Over winter my herb garden has been invaded by brambles, with runners right through the raised bed. I've tried weeding today, but it's been really difficult, and I think it would be better to move the herbs to another raised bed and dig the bed properly. How do herbs cope with moving location? and is there a best time to do it?
I have:
Various mints (in pots buried into the ground),
Rosemary
Lavender
Sage
Thyme
Oregano
I also forgot to do anything with my blackcurrant and redcurrant bushes last Autumn ::)
Do I just leave them or can I prune them back a bit now?
Hi. When we moved into our flat a couple of years ago we decided to make a herb garden. My mum gave us some plants which she dug up from her garden (thyme, sage, oregano) and they have all thrived. All the herbs you hbave are pretty robust (unlike basil etc) so hopefull they should be ok when you move them.
I moved some of ours, cut them back before I moved them, sage, rosemary and lavender, all did well, the mint I grow in a pot as it's very invasive , also used the bits I cut off to root ;D
Quote from: celeriac on March 13, 2007, 18:09:46
...I also forgot to do anything with my blackcurrant and redcurrant bushes last Autumn ::)
Do I just leave them or can I prune them back a bit now?
here's what I do:
Blackcurrant is pruned very late winter/early spring, it's a teeny bit late now but you could take one or two of the oldest stems out, cut them as close to the ground as you can. If it's a new bush, leave it alone and start pruning next spring, cut out a third of the oldest stems each spring. The new shoots come up from below soil level. A nice mulch of well rotted horse muck will be a good idea now.
Redcurrant is pruned differently, around August, take about a quarter off any new shoots that have grown during the year. If it's a new bush, aim to get a shape like a very small tree, i.e. a shortish stem maybe 15 - 20cms then a spread of branches, the whole shape being like a wine glass. Cut out any stems growing in the centre of the shape, to keep a good air circulation.
I thought one grew on old wood and the other on new wood? XX Jeannine
The blackcurrant bears fruit on the previous seasons shoots, and will fruit well on these for around 3 years, then they start to get tired, hence the renewal pruning method shown below. The redcurrant, like the gooseberry, fruits on tiny spurs that are usually on stems more than one year old. To build up the production of the fruiting points on redcurrant and gooseberry, new shoots are tipped, i.e. cut off by about a quarter to a third. This temporarily removes the growing point and so hormones within the stem are stimulated at points lower down the stem.