Containerised Herbs
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Overview:
Herbs such as Basil, Bay, Lavender, Marjoram, Mint, Rosemary, and Sage to name but a few, are well suited to containerised growing.
Many of the annual species can be sown indoors early in the year and transplanted out into the container after the frosts.
Perennial varieties can be purchased at garden centres or grown from cuttings given by friends and / or family.
If buying annual species from a garden centre ensure that they have been well hardened off prior to planting out.
Basically the selection of pot, compost and aftercare is the same as flowers.
Quite a few herbs are more drought tolerant than flowers, particularly if they are in deep pots and get a good deep root run.
The compost should be a bit more open textured so add about 25% (by volume) to standard compost mixes.
Most herbs are grown for their leaves rather than their flowers, so use a balanced fertilser when feeding rather than a high potash one.
The perennial species can be left in the container/s for a number of years.
In subsequent years when replanting annual species replace the top 50-75mm (2"-3") of compost with new prior to planting.