The Inside Scoop on Herb Care.
Fall
Harvesting
Early
fall is your last chance to harvest most herbs before they go
dormant for the winter. Think about the plant's natural growth
patterns before you harvest. If the herb dies back completely,
as do parsley, French sorrel, coriander/cilantro, and basil
in cold climates, you should remove as many good leaves as you
need before they are killed by winter cold.
But if you harvest hardy woody perennials such as thyme, savory, and tarragon heavily now, you can weaken the plants. (It won't hurt to take a couple of sprigs but discontinue heavy pruning of woody herbs and roses 45 days before you expect the first fall frost.) Avoid heavy fall pruning on roses, evergreens, and other trees and shrubs that haven't yet fallen dormant. As long as woody plants are still growing, they could resprout with soft new twigs that are certain to be lost to winter cold.
Bringing Herbs Indoors
Start new plants or bring in existing plants.
About a month before the first fall frost, dig
up the plants you want to keep indoors. Capture
as many of the roots as you can. Mature plants,
such as sweet marjoram, lavender, and scented
geraniums, should be cut back by about one-third
their full height to make them more manageable.
Put each one into a pot that's slightly bigger
than its roots. Fill in the vacant area with
a soiless growing mix. Let the plants get settled
in the pots in a lightly shaded outdoor location
for a week or so. Then move them into deeper
shade for another week to get them ready to
come indoors. Before frost arrives, bring tender
herbs indoors to the window or light garden
you've prepared. But let chives and garlic chives
stay out through a month or so of winter cold
before you bring them indoors; they will grow
much better indoors if they get a short winter
to trick them into thinking it's spring.
Herbs for Fall Seeding
- Angelica
- Arugula
- Caraway
- Dill
- Ginseng
- Mustard
- Parsley
- Pyrethrum
- Soapwort
- Sweet cicely
- Winter onions
When
your herbs are grouped together indoors, they may be more susceptible
to pest problems. If you find whiteflies fluttering around the
indoor herb garden, spray with Soap-Shield
to kill mature flies and repeat until you get rid of newly hatched
generations. Red spider mites may attack because the humidity
is low. If so, use a pebble tray and fight them with insecticidal
soap. Also use a pebble tray or spray plants often with a mister
to increase humidity. To discourage diseases, remove dark, dead,
and sickly growth, and scrub your pruning shears or knife in
a solution of 1 part bleach to 10 parts water between each cut.
Fall Seeding
Work fresh seed into well-prepared soil in early fall. The plants may germinate now and spend winter as small seedlings, or they may germinate first thing in spring. For many perennials, such as those listed here for fall seeding, exposure to winter's alternating periods of warm and cool temperatures, freezing and thawing, and wet and dry soil can coax reluctant seeds out of their shells faster than spring sowing.
In warm climates, fall and winter are ideal times to plant cool-season annual herbs such as mustard, cilantro, calendula, and arugula. Sow the seed while the temperatures hover around 70-degrees F or when cooler but mild weather can be expected to follow.
