Check out Into The Garden's Mary Levy on "Designing DFW" with Jocelyn White

TUNE IN THIS SUNDAY

SUNDAY, JUNE 10

11:00 AM

"Hot Fun in the Summertime" Special

TO LEARN HOW

CAN HELP YOU

BRING THE GARDEN

INTO YOUR HOME,

AND THE HOME

INTO YOUR GARDEN

THIS SUMMER!

Growing Herbs In Containers, Part 2: Soil, Fertilizer, Watering, etc...

It’s a given that an herb garden is a wonderful thing. Herb gardening in containers is relatively easy and most varieties can be grown successfully, either on a windowsill, a patio or a balcony.

       Containers were discussed in a previous posting, so let's start out discussing Soil

When you grow plants in containers, it's important to provide them with a high quality potting soil or soil-less mix. You can't just run out to the backyard and dig up a little dirt! Why Not Use Soil from the Garden? You certainly could use soil right from your garden in containers. However garden soil comes with 2 major disadvantages: 1. Lack of Drainage - Garden soil tends to be somewhat heavy and without tilling, either by you, earthworms or other insects, it begins to compact after several waterings--That is, IT LACKS STRUCTURE! This loss of structure is especially hard on the tender roots of young seedlings just getting established. Ordinary garden soil, especially those so frequently found in the DFW area, is much too heavy and lacks structure for containerized plants. What you're looking for is a soil that is loose and well drained. 2. You Don’t Know What’s Coming in With Garden Soil - Disease spores, bacteria, plant eating insects, weed seeds and assorted other unwanteds can easily hitch a ride with your garden soil There are all kinds of natural predators and weather phenomenon outdoors that help keep these things in check. To use this soil indoors, OR IN CONTAINERS IN GENERAL (INSIDE OR OUT) first you’d need to sterilize it with some sort of heat treatment, and then do something about the structure...A LOT of work and risky business... First off, if the soil is workable at all, you have to dig it up... Back Yard Garden Soil Screening out sticks, stones and other foreign matter And now it can be sterilized with heat...Even after that, it still lacks STRUCTURE... So we have to add Perlite: Perlite for adding Structure  (the white stuff you see in good potting mix--it's actually crushed volcanic rock and allows for drainage) and some Peat Moss or Sphagnum Moss Spaghnum Peat to build structure with an organic material for more structure and organic content...  A perfect ratio is one-third each of; the sifted, sterilized garden soil, Perlite and Spaghgnum--all mixed thoroughly together to make for good soil structure, rich in organic material-- Sounds like a hassle, doesn't it? IT IS!!! THE SOLUTION: Purchase a quality potting mix! Available at Into The Garden   Fertilizer ALL plants need both Macro and Micro Elements for proper growth Nitrogen (N), Phosphrous (P) and Potassium (K) are the main (Macro) elements REQUIRED for plant growth and health and are listed on all fertilizer packages as a three number formula such as 20-20-20 Most good fertilizers ("Plant Food") also contain the smaller quantities of "Micro Elements" too. Although the "micros" are needed in much smaller percentages, they are just as important for the successful growing of all plants--and herbs are no exception! While most herbs require little fertilizer, you do need to pay closer attention to container grown plants. Because the amount of soil around the plant is limited to the size of the container, it dries out faster and requires more nutrients than the soil in your garden. If your plants lose their color or look a little peeked during the growing season, apply fertilizer at half the recommended strength every few weeks. NOTE: Apply fertilizers sparingly to herbs. Heavy applications will produce large plants, but the essential oils that produce their flavor and aroma will be greatly reduced. Watering When it comes to watering containerized herbs, keep in mind that they will dry out faster and require more attention than plants in your backyard gardens! Containerized Purple Sage How much you water will depend on several factors, and, in containers, we can pretty much control them all: 1. Plant all of your containers in the same type of soil/soil-less mix and, essentially,  they will all dry out at the same rate… Try to use the same soil in all your pots 2. Be aware of, and make allowances for, the amount of exposure to sun, rainfall and wind… 3. Keep in mind that the average temperatures vary throughout the season… Trailing Rosemary Herbs Grown In Small Containers Need Frequent Watering, Maybe Daily! 4. Pot size—and plant size-- also determine the amount of water each needs… If temperatures are warm, a container may require water once or twice a day. Watch closely, and water when the potting mix appears dry and pale, or has shrunk away from the sides of the container. Also, poke your finger in the soil. If it feels moist, it's all right. If it feels dry, start watering. Keep in mind, that many herbs prefer drier, as opposed to wetter conditions. Make sure you check the watering requirements for individual plants! Sun/Light The essential oils, that give herbs their flavor and aroma, are produced in the largest quantity when they receive plenty of light. For best results, most herb varieties require at least 6 hours of sun per day —A bit less during the grueling hot summer in Texas. If you see that your herbs are not getting enough sun, just pick them up and move them to a sunnier spot. If they are in too much sun, move them to a shadier location. Shifting container locations is also desirable as the amount of available sunlight changes with the seasons. If growing indoors, many plants will do fine on a south facing windowsill. ONE FINAL NOTE: Read the light and water requirements found on most individual plant labels—It’s not “Rocket Science”            ALL OF THE PRODUCTS SHOWN ARE AVAILABLE AT: SEE YA THERE!!! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE USE OF ANY COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL IS USED UNDER THE GUIDELINES OF "FAIR USE" IN TITLE 17 & 107 OF THE UNITED STATES CODE. SUCH MATERIAL REMAINS THE COPYRIGHT OF THE ORIGINAL HOLDER AND IS USED HERE FOR THE PURPOSES OF EDUCATION, COMPARISON, AND CRITICISM ONLY. NO INFRINGEMENT OF COPYRIGHT IS INTENDED

Herb Garden Containers

An herb garden is a wonderful thing. Herb gardening in containers is relatively easy and most varieties can be grown successfully, either on a windowsill, a patio or a balcony.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT CONTAINERS:

Just about anything will work, but keep in mind, most varieties prefer fast draining soil and, therefore, pots that breath!

A back porch, containerized herb garden

Although it’s often hard to resist those cute little glazed “herb pots” found in many gift shops and garden centers, serious herb gardeners usually prefer terra-cotta because of its natural wicking capability…

Standard red clay
pots make great
herb containers!

That doesn’t mean you’re limited to standard clay pots, though!

Guy Wolff has a great selection of clay pottery
perfect for containerized herbs

More great "herb pots" by Guy Wolff

Campo di' Fiori pottery
is perfect for herb plantings

Strawbery Pots by Campo di' Fiori

The so-called “strawberry pot” is great for growing a variety of herbs in one place—provided they all require the same conditions--When you need some flavor for your food ... it's all right there

.

One more important thing to remember is that container size does matter. The pot must fit the plant - or plants - that will be growing in it. If the container is too small your herbs may quickly become rootbound and dry out just too quickly. On the other hand, if the container is too large, your plants may, at best, spend all of their energy on root production and not grow the way they should—Or, at worst, simply rot from staying wet too long!

                                                                                                                                                                                                

With this information as a guide, the choices are endless...

Campo di' Fiori

"Dragon Scales" by Campo di' Fiori

Choose a standard clay pot, or show a bit more panache with  designer pots such as those from Guy Wolff or Campo di' Fiori...

ALL OF THESE POTS (AS WELL AS EVERYTHING ELSE YOU WILL NEED FOR SUCCESSFUL HERB GARDENING) ARE AVAILABLE NOW AT
INTO THE GARDEN
              
WITH LOCATIONS IN DALLAS AND 
FORT WORTH...

SEE YA THERE!

ARUGULA: A SPICY HERB THAT'S EASY TO GROW RIGHT NOW!

GROWING HERBS IN CONTAINERS:

Hot summer sun causes greens to turn bitter and go to seed quickly--That's why we start them now! Of course, after the weather is consistently over 85 degrees F, we can move our containers to an area that gets cool afternoon shade in order to extend the life of those cool weather crops...

ARUGULA GROWS GREAT IN CONTAINERS

Arugula loves the cool weather and SHOULD be planted in DFW, starting today—especially in containers. All you need are daytime temperatures above 40F. Even frost won’t hold it back. It grows best in a sunny location though it will tolerate some shade particularly when summer temperatures begin to rise…

Delicious arugula leaves of a plant grown in a container...

Growing Arugula - Arugula doesn't love hot weather and, in fact,  gets quite bitter if grown when it's steaming hot outside.
     Young arugula leaves are some of the most tender and delicious—These are the best to add to your salad before the heat of summer turns them bitter. If grown in containers, the useful life of this herb can be extended--if the container is moved to a spot where it receives only morning sun (Do this just prior to oppressively hot temperatures hitting the DFW area)…

Harvesting Arugula - The younger the leaves, the more tender and sweet they will be, so don't wait too long to start picking them. Allow the plants to continue growing tender young leaves. You can collect just the leaves by cutting or tearing them off towards their base.

Arugula Flowers

 Many gourmets think the flowers are the best part of the arugula - they aren't as spicy as the leaves and are a little sweet. The flowers appear after the leaves have grown to full size and are too bitter to eat. If you don't harvest your arugula (the whole plant), eventually you should see flowers. Pick them off and eat them, or add them to a salad or an open-faced sandwich for a beautiful treat. Some gardeners grow arugula for the flowers alone!