in true "newspud" style, I've gone back-to-front on my herb plot - that is, I built a small raised bed, and filled it with the best unused soil from the plot, plus some good general compost. I now find out that herbs do best if the soil is not well-fertilized as this leads to lots of foliage but little taste. What's the general view on this. .. plant away, or change the soil.
Also, I have a muddy, unplanted, very slightly raised corner on the plot that is very water-logged in a 2 foot square area. It's probably water collected from melted snow but its not draining. What to do... leave it to evaporate eventually!
Thanks very much to all
what herbs are you growing?
re the waterlogging - can you dig a drainage ditch - doesn't have to be massive, for the water to drain away? That's what I tend to do - although the waterlogging on my plot doesn't sound as serious as yours
1066
Maybe you could grow blueberries and cranberries on the waterlogged bit?
Thanks for responses. Its intended to be a mixed bed of standard stuff - rosemary, parsley, thyme, oregano, corinader, basil
If it really is waterlogged, I'd plan to double dig it at some point once it has dried out. That will cure it once-and-for-all if you make a good job of it. But perhaps wait to see if it is just temporary - it has been raining a tad recently! In baking mid summer you might be glad of an area that retains moisture.
Growing deep-rooted crops is the canny way to improve drainage, but will take a couple of years.
If it's waterlogged now, after a dry winter, and it doesn't drain in the next day or two, think about putting in a raised bed.
I have a water logged area on my plot. I just try to keep off it until May and I've been incorporating organic matter to break it up a bit.