Beginner - Need Help with Herb Garden!

[saralye]

I am totally inept when it comes to gardening. Every year I plant herbs in my planter box and harvest them pretty much until they die. I have no idea what I'm doing, and want to learn to start keeping my plants alive!

I'm having multiple DIFFERENT problems with each herb I'm growing, and this year I'm dedicated to keeping my plants thriving. I'm going to list everything I'm growing, and questions, and please if you have tips for me let me know!

I basically need to know: do I need to feed my soil? How often do I need to prune, and how? How often do I need to water? Best I can tell, the box gets 4-6 hours of direct sunlight a day (probably more earlier in the summer). Right now, the ground is still wet if I water one day and come back the next.

I also have an EVIL weed in the yard that has a large root system, so I know it is competing for water & nutrients, but it is below the ground level and has many sprouts so I'm disinclined to believe I'll ever be able to eradicate it completely w/o a total overhaul of the property.

THE PLANTS:

Cilantro & Parsley: I have these in a pot on the top corner of the box. The parsley seems to be doing well, but after a week out of town and forgetting to ask someone to water for me, the cilantro sprouted really tall, flowered, and stopped producing leaves. I pruned the tops of the stalks so it is still tall, but woody. The leaves are now really thin and not very fragrant. Since the parsley is still thriving and bushy, I know the soil is good. What's going on with the cilantro?

Basil: My sweet basil became really woody after my week away. I pruned off all the flowers but it is still tall and top-heavy. The leaves seem to be healthier, but still sparse. Is there any way I can get it back to its lushness?

Garlic Chives: Chives seem to be doing well, but need to know how much to water them.

Rosemary: I have English Rosemary, and it is doing the best of all. It pretty much loved the fact it wasn't watered for a week, and grew bushy and fragrant. Should I water it less than the rest of the garden?

Oregano: Also went woody, and started to flower and spread. I pruned the flowers and it is still healthy, but still spreading and I want it to grow upward more like a bush.

Thyme: Is doing well, spreading a bit like oregano now, but how much water?

Mint: The mint looks like it's getting destroyed by insects. It started to get woody as well, so I pruned a lot of it away. The leaves look healthier now but I think my bugs like it a lot.

Marjoram: Same as oregano, above

Tarragon: This one really is hurting. It now only has one stalk and gets dry on the tips of leaves. Am I underwatering? It is close to the tomato plant (1 foot) so maybe it is starving?

Tomato: I have 1 cherry tomato plant that is tied to 4 posts surrounding it, and it's doing great, but what about pruning?

Pepper: I have 1 pepper plant that is doing well but not fruiting, and not flowering. Is it the wrong gender? It is also close to a flower bed I haven't been able to dig out, so maybe it is starving too?

Thank you so much, and if you also have any book recommendations for beginning herb gardening, I would be much indebted!

Saralye

[Susan W]

Glad you are getting into growing the herbs and other yummies! But, you list so long, and hard to respond to each. You mentioned planter box, so don't know situation of growing things.

Tarragon. That in my experience best in pots. It is delicate and gets lost in an in-ground situation.
Mint needs its own space.

Rosemary likes to get big when happy, and needs very large container or ground. It doesn't like wet feet, so make sure ground or container well drained.

Chives and Garlic chives mid on everything.

Hope this helps, but sorry can't resolve everything in a single post!

And big reminder, you win and lose some, no matter what!

[Runningtrails]

For those annual herbs that are going to seed, you can always have successive plantings. Replant the seed about once a month and you will always have fresh ones growing until the frost takes them.

For the best and strongest flavor, harvest herbs before they flower.

[bangstrom]

Your cilantro sounds perfectly normal with its short season and two types of leaves. I like to let some of mine go to seed for a second crop in the fall.
What does that evil weed look like?

[FlowerPowerGirl]

I have lots of success with mint, I make tea with it too.

I had a nice catnip bed growing for awhile until a cat discovered it.