In The Herb Garden - February

By Debs Cook

Hello and welcome to ‘In the Herb Garden’ a new 12 part series of articles, which will show jobs to be done in the herb garden each month. It’s intended for the new herb gardener, but it’s hoped that the experienced gardener will find it useful with the reminders for tasks to do and monthly herbs in season list.

Despite the fact that it’s still cold in February, signs that spring is on her way are easy to see in the herb garden and in the hedgerow if you look closely. But don’t let that fool you, even though we’ve had a rather mild winter, we can still expect to have frosts and possibly snow depending on where you’re situated. Even though you may be itching to get out in the garden and get started, the time for armchair herb gardening, planning and preparing is still upon us. Those of us that don’t mind braving the cold can still get out in to the garden and do some routine maintenance and this month you can begin to sow seeds, pot up autumn cuttings and take root cuttings of some herbs such as mint.

If you’re new to herb gardening now is the time to be thinking about next winter! If you want to have some evergreen herbal structure in your garden then you need to plan for it now. Your planting plan should include such herbs as cotton lavender, rosemary, common thyme, sage, bay, winter savory, munstead lavender, myrtle, salad burnet, juniper, rue, wintergreen and hyssop. All of these herbs are evergreen, although if you live in areas that get very, very cold even these herbs may succumb to the weather.

If you haven't already done it, now is the time to order your herb seeds; there are many good sources on the internet such as Nicky’s Herb Seeds, Poyntzfield Herbs, Suffolk Herbs, Beans & Herbs and the Organic Gardening Catalogue. You can also find the mainstream herb seeds such as chives, basil and sage in most garden centres, and even some of the larger supermarkets. But you’ll need a specialist seed supplier like Jekka McVicar if you want something more unusual. If you can't find the herb you want to grow listed in any of these places, it may be worth asking on our Forum as someone else may know of a supplier?

If you have a new herb patch or are just turning over your garden to herbs, why not select some herb seeds that will attract beneficial insects to the garden such as lacewings, hoverflies, bees and ladybirds? There are a large number of herbs that fit the bill, but easy ones to grow are chives, thyme, hyssop, calendula and if you have the space, borage. Towards the end of the month, if you have herbs growing in containers outdoors and indoors, these will be given a boost by a fresh top dressing of lovely organic compost, now's the time to use your homemade garden compost if you have some to hand, your plants will thank you for it and reward you with luscious spring growth. To do this, remove the top 5-10cm of old compost and simply replace it with new compost. Don't forget to firm the compost down and give the herbs a drink. If the weather stays mild towards the end of the month your newly emerging herbaceous herbs such as chives, lemon balm, comfrey, lungwort will benefit from a light organic feed if you have some spare. If you don't have any homemade compost, February is a good time to begin making a compost heap, there are lots of ‘how to' articles around online that show beginners how to start home composting, try the Recycle Now Composting Guide and the guide from the BBC's How to Be A Gardener website on Building A Compost Heap. You can add old leaves, newspaper, veggie peelings and any herb debris to start your compost heap off.

February is the time to remove dead branches and clear the ground under plants of debris such as twigs and leaves, especially any that show signs of disease. Larger branches can be cut to 30-60cm lengths and put in a pile in a 'wild area'. So that insects such as beetles can take shelter underneath, ready to help you win the battle of the slugs later in the year. If the weather is very cold, I’d advise against doing any pruning of herbs such as St John’s Wort and Southernwood until you’re 100% certain the cold weather and frosts have passed. Doing it now, may leave the plant open and exposed to any sharp frosts, which will kill it off.

One safe job to do this month is to clean out the greenhouse, and if you plan to recycle last years seed trays and pots, give them a thorough clean now before you reuse them. Use hot water and a suitable garden disinfectant. My Grandad swore by Jeyes Fluid for cleaning his greenhouse and pots, but myself, organic and eco friendly issue of Jeyes aside, I much prefer the smell of a natural disinfectant with citrus extracts such as the one that Growing Success make. Those of you that use chlorine free bleach can use some of that in hot water, but make sure you rinse off any residue. There are other eco friendly garden disinfectants on the market, but I haven’t tried them, so I’m sticking to referencing the one I know, if anyone has any other recommendations please post them on the forum.

Plant Wise

Seeds - If the weather stays mild you can begin sowing seeds, I’ve already planted some ‘Teesdale Violets’, orange scented thyme and basil seeds, but its also time to start parsley, chives, dill, sage, thyme and wild strawberries off from seed either indoors or in the greenhouse. You can sow chervil and german chamomile outdoors.

Plant Out – Nows the time to plant out bare rooted roses, also sweet violet and clary sage plants. It's also about the last time until the autumn that you can plant out fruit trees and shrubs into the garden, or move ones that need resiting, as Sarah H reminded me ;)

Propagate – Check any cuttings you took last autumn such as scented geraniums, marshmallow, rosemary and thyme. Lift and divide chives, hyssop, costmary and sorrel. Remove any old tired growth and split into new fresh clumps and replant with a little compost boost.

That's all until next month, from now until then you can keep a careful eye out for frosts by checking the Met Office Website and make sure your freshly planted seeds and newly emerging herb growth are well protected.
You can also begin looking at herb plant catalogues and getting your orders placed to avoid dissapointment, try looking at places like Norfolk Herbs, Arne Herbs and Green Garden Herbs. All of which give a 10% discount to Herb Society members, check out the Members Discount Page for a list of other Herb Nurseries that give our members a discount. Whatever you do in your herb garden, have fun!