. This helps reduce the risk of fungal damage.

LinksSeed Sowing Wikihow

Very clear and simple instructions with photos.http://www.wikihow.com/Grow-Herb-Gardens-from-Seed

Herb Care GuideLots of useful tips and ideas to help at all stages of herb growing.

http://www.bhg.com/gardening/vegetable/herbs/herb-care-guide/

Herb Germination ChartThis lists how long you should expect to wait for certain herbs to germinate andunder which conditions they are most likely to germinate.http://www.outsidepride.com/resources/planting/Herbs.html

13 Tips for Planting a Herb Garden Very useful blog post on growing a herb gardenhttp://www.giverslog.com/?p=6743

Rooting roses in water bottles - Videohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOGy7e8bYHo

How to Take Soft Stem Cuttings Video(Rosemary & Mint)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpX4EWZEi48

Herbs That Roo t Easily in Water and Special Tips for Othershttp://www.motherearthliving.com/gardening/water-works.aspx

FoAM and the Rough Sloterdijk Grafted Applehttp://fo.am/blog/2012/11/06/rough-sloterdijk/

RHS guidelines on herb propagationhttp://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/Profile.aspx?pid=639

Air Layeringhttp://www.herbs2000.com/flowers/b_air_layer.htm

Grafting made Simple - Instructableshttp://www.instructables.com/id/Grafting-Made-Simple/#step1


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above) e.g. basil, rosemary, lemon verbena. You should see that the willow quickly sprouts roots and that the other herbs follow. Analternative method is to literally make tea from a willow tendril (orsome willow bark) and use that to water cuttings in soil or in jars of

water.

Layering, Runners and MoundingHold part of an intact herb plant under moist soil for long enoughand it may well develop a new set of roots. When the little plant isbig enough to survive away from the mother plant, cut it off cleanly and pot up. Thyme is an easy plant to propagate in this way. Thistechnique is called layering.

Roman Chamomile, Marjoram and Mints, like Strawberries sendout runners which have a set of roots and can be easily cut away from the mother plant and potted up separately. If you are unsurethat the babies are ready for separation, pot up with the runner

(umbilical) intact for a while.

Lavender can easily become leggy after a while. It will look straggly or simply break apart and die. To maintain your Lavender plantsmake a mound of light soil in the living mature Lavender bush. Just the new tips of foliage should show above the mound. Maintain themound after rain and in time the old stems will root into the earthmound. You will then be able to cut off lots of rejuvenated plants!

Root divisionSome plants are best divided simply by digging them up in spring and splitting up the rooty plant with a clean garden spade, a knife or

your hands. Lavender, Lemon Balm and Lovage all do best if this isdone every few years. Clumps of Chives can be gently ripped apart by hand and real root herbs, such as Comfrey and Burdock, can becut with a knife and each root section should send up new shoots.

Cuttings in W aterI really enjoy watching herb cuttings develop roots in a glass vase orjam jar. Simply cut a few soft stemmed sprigs of herbs, a 2 - 4inches long then strip off the lowest leaves and place the sprigs inenough water to cover those stripped leaf joints and for the pot not dry up quickly. Then you will have pleasure from cut herbs in your

home and the chance that in time they may root and yield new plants. Not all herbs will set root in this simple way but many will soit is worth a try.

There is a link to a video about hardwood Roses being cultivated inthis way, in used drink bottles quite amazing and so cheap!

Cuttings in SoilThese tends to work well with harder wood cuttings and geraniums.For geraniums, cut at leaf or stem joints and leave cuttings at a moderate temperature overnight for the wounds to heal and thecuttings to dry out a little. Then proceed as follows:

Simply cut off a short length of chosen herb (such as Lavender,Passionflower, Tarragon , Elder) and gently poke it into a small pot of suitable soil. You may like to cover the lightly watered pot with a plastic bag or not. In time, new roots will form and turn your cutting into a small plant.

Companion Rooting Willow TeaSeveral plants contain such high levels of rooting hormones that itsalmost impossible to stop them setting down roots when you placethem in water or soil. They can also provide natural rooting hormone to other cuttings placed close by. Willow is one such plant and it is easy to find in Amsterdam.

The simplest way to do what I like to call Companion Rooting, is totake a short willow stem or tendril and place the cut end in a jar of fresh water. Add to this jar, a few other herb cuttings (dealt with as


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Seed sowing basics1. Choose a favourable time of year and good weather conditions.2. Germination may happen in the dark or light, check your plantsrequirements. Some seeds need stratifying (natural sub zerotemperatures in winter or in your freezer E.g. Gingko), rubbing

with sandpaper or other specific tasks, to increase likelihood of

germination. Find out what is needed and try to help the seeds.3. Soak the seeds overnight perhaps (see 2 above). Sow direct intothe soil outside or near the top of small soil filled plant pots orother containers. Ensure that water can drain out of the pots.5. If you sow too many seeds in one pot, the young plants willquickly become overcrowded. Some plants dont mind being thinned out whilst seedlings but most dont survive being pluckedout at a very early stage. Sow fairly sparingly.6. Cover the seeds with 1 3 times their depth of soil. Some preferto be left partially uncovered to access light, most do not need it.7. Wet the soil by standing the pot in a tray of water for a while,

sprinkling from above or some other gentle method.8. Perhaps cover your pot with a clean plastic bag or cling film, tokeep the soil moist and warm during the germination phase.9. Place the pot somewhere that is unlikely to be disturbed and

where the temperature suits the seeds.10. When your seeds germinate, crack open and send out roots andfirst leaves (the cotyledons), they are very delicate so take off theplastic bag or film and treat gently! Avoid touching or top watering.11. Allow several leaves to grow on the seedlings, before potting onor planting out. Handle the seedlings (if you must) by the leaves,not stems. Leaves may re-grow, stems wont.12. Harden them off, if necessary. This means, get them gradually used to their new home by giving them short visits there (orsomewhere similar) before finally planting them out. I rarely havetime for this but its a good idea in tough conditions.13. Protect seedlings as best you can but avoid using netting andother things which may work free of your site and could easily harm

wildlife. Sticks and natural string may help create a useful barrier.

Air LayeringThis is a useful way to make new but quite large offspring from

woody herbs, such as Magnolia and Te a . A partially severed branch wound is wrapped with something such as sphagnum moss which issecurely held in place until substantial roots have formed in themoss. The new plant is then cut completely from the parent and

begins a new life, perhaps to be bonsai-ed for a balcony?

Grafting A woody shrub or tree branch is cut in a particular way and the wound is bound carefully to another woody plant. If the two arecompatible then in a short time they will heal together and thegrafted branch will function normally on the root stock. See the twolinks about grafting for a great local example and very clearinstructions.

Dont fancy eating your herbs?There are many other things which you may like to do with yourherbs, rather than eating them or making remedies from them.

Here are a few suggestions:Decorations with a meaning Rosemary for friendship etcDream pillows Lavender, Mugwort Pot pourri dried first Under your door mat Tansy, Rosemary Nasturtium leaves as loo roll?!Household cleanser Thyme infusion and a mild soap in a spray

Mouse deterrent Sprinkle dried or fresh mint around the house

Do you know of any interesting uses for herbs?Please share them with us!

river of herbs two

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