Newbie needs help planting herbs

[Miss Dottie]

Hello!

I am somewhat new to gardening, although I have always enjoyed planting flowers and things that are easy to grow. I decided to plant an herb garden for my boyfriend for his birthday. I planted basil, oregano, parsley, thyme, cilantro and a few others. Because we are renting our place, I decided to put the garden in pots. I used a general, all purpose potting soil and transplanted my herb plants into their pots. I also used a liquid fertilizer with the water the first time I watered them. We live in Southern California, and it is very hot. That evening, one of the pants started to wilt. By the next day most of the plants had started to wilt. Within 3 days, all of the plants were wilting, and half of them were beyond saving. I tried to save the ones I thought might survive, but none of them survived. I was so sad.

I'm wondering what I did wrong. I thought I might have over fertilized them. Then I thought maybe the heat wiped them out. I'm not really sure, but I'm hoping to et some advice. I bought a new basil and parsley plant to try again, but I'm waiting till I know what to do.

Any advice about planting, soil, water, fertilizing, anything would be greatly appreciated. Or even any other resources that might have some helpful information?.. Thanks so much!

Amy

 

[Reinbeau]

Did you put them right out into full sun after starting them on a sunny window? They need to be acclimated to the brighter light slowly, that may be one issue. Also, most herbs don't like a lot of fertilizer, and some don't like wet feet - of what you planted, all need to be kept evenly moist but not soggy. Those are a few suggestions, tell us more about how the plants were started.

 

[Rio_Lindo_AZ]

I think you may have over fertilized them. I never give my herbs fertilizer on the first day home. I wait a bit untill they get accustomed to the weather and they start to grow a bit more (or spread). Some people say that herbs are "Heavy Feeders." Herbs are totally not heavy feeders. (except for SOME of the large ones) You might have over fertilized them. If some of them still have a bit of life, you can pull them out and plant them in different soil.

It could have also been that the pots you put them in didn't have good drainage and the water set there over night and killed them.

Sorry for your loss,
C_B

 

[Miss Dottie]

Thank you for your replies. The plants were transplanted into clay pots, and they were kept in an area of the yard that received morning sun. Our afternoon sun here is so hot, so I opted for a morning sun location. I also put a few rocks in the bottom of each pot under the soil to aid in draining. My Aunt suggested I do that a long time ago, and thats just something I remembered. I watered them with the fertilizer mixture immediately after transplanting. Some of them-cilantro and parsley if I remember correctly-started to wilt within hours. The others followed within a couple days.

I now have 1 parsley plant and 1 basil plant. I figured if I was going to murder more plants, I better not have a mass murder like last time. They are in a fairly shady area and seem happy. But I have not transplanted them yet. I am worried I will kill them.

Just an FYI, I have plenty of horse manure and chicken/duck droppings. I have heard of people using manure for fertilizer, but I don't know if it would be suitable for potted herbs.

Thanks again so much. Your help is greatly appreciated.

Amy

 

[Reinbeau]

Amy, don't use any of the manure before it's well-aged, it'll burn the plants. You're better off using a soluble fertilizer in containers, then again, make sure you're not overfertilizing, herbs don't like rich soil, for the most part. Their volatile oils are better if they're grown lean, that's what makes their taste or scent so wonderful.

 

[Rio_Lindo_AZ]

As long as the herbs have good, well drained, soil, they should be fine. You don't need to give them fertilizer, just make sure that their leaves are a glossy-green, radiant , healthy color. If the base of the leaf is yellow but the rest is green, that is a sign that the plant either needs more sunlight of needs more calcium. (this usually happens with basil) To give your plant calcium, you can grind some egg shells and put then around the plant.


C_B