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The Herb Society have a great article on their website about using dandelions and nettles as spring tonics and if you watch BBC1's Countryfile this Sunday (27th April) you will see Jenny Jones Dip Phyt, FNIMH and Debs Cook making some of the recipes from this page. Can't wait!
I've only made Nettle Soup and Dandelion Syrup so far so I may give these other recipes a go.
Following on from my post about the advantages of growing herbs in containers, here are some tips to help you have a beautiful and thriving herb container garden.
1. Choose an appropriate container and compost i.e. A heavy stone trough wouldn't be a good idea for a balcony garden and a heavy soil based compost wouldn't be suitable for a hanging basket or windowbox unless the fittings are very secure.
2. Make sure you can lift the container if you are planting frost tender herbs in it because you will need to place it in a frost free place for the winter if you want them to survive until the following year.
3. Use a good quality potting compost mixed with coarse sand to help with drainage, plus a 2 to 5cm deep layer of gravel/crocks at the base of the pot.
4. If you are using metal containers don't place them in full sun; the herb's roots will shrivel!
5. If you want a low maintenance container garden or don't want to use liquid feeds, you can add a slow release fertiliser into the compost.
6. If you want to minimise the amount of watering you need to do, consider adding water-retaining gel or granules into the compost. I have seen people add cut up bath sponges which I guess would have a similar effect although I'm not sure if any chemicals would leach into the soil?
7. As soon as you see roots starting to grow out of the base of the pot, you know you need to re-pot the plant into the next largest size container.
8. Check the moisture levels of the container soil daily during warm spells.
9. Try not to cram too many herbs into one pot; they need plenty of light and space to avoid them growing too tall and spindly. A group of containers with one herb per pot can look stunning.
10. Trim/harvest your herbs regularly to promote fresh bushy growth.
Oh, I thought of some more, here's a few of them.......
11. Place your containers where they will get plenty of light especially in the morning.
12. Place containers away from strong and persistent winds; it stresses your herbs out! This is especially important if you are growing taller herbs in a container; the stems may break. Wind tends to dry out the soil and can also blow away the top soil if there is not mulch on it.
13. For established herbs in containers, mulch in the Spring by removing the top 2 to 5 cm of soil and replacing with a mulch of fresh compost.
14. Plant herbs that like similar soil conditions in the same container. i.e lavender and mint wouldn't be a good combination.
If you have any tips or herb container gardening questions, feel free to leave a comment below.
I've received details of the above course which may be of interest to some of you. The course is limited to 12 participants and is suitable for beginners and experienced herbalists alike. It takes place every year in the Alpujarra region of the Sierra Nevada, Spain with expert herbalist Julio Donat.
Julio will introduce you to the vast and intriguing world of plants, teaching you to identify the varied flora of the Sierra Nevada (including medicinal, edible, and dangerous plants). You will learn about the qualities of different plants, collecting methods, drying, conserving and cultivating.
You will also learn about simple traditional preparation of plants, making infusions, decoctions, macerations, tinctures, unguents, creams, soaps, toothpaste and perfume.
So if you fancy a week away you can find out more at the Bootlace website or for more details of the week you can contact Fiona Primarolo by email.
Why didn't I think of that! Dough with pure essential oils incorporated into it. My daughter gets travel sick even on short journeys so this might just be worth a try.
Mohdoh have brought out a range of mouldable medicines to combat a variety of childhood ailments through play therapy, colour therapy and aromatherapy. There are six products each of which tackles different symptoms from travel sickness to anxiety. As the dough is kneaded, the essential oils are vaporised, inhaled and absorbed through the skin.
You can choose from No worries, Smart, Are we there yet, Calm, Breathe and 40 winks.
The product is non toxic and contains pure essential oils. It retails at £6.49 or £30 for all 6 and is available online at www.mohdoh.co.uk
Has anyone tried these?
I'm thrilled to tell you that one of my photos has been used on the Herb Society's website as part of their article about Marigolds (Calendula officinalis). It is one of my favourite herby flower combinations: rosemary and calendula. It looks and smells great and is so simple but effective.
The article details how to make Marigold cream and tincture. Marigold is very good for relieving inflamed or itchy skin, alternatively, you could just stick them in a vase because they look so pretty!
To read the herb society's article, click here.
Growing herbs in containers has many advantages, this post refers mainly to outdoor containers which can be anything from an old pair of wellies to large stone troughs!
1. Anyone can do it; you don't need much space and with the top tips coming up in a future blog post, you should have a beautiful, fragrant and useful addition to your living space.
2. They can be put almost anywhere. They can be on steps, windowsills, attached to walls, placed on plant stands, in a windowbox, on a balcony, by the kitchen door or hung from brackets if using hanging baskets. If you use a plant stand you can garden standing instead of bending over. You can move them around as necessary eg move them into the shade if it gets too hot and into the sun if their current position is overshadowed by trees or buildings.
3. Less chance of weeds or other invasive plants taking over in a container.
4. You don't need to worry so much about garden pests.
5. It is easier to plant up, maintain and harvest from a container.
6. A smaller investment of time and money than a garden patch.
7. You can choose a different theme for each container. How about a 'Perfume Pot' or an italian theme or just keep it simple and have one herb per pot.
8. If you grow tender herbs in containers .eg basil, lemon verbena, pineapple sage or scented pelargoniums, it is easier to bring them indoors when there is a risk of frost.
9. You can control the soil type and growing conditions to suit the herb's requirements eg Have a sandy soil for thymes, fertile and moist soil for mint plants.
10. Containers are ideal used for invasive herbs such mints, lemon balm, soapwort and tansy.
This is just a small example of the information contained in my herb gardening e-book that I am currently editing, it will be jam-packed with useful information about starting a herb garden and then how to keep it alive! If you have found this blog post useful and want to be one of the first to know when the e-book is available, just drop me a quick e-mail. You'll be on my priority list and therefore entitled to a limited early bird discount offer. Thanks!
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