How to Grow Southern Herbs

Parsley, Coriander and Chives

Herbs are interesting, beautiful and one of the easiest plants to grow. They provide texture and form for your garden. Imagine how bland food would be without herbs. Think about spaghetti without oregano or seafood gumbo without bay leaves and thyme. It's herbs like cilantro and marjoram that give Southern food its special flavor. Provide a natural freshness to your home with Spanish lavender from your Southern herb garden. In the south it's possible to have fresh herbs year-round.

Things You'll Need

• Herb plants and seed
• Tiller
• Trowel
• Peat
• Mulch
• Natural fertilizer
• Garden water hose with nozzle

Instructions

1. Pick an area with some protection from the hot afternoon sun. Don't crowd the plants allow enough space for good air circulation. This allows the plants to dry and helps prevent disease. An area 20 feet long and 4 feet wide is a good size for your herb garden.

2. Get a soil test done to measure the pH (minerals) of the soil by getting a soil testing kit from your local county extension service. Follow directions on the kit and return the kit with the soil to the county extension service. It takes about two weeks to get the results back. Herbs take a soil pH of 6 to 7. Instructions on what you need to do to bring your soil to that level will be included in the results from the extension center.

3. Remove any stones and grass from the area you're planting the herbs. Till with tiller and add peat, mulch and natural fertilizer such as cow manure to the soil.

4. Design a plan for your southern herb garden. Put annual herbs such as basil, coriander and dill, that are planted from seed, on one side. Biennials plants such as caraway and parsley that last two seasons are planted in the middle and the perennials herb plants on the other side. Chives, marjoram, thyme and oregano are perennials. Plant a bay leaf tree at the west end of your garden to help protect the herbs from the afternoon sun.

5. Make a furrow in the soil with a trowel for the seeds. Sprinkle herb seeds into furrow. Cover seeds with soil no deeper than the width of the seed. Pat the soil down on top of the seed to make good soil contact. Thin plants so there are 1 to 2 inches in between them to keep herbs from getting over crowded.

6. Use herb plants for the biennials and perennials. Biennials are planted 2 feet apart and perennials are planted three feet apart. Dig hole twice the size of the roots, place plant in hole and replace soil. Plant should be in soil to the same depth as it was in pot. Pat soil around plant to remove any air pockets.

7. Put mulch around herb plants to help control weeds. Do not put mulch on seeds until after seedlings have their permanent leaves. Water seeds and plants using the mist setting on a garden hose nozzle. Water your Southern herbs until the moisture reaches 3 to 5 inches.

Tips & Warnings

• Place some French Marigolds in between plants for color and to discourage nematodes.

• In August plant annual seeds in small pots for you winter inside herbs.

• Cut herbs in the early morning for the best flavor.

• Put extra herbs in a plastic zip lock bag and freeze.

• English lavender doesn't grow in the heat and humidity but the French and Spanish varieties will grow.

• Plant lavender on the back side of a flower bed or around rose bushes.

• Mexican oregano and Mexican tarragon likes hot and humid weather.

References

• Cooperative Extension System Try Growing these HErbs in Hot Weather
• Alabama Cooperative Extension System Growing Herbs ANR-1164