Growing A Tea Garden
Picture it: a slow summer morning. You wake up with a craving for an iced herbal tea. You pull out the jar of tea you steeped the night before out of your refrigerator. The jar of tea that you crafted especially for you from herbs you gathered from your own garden. Maybe this morning you wanted lemon balm, spearmint, and rose – perfectly cooling and refreshing for a balmy summer day. This could easily be a reality-even if you don’t have a lot of space.
The first thing that you will need to realize, is that (especially if you are a voracious tea drinker) you will need a lot of dried herbs. And that translates to a LOT of fresh herbs! I still can’t grow or forage enough nettles to keep up with my intake. BUT-that doesn’t mean you need a lot of space. So the first thing you need to do is to assess your space. Consider areas such as windowsills, balconies, patios, or even a small corner in your kitchen. Vertical spaces, like walls or trellises, can be utilized for climbing herbs. By identifying these areas, you can make the most of every inch and tailor your garden accordingly.
The second crucial step is identifying your key herbs. Do you have a practical medicinal purpose in mind? Are you seeking out amazing flavors? Are you totally new and experimenting? If you are either new to herb gardening or have limited space-I suggest sticking to a few fast growing herbs that thrive off of regular pruning. (side note: if you are knowledgeable and comfortable foraging-do this first! Forage all the invasive (and aggressive native) plants that would make great teas. I’m talking multiflora rose, chickweed, violet leaf, dandelion leaf and root, burdock root, etc.)
I know you will think I’m mad for suggesting it but mints are a great herb to start with – yes, you can even plant it in the ground! I was watching a video the other where a man was saying that if you think you shouldn’t plant mint, you aren’t growing enough of it. Because if you are constantly harvesting mint to dry for teas, you need a lot! And if you are constantly harvesting it-you won’t have to worry about it taking over. But if you are concerned or are low on space, growing mints in containers is a great alternative!
The next herb that I would definitely recommend is tulsi or holy basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum). Tulsi is a beautiful and delicious herb that grows easily, loves pruning, and tastes AMAZING. It’s one of those herbs that you will just fall in love with and never want to give up once you start working with it. Like its sister the culinary basil, it requires lots of trimming. Pinch off the top set of leaves off of each stem and it will bush out very nicely. Save those leaves to dry-they add up! You can even use them the same way you use basil in cooking!
Beyond those two base herbs, you can explore others such as lavender, lemon balm, different sages, anise hyssop, thyme, lemon grass, roses, bee balms, and calendula. If you have a dedicated garden space, focus first on perennials and aggressive self seeders. These plants you will only have to plant once! Then fill in the gaps with annuals.
The great thing about most herbs, is that they are incredibly easy to grow and are typically very low maintenance. Good soil, occasional watering, and regular pruning is really all you need. Just start with a few to ensure you have the time, energy, and space to dedicate. Once your confidence builds, you are always able to add more!
Regardless of if you are growing in ground, raised beds, or containers, the process is fairly similar (container gardens will likely need more water though, and indoor gardens need a great light source). If you’ve never grown herbs before, a lot of them can be tricky to germinate from seed. The might need some coaxing (like cold stratification) so make sure you follow the seed packet’s instructions. The easiest ones to start off would be ones that can be directly sown. That means you place the seeds directly into the garden. Some require to have some growing time before the last frost date, so sowing them indoors in starter pots is ideal.
*Note, at Finch & Fen, we are all about being frugal and lessening waste, so do not think about buying new starter pots. Save yogurt containers, plastic cups, egg cartons, etc. We prefer to use soil blocking which doesn’t require a container at all, just a tray!
Once you have your seeds in soil, make sure that the soil stays damp (but not saturated). When the soil is warm enough, the seedlings will begin to peek out through the soil. This is when you need to ensure your indoor grow has adequate lighting. Make sure it’s close enough to the seed tray that the sprouts don’t get ‘leggy’. After about 6 weeks, you can transplant outside.
You’ll need to make sure you keep weeds to a minimum surrounding your plants so they aren’t competing for resources. Mulching is also a good idea - we like to mulch with grass clippings because ease and free (just make sure they haven’t gone to seed!). And that’s pretty much it! Water regularly - and start cutting back when they get to a good size. Like I said earlier, herbs like mints, basils, lemon balm, etc love to be trimmed. And for flowering plants, picking the blooms encourages more blooms to come! Just make sure to pick everything off before they start to go to seed. Once a plant goes to seed, it signals that the growing season is over. Now, at the end of the summer, when I feel as if I’ve finally gathered enough, I will let my plants all go to seed to gather seeds for next year.
Beyond growing your herbs, you’ll need to learn about drying and storage. Stay tuned for part 2…
