Caring for Your Herb Garden Through the Seasons

1. Pinching

Whether indoors or out, keep herbs bushy by pinching 2–3″ off stem tips regularly. Pinch off flowers for more leaves. When transplanting, remove top two leaves to encourage root growth.

2. Fertilizing and Mulching

Herbs thrive in well‑drained soil. Unless you already have alkaline/sandy soil, add a handful each of sand, powdered lime, and gypsum to every planting hole. For clay or very sandy soil, amend with compost and chopped leaves each season. At planting and each spring, scratch in 3″ compost and rotted manure. If plants look weak, feed diluted fish fertilizer. Feed potted herbs every 2–3 weeks. Too much nitrogen = lots of leaves, little flavor. Mulch 2″ with cocoa hulls or wood chips to suppress weeds and retain moisture. Replace as it decomposes. In cold climates, use chopped leaf mulch (4″ after ground freezes) and evergreen boughs over gray‑leaf herbs for winter protection.

3. Spring Pruning

Clean up dead stems of lemon balm, mint, artemisia, tansy if not done in fall. Woody/leggy perennials: cut back by ⅓ or to 4″ above ground before new growth for compact, bushy form with more foliage and flowers.

4. Fall Cleanup

After first frost, pull spent annuals (calendula, dill, cilantro, chervil). Shake off soil, compost plants. Leave perennial remains to catch leaves/snow for natural winter blanket. In spring, trim dead parts and compost.