growing herbs, magical....

Ive got a bit more serious about wanting to grow herbs. My usual technique has been to sprinkle numerous seeds into potting mix (fancy) in a pot or directly into the ground, add water and wait. Ive had some success but buying specially selected seeds does make one rather protective.My volunteering stint at the herb nursery gave me some insight into how they grow them from seed with funky results. They use a special 'seedling raising' mix, that is finer and lighter, and generally plant one seed in each tubestock type pot.,which then stay 'protected' in a greenhouse till they sprout and get a bit bigger. Then they are repotted into a bigger pot with a bulkier soil containing slow release fertilisers ( like osmocote) and are gradually 'hardened off' , which translates to getting them tough enough for the big wide world by gradual exposure to natural light and conditions.

Herbs are trixier than vegies, often the seeds are smaller and they may need extra treatments to break their dormancy, which is an added challenge. My usual techniques have had low gernination results so Ive bought a commercial seed raising mix, and am recycling trays and pots that Ive bought babies in, with just one or two seeds per cell, or pot. Ive discovered with my Henbane, Belladonna and Echinacea augustifolia that they naturally sprout after snowmelt, and the best way I can duplicate this by popping em in the fridge for a spell. A wise gardener recommended putting them in a jar of water, changing the water daily and doing it for two weeks. Guess what? IVE GOT 2 SPROUTLETS OF HENBANE!! They are meant to be tougher than some but still its tres excitement for this experimenter.You can bet baby photos will follow...


The other adjustment I made is to stop using a watering can and shift down a gear to a mister bottle which doesnt disturb wee developing rootsystems,but is enough to keep them moist. 'Dampening off' can happen when they are too wet, interfering with germination and it seems so far that a gentle misting helps filter out this problem too. Although Im yet to have success with tiny seeds like Pennyroyal or those precious Lobelia inflata seeds, my adaptations may give me some confidence to try again. Motherhood is a steep learning curve.....