Grow Herbs Successfully with Spring Garden Preparation

It's Spring and everything is buzzing. The garden shops, the pollinators, the worms (grrrr), birds (yay!). While everyone is planting, I am preparing to head out of town to Murphy, NC for the summer. We are preparing for our absence, even though we will be back to check on things.

Do you escape in the summer months? If you do, I thought to share how I prepare in case it may help you. If you don't travel, it's still a good idea to give your garden a Spring cleaning!

Clearing and Trimming the Garden

Part of my preparation is to trim back everything and clear the weeds and grass that has grown under the fruit trees. I clear back to the drip line for the tree. This helps keep the weeds from competing for water and nutrients meant for the trees.

I do the same with my bushes. I like airflow under my plants.

Harvesting and Using Lavender

I cut back my lavender plants. I washed and dried the foliage, which I use to make oil and scented water to use for my lotion. I might consider making lavender cookies or cake (yummy).

I also trimmed back the comfrey plants to save for the next batch of comfrey salve. With comfrey, I collect the leaves periodically, dry them and add the dried comfrey to a jar to accumulate a nice batch for when I’m ready to use it.

Pruning Grapes and Blackberries

I cut back the grapes and black berries, which didn’t wait for me and had started to sprout, but not so much that I couldn’t trim them back now. Normally I do it in February or March (ah procrastination), but it wasn’t too late due to the cold fronts pushing through and slowing the growth down.

I had some winter vegetables and greens that were going past their prime. I had some snow peas that were still producing those yummy pods, but the foliage was declining and since I’m going out of town, I bit the bullet and pulled the plants.

Deciding What Plants to Keep

If you are leaving town long enough that you will not be able to care for or eat what will be edible, don’t leave them in. The only reason for me to leave plants that are not perennials is to promote pollinators and volunteer plants, such as cilantro, parsley, chamomile, etc.

Otherwise prepping to leave for a lengthy vacation (if you don’t have someone keeping an eye out) is to handle the landscape as you would a normal spring cleanup with fertilizing. You are removing anything dead from the winter cold.

Checking Irrigation Systems

The next step is to check all your irrigation. I have timers that work on batteries, so I make sure I change the batteries before I leave.

I mostly use various micro jets and emitters. The small holes do get clogged and when I’m home I keep an eye out for this, but when I’m out of town I just keep my fingers crossed.

My prep routine is to open the ends of the water lines to clean the sediment. If I see clogged emitters, I unclog them usually by taking a pin or small wire to the hole that is causing the problem.

Weather Challenges and Drainage in Garden Preparation

In the last few years when I was gone, I had been lucky not to have had a drought, on the contrary, we had (just a few!) hurricanes. Luckily we live on high ground and I have very sandy soil, so the drainage is good; we don’t get flooding on my property.

Regardless of what type of irrigation you have, make sure to check that everything is working before you leave. I have city water and still have some problems with this, but if you have well water, that’s another story.

My experience is that sediment develops in the aquifer more in the summer, so you would need to keep more of an eye out for clogging and filters that are used for all water coming out of the well. Then the filters need to be checked regularly and cleaned, which won’t be happening if you aren’t home for a while.

Don’t Worry About Established Plants

With all this said, unless there is a prolonged drought, established trees and shrubs should not have a problem, so don’t fret!

For those of you who are not traveling, these are things you should still be doing anyway to keep your plants happy and help prepare for the heat to come. Remember, keeping your plants healthy helps them survive the coming summer heat, and as well as the pests and disease that comes along with it, much better.

When I’m in North Carolina, I will be planting mostly perennials with the hope of getting them planted at a time that I can watch over them. There should be enough time to develop enough to survive the winter while I’m gone and look wonderful when I go back next year.

Comfrey Salve Reminder

Talking about comfrey, I thought to remind you that I shared my recipe for comfrey salve with step by step instructions how I make it! Check it out in this YouTube video!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=Vz2PSXlVD0pG-srj&v=2q_IJdfv2Vc

My hope for you is that you enjoy working your garden preparation and that you are successful in growing wonderful things that make you happy!