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Plant Talk

Inside The New York Botanical Garden

Tip of the Week — 7/21/08

Posted in Gardening Tips on July 21 2008, by Sonia Uyterhoeven

Heavenly Herbs

Sonia Uyterhoeven is Gardener for Public Education at The New York Botanical Garden.
Louise Loeb Vegetable GardenHerbs are easy to grow and are rewarding for the culinary-minded gardener. It is better to neglect your herbs rather than take too much care or to fuss over them. The most work you will need to do is pinching back herbs so that they don’t get leggy or go to flower.

  • Most herbs like full sun; the few exceptions that can handle part shade are parsley, mint, dill, and basil.
  • Herbs like good drainage—if they are container-grown, normal potting soil will do.
  • Herbs tend to be more fragrant when not fertilized and kept lean—basil is the exception.
  • Basil, dill, and cilantro are easy to sow from seeds. Basil is not frost hardy and needs to be placed outside after the last frost date; cilantro on the other hand is a fast-growing, cool-season crop.
  • Mints have a tendency to be invasive and are best used as either container plants or planted in a large pot that is sunk into the ground. This will provide an effective barrier for about 3 years.

Experiment with herbs in your garden and have fun. This year we have ‘Doone Valley’ thyme and silver thyme (Thymus vulgaris ‘Argenteus’) in the vegetable garden; they both have a wonderful citrus fragrance. Cuban oregano (Plectranthus amboinicus) is a newcomer to the vegetable garden this year with its pungent foliage. It can be used just like sage in cooking. Basil ‘Red Rubin’ retains its red color even as it ages and is a staple in the Home Gardening Center, but there are so many others to choose from such as the exotic Thai basil ‘Siam Queen’.