Herbs - how much space?

[didireallysaythat]

We're hoping to redesign the patio this summer so the scrappy herb bed and leggy rosemary is going to go. I took loads of cuttings in the summer so the rosemary and sage will be salvaged, the oregano and marjoram might also have survived moving. I'm planning a raised bed (railway sleepers), I thought one section for mint around 2 foot square ish, but how much space do I need for sage, marjoram, chives and oregano? I also thought a section for annual herbs (basil and coriander) as it gets a lot of sun and we are dry.

You don't need much space and will need to confine mint and sage. Have you considered a herb spiral?

Thanks @MikeUniformMike - I didn't know sage creeped. I do use a lot of it so hopefully that will help. Not sure I can make a spiral with railway sleepers - do you think a couple of square feet for each herb? Rosemary gets leggy but I guess I just replant frequently??

As per Mike, keep mint and sage in a pot, even if you then bury the pot in the herb garden. Keep the leggy-prone plants pruned from day one and they'll bush rather than leg. A square foot or two each will be plenty.

I find basil does incredibly well all summer indoors in a pot on a S-facing windowsill, as long as I keep on top of watering.

Safer than setting it free outside I reckon

Re the herb spiral - no it won't work with railway sleepers.
Make sure that they are not real used railway sleepers as those are coated in chemicals.
I would use the principles of a herb wheel, but in a raised bed. Use baskets or pots hidden under the soil to contain roots. Tall plants (bronze fennel, lovage etc) go at the back. pretty and fragrant stuff at the edges. Allow space for things you use a lot of, and plant perennials like french tarragon.
Herbs generally self seed but you will need to be patient. And you will get more success if you snip away regularly - not to mention delicious salads and things.

You can have a raised bed with different tiers. There are loads of ideas on line.

The problem is they are not all happy in the same conditions: most rosemary is delicate, it needs lots of sun and more rain than some other herbs. I grow it and tarragon in a pot on the terrace also thyme/oregano and marjoram.

Basil is an annual. (though dh insists on keeping it inside overwinter it doesn't really appreciate the long nights. )

My current rosemary is about three foot square, woody and leggy. When we get the digger in I'll get it lifted out. Hopefully the cuttings will like the same spot! I grow basil in the greenhouse and thus summer found a non bolting coriander which liked the raised beds so will hopefully like the herb bed which should be more sheltered but also possibly drier.

I love rosemary but have never managed to get it to live that long or happily in a pot.

Sage, chives, bay, olives (ok, not herb) - no problem.

What a I doing wrong with rosemary?

Are you overfeeding or overwatering your rosemary?

I've tried on and off over the years.

Definitely not overwatering!

Potted in rear compost - cou that have been too rich?

sorry - typos - potted in normal compost

I find all perennial herbs get very leggy and woody after a while, so I take cuttings every 3 years or so and completely dig up the herb plot. I then make a new one elsewhere in the garden as I think the soil in the old one gets tired. I think if you treat them as you would any other vegetable you get better crops.

In my gardening books Rosemary is always listed as 2 star not 3 star like the other herbs, which means it's difficult to keep going through the year, especially in the cold\frost. So I'm not surpised that my attempts at growing it are not completely successful.

They need a sheltered very sunny site but not a very dry area.

Thanks - in which case it may have been the lack of water...

Yes but you can't over water it either! It only likes rain water too IME!

Oh dear!

Oh. I assumed that my rosemary cuttings (and I must have 20+) would just romp away like the big, woody mother plant I'm planning to dig up and compost. Maybe I should take done more cuttings....

It's funny we've got cuttings on the terrace which took quite well dh took them from a nice plant in a car park in the summer , but they don't seem to like the cold and wind here, now, I'll move the pot but it's difficult to find a very sunny spot that's sheltered in our garden!

We have another round the side of the house but although it's alive it's not happy at all. Maybe there's not enough sun there. Aaaah we love rosemary when we cook too, it's annoying!

The pot is now at the bottom of some steps, by a tallish wall it should be ok it's got good light. We'll see

That has done the trick ! It's looking happier now; I put the pot on a slab of stone in a sheltered site, after reading that rosemary hates frost which can strike upwards and kill the roots from the base so don't leave the pot flat on a patio or plant in a cold frosty area of the garden.

I'm in a damp, cool NW area and my rosemary is ridiculously healthy. Much more so than my mint for some reason. And lavender - forget it. I have the kiss of death.

That is soo strange dr my lavender is like your rosemary ! I wonder if it has anything to do with the soil type, or maybe the particular breed of the plants?

I know lavender LOVES sun all day, I thought that rosemary does. Unless you have a sheltered non freezing area for your rosemary?

In a raised bed, trailing rosemary would look lovely, that's what we have. I have about 6-7ft long raised bed about 2 ft deep. I have sage (it's a bully), trailing rosemary, thyme, lavender and chives. I have mint in a separate pot! I also have some purple trailing flowers. I also like adding dill seasonally and let it go to seed - very pretty.

Hmmmm... I've planted some mint (alongside other herbs) in a strip of soil alongside the house. It'll stay in the strip, right? It's not going to be like the red weed from WotW?