Planning on bringing your herbs indoors during the winter? Herbs find moving just has stressful as people do. September is a perfect time to get the garden herbs ready for their new habitat.
Choose the herbs that will be brought indoors, and cut them back as much as possible. Keep the sprigs you remove, clean them and bundle them up to dry. They’ll come in handy during the long winter months. Even though the confidence of fresh herbs from the indoor herb garden is high, accidents do happen. You’ll also want to make sure you have enough dried herbs on hand to flavor apple jellies, vinegars, ciders, soups and stews.
The extra dried herbs will also make wonderful homemade holiday gifts, crafts and simmer pots.
Dig up the cut back herbs, and after careful examination of disease or garden pests, plant them in a clean, well drained pot with sterile soil. Move the herb pots to the shade for about a week or so to let them recover from the shock of the transplant. After a week, put them back in the herb garden until it’s time to bring them into the house.
Don’t overlook the mint. They will be an attractive and aromatic addition to the closed up winter home. Put them in a hanging basket in a location where they will get indirect sunlight.
Another garden plant that will give a refreshing whiff of spring each time you walk past it during the long winter months is scented geranium. The plant is sturdy enough to withstand a good washing to get rid of any insects before it is brought inside, and it’s a good idea to do just that. Just dig it up, cut back the roots by about a third, and swish it around in a bucket of lukewarm water and gentle soap. Rinse thoroughly before transplanting it in a clean pot with sterile soil.
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All written content ©2010 Patrice Campbell unless otherwise noted.
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