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How to water and how much to wet aromatic herbs.
Aromatic herbs are plants with particular aromas and virtues. Used in cooking, they make food tastier and healthier, but they are also used in cosmetics and for their medicinal properties. Most of them can be grown in the garden or in pots on the balcony. In the first case, the plants usually easily adapt to the climate, if it is temperate. Of course, some are more resistant to cold, others like the sun and tolerate periods of drought better. Putting them together quite briefly, we can say that plants like mint, fennel, thyme, sage, parsley, chilli and rue need moderate watering when the soil is dry. Rosemary, which grows on rocky ridges in the wild, like myrtle and oregano, can withstand periods of drought well. although regular watering helps it thrive. A fundamental difference is given by the cultivation in the garden or in pots. If grown in the ground, aromatic herbs are more self-sufficient, while when kept in pots, perhaps even quite small, watering should be more regular and, in summer, more frequent.
Growing and caring for aromatic herbs
Since there are so many aromatic plants, we usually grow the most common ones at home and the ones that are used the most. Parsley, celery, garlic, basil, rosemary, sage, mint, lavender, borage and thyme are perhaps some of the most widely used. All of them are suitable for growing in pots, to be kept even by those who do not have much space, but who still like to have the flavors that enrich the dishes. Some, like basil or borage, are annuals that only last one season, but produce seeds that can be stored and used for planting the following year. Rosemary, sage, wild fennel and mint survive the winter season, especially in milder climates. To cultivate aromatic herbs for as long as possible, it is a good idea to prune them and avoid, for a large part of the season,
How and when to fertilize aromatic herbs.
Fertilizing helps herbs grow healthy and lush, as well as fragrant and richer in their active ingredients. A good general rule to follow is to give them, once a month during the growing season, a complete fertilizer containing phosphorus, potassium, nitrogen and trace elements. There are fairly well-balanced liquid fertilizers on the market that can serve this purpose and are easy to dose and manage. A teaspoon of lime in the soil once a year, given to perennials, can be helpful for most herbs, which very often prefer non-acidic soils. Aromatic herbs enrich the soil that hosts them with eggshells reduced to pulp. .
Herbs: exposure, diseases and possible remedies.
To avoid disease and herbaceous fungus, the first step is to make sure they have good drainage that allows water to collect at the bottom. Once this is done, to be sure, they must be provided with a bright, relatively sunny (or even very sunny, in the case of rosemary) and not excessively humid exposure. Pathologies that can more easily attack aromatics. grasses are pests, such as aphids and larvae, and mold from excess moisture. In the first case, since herbs are grown for cooking, you can try to get rid of insects using natural methods. Morning watering carried out with a certain “violence” eliminates some of the insects attached to the plant. The use of water with the addition of substances hated by parasites is effective, such as garlic, horseradish, ginger and pepper. An infusion is prepared which can be used for a week. If the problem is still not solved, it is worth making a new sufficiently fresh and powerful mixture. Steam with household soap and water can also be used, which kills the parasite.