Where to Plant Your Herbs
The previous article, which was about when to plant your herb seeds also discussed the subject of planting your seeds indoors. This is your first option for where to begin planting your seeds. Indoors or a greenhouse is recommended for many plants, especially those with small seeds, to ensure that germination takes place. It is usually warmer inside your home than it would be outside, and the seeds need this warmth.
The seeds are often planted in small containers, like small sized planting bags, tin cans, or small pots in order to make it easier to transplant them. Some gardeners choose to plant their seeds in biodegradable containers. This is so that the entire container and plant can be put into the ground during transplanting, and the plant doesn't undergo any trauma.
Direct sowing is when seeds are planted directly into the garden. This type of planting is when you wait for the frost to melt. Unlike indoor sowing, direct sowing requires less work because your seeds are already planted where you intend them to grow throughout their life span.
You have to prepare the soil and sow the seeds into the marked rows and spots. Remember that you don't need to dig very deep for your seeds. Some gardeners just push their seeds into the ground and gently pat some soil over them. Other gardeners dig a little hole into the ground, about one to three times the size of the seed, and drop their seeds into this hole before patting soil over it.
Another option in which you sow your seed outdoors and saves you from the tricky transplanting process of turning your plant over is to create a nursery or bed of soil for your seedlings to start on. Use a large box, or create a large wooden box that is around five inches in height. The other dimensions of the box are up to you, but a three foot by three foot box should make a pretty good nursery, especially if you are just beginning.
The nursery should be in a sheltered area that still has access to sunlight. Plants that are agreeable to varying temperatures and natural precipitation will enjoy being raised in a nursery bed. Usually perennials that take a while to grow are these kinds of herbs. What's great about planting your herbs into a nursery is that they will not need to be hardened off. Like plants sown directly into the ground, they are used to outside temperatures, and will survive well.
After your seedlings have completed the germination process, you have to make sure that each seedling is about two inches apart. This assures you that the roots won't become tangled underneath. Once they are ready for transplanting (they grew two sets of leaves) then you can simply dig up the five inches of earth around your seedling, and bring this plant to its proper place.
Sowing your seeds into pots is not exactly outdoor sowing, while not being entirely indoor either. This is why I left it for last. Some gardeners choose to plant their seeds into pots because the herb plant does better on its own, or it has a tendency to affect the other herbs in the garden.
Other times, the herb will not survive the outdoor climate of that particular country, and so a pot is chosen in order to give the plant a life which is partially indoor and partially outdoor. Herbs that grow annually and have a long growing period also do better in large pots. The same goes for woody perennials, which are plants that prefer being grown in a pot for a year before being transplanted (though transplanting does become quite difficult with how tall some of them become.)
Most of the herbs suggested in chapter two can all be planted into the ground, or you can plant them indoors and transplant them later. You can also choose the nursery option if you are curious to try this way of planting. If you want to have a container garden, though, then you can start all of your plants in pots because they are likely to stay in the same pot throughout their life cycle.
