Saving Seeds

The herb grower, who decides to save seeds, is one who looks to plan for the future. Saving your own seeds could also give you an element of surprise you may find what you thought was a certain herb or colour, could end up having variations of its own.

Benefits that can be sought from seed saving include:

·         Increasing Yields – we have over the years chosen to save our garlic bulbs that give us good size garlic plants. The same can happen with seeds. Choosing to save seeds of your best and most flourishing herbs, will help to ensure that your plants will continue to flourish. A consistent selection from seeds your most outstanding plants will give you an improved strain that has better qualities than your original seeds that you started with.

·         Saving Costs – Saving your own seeds is a way to help reduce costs. Home saved seeds will cost less, sometimes nothing, only your time, storage and supplies.

·         Plants adjusting to local conditions – After a few years of selecting your strongest seeds, the plants that you grow from these seeds will be mostly suited to your environment and micro-climate. These plants might be most suited to the dry, hot, wet, cold or frosty conditions of your garden. This could also turn out to be a negative point, if sending or selling seeds elsewhere.

·         Untreated Seeds – when you harvest your own seeds, there is no need to treat them.

·         Heirloom strains – many heirloom strains of flower, seeds and herbs are often only perpetuated by home saved seeds. Many strains of vegetables have been kept alive by isolated families growing and saving these strains. Planting the seeds every second or third year will help keep strains alive, as long as they are stored adequately.

·         Open pollinators – the majority of people prefer open pollinated varieties. Often these varieties can contain more protein, it comes from a more diverse heritage line, it is less likely to be wiped out by diseases.

·         Self-reliance – well chosen, correctly stored garden seeds will help feed a family year after year. No matter what happens to prices of fuel, housing, postage and food, you will always have your own food sources.

·         Pride – growing your own herbs and veggies from seeds will give you s sense of pride.

Selecting Your Seeds to Save

When choosing which plants to save your seeds from, qualities you may want to consider are :

1.    The colour of the plants

2.    The resistance to disease and insects from the plant, ie a plant with a good vitality.

3.    Early or prolific bearing plants

4.    Plants that germinate and thrive in extreme hot and cold weather

5.    Plants that are resisitant to different conditions.

6.    Storage life, harvesting ease or any other special qualities.

7.    Plant texture, tenderness, juciness, seediness etc.

8.    Plant vigour and yield

When to Collect Your Seeds

Seeds need nourishment to carry them right through to their growing season. Seeds that are harvested too early may look the same as other seeds, though they might not have the endosperm or food source to carry them through. They may also lack embryonic development and may be immature in some way. These immature seeds will deteriorate in storage. If these seed do survive they will produce inferior plant stock.

Plants that Shatter

Seeds need to be collected when they have completely dried and before they rot or shatter. This can make timing critical for plants that have seeds pods that shatter, as the time frame for harvesting these seeds can be within 2 weeks only. In some cases you will need to visit the seeding plants daily. Some herbs can allow you to tie a small paper bag over them and allow the wind to shake the seeds into the bags.

Fleshy Fruit Seeds

Fleshy seeds found in fruits like cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers are best harvested from over-ripe fruits. Ideally you would not be wanting to eat the fruit as it is to ripe. Some fruit like tomatoes are best left to start the rotting process and pepper are left to shrink and wrinkle. Do not allow the fruit to rot, otherwise the seeds could be damaged in the heat of decomposition. Scoop out the seeds and then spread them over something like newspaper or kitchen paper and allow them to dry. When I plant these seeds, I just tear off parts of the newspaper and plant it with the seed.

Edible Seeds

Plants with edible seeds such as corn or cereals will retain their full maturity for quite a while. The seeds on cereals and certain beans can be left on the plant for a few weeks, until you have the chance to collect them. The seeds can then be pulled from the plant and placed in a dry place to cure further. Seeds can then be threshed out.

If possible collect seeds on a warm sunny day when the seeds are few from dew, frost or wet. Frost is not too much of an issue as long as the seeds are dry, moisture is the thing that needs to be avoided.

The other important thing to do when collecting seeds is to label them. It is not easy to identify seeds when you have them all mixed up. Many sees can look similar to others. Put the herb, plus date on your seeds and t\you will be able to rotate old stock and keep healthier and more viable seed.

If you would like to buy dried herbs online, you will find them here Dried Herbs Online

Happy Herbing 

Louise Plant 

Starting Your Herb Garden - Part 2

Soil

Just as humans can only extract their goodness from the foods that they put into their bodies, so do plants obtain the nutrients that they need form the soil that they live in.

Plants grown in soil that is lacking in zinc and selenium, as the soils can tend to be in Australia and New Zealand, will only produce plants low in those two minerals. Hence why many Australians are also lacking in these two minerals.

So what would be an ideal soil type?

Is there an ideal soil type for growing herbs?

When it comes to growing herbs I would be more prone to picking the herbs to suit my soil type and location, rather than changing the environment to suit the plants. It is possible to change your soil type, though this takes time and the time frame here can be years of working the soil. 

The Best Soil 

An ideal soil type would be one that is light enough to make the entire cultivation process quite easy, as well as being able to retain enough moisture and this is dependant on the organic matter content of the soil. A fertile soil is not always essential, moderate fertility levels are often recommended especially with some plants such as calendula. Calendula will actually produce less prolifically if in a highly fertile soil.

There are many things that can be done to improve the soil. Most Australian soils that we have come across tend to have problems with impaction and poor organic matter content. These can be quite easily rectified.

Earthworms are a good indication of a healthy and happy soil. One reason why they are so beneficial is because they help to aerate the soil. People can often forget that an essential component of a healthy soil is air spaces. Plants need air under the ground as well as on top and this is one major issue of soil impaction. As the worms burrow around they help create air spaces as well as helping to improve drainage. Worms will not live in a soil that has been sprayed with a wide range of chemicals, herbicides and fungicides. They, like frogs, like a clean environment.

Soil impaction is a result of mono-cropping, using heavy machinery and having excessive stock, squashing the air pockets in the soil. We tend to recommend deep ripping the soil once and then avoiding heavy machinery or over stocking the soil.

Having more organic matter in the soil will reduce the effects of soil impaction, as well as helping to buffer an over acid soil. Whilst on the subject of pH, a pH of 5.5 to 6.5 is a good average pH to be growing herbs. A select few herbs might need a higher pH, though in general a pH above 7 can cause a major problem with some species.

Poorer soils can be built up, though not over night. Adding composted material and providing the essential foods for the soil is one great way to build up soil quality. It is often forgotten that it is the microbial function of the soil that gives life to the soil. The type of microbes and organisms that are present in your soil is determined by the environment that you have established for them. It is the landowner that is solely responsible for your soil and ultimately your crop.

Actinomycetes, mycorrhizae, algae, aspergillus oryzea and Aspergillus niger are all beneficial micro-organisms that are part of the soil and plant connection and interaction. When spraying herbicides and fungicides on the soil, you are actually killing these microbes and fungi and in turn the activity of the soil. Algae are one of the most important micro-organisms in the soil. It is these algae that produce sugars which feed the all important bacteria that protect and feed the crops we grow.

So when looking for good soils, aim for a soil that is easy to dig, it holds good form when squeezed together, it often has a darkish appearance, with a sweet smell, as well as being able to hold enough moisture to prevent drying out.

Pollution and Contamination

If you are choosing a new site to start growing herbs and will be starting from fresh, it would be preferable to not to be using contaminated or polluted lands.

Are you aware of what the farming practises of your block were prior to you being there?

Old industrial areas and places near road will carry pollutants and possible toxic metal residues. These will quite easily be picked up in your soil and then will be transferred to your plants. Cities are prone to smog and industrial pollutants. Roadside growing can be high in lead fallout, which can take years or even generation to go away.

Conventional farming areas that commonly use heavy amounts of pesticides are crops such as tobacco, apples, cotton and potatoes. These crops are likely to have high residues of lead, DDT and Dieldrin.

Other places where contamination can be an issue, is in water sources. A friend in a neighbouring town, had their tap water tested for their swimming pool and it was discovered that no further chlorine was required, meanwhile you might choose to water you plants with this water (Let alone us drink it). High fluorine and chlorine levels will evaporate out of the water over time, though you might need to have at least one settling tank for this purpose.

Water can also have contamination from upstream activities. Sewerage effluent, industrial wastes, nitrates, pesticide residues, heavy metal toxicity and mining or milling effluent could all be happening upstream.

Considerations About Growing Organic Herbs  Commercially 

Growers of medicinal herbs need to achieve a balance between producing the herbs that meet the demands of their target market and achieving efficient production, harvesting, storage and processing performance

• When investigating the agronomic potential of different herb crops, growers must be prepared to research the different production, harvesting and drying practices that are required by each herb crop. In particular, producers must identify production limitations such as over-wintering, heat and moisture requirements, as well as the length of growing season for each crop being considered.
• The critical production issues for herb and spice crops are crop selection, site selection, adaptability, seedbed preparation, seeding, fertilization, weed control, harvesting, storage and processing.
• Herbs can be classified as annuals, perennials or biennials. Producers should be familiar with the winter hardiness and adaptability of the different herb varieties. Perennials and biennials need to withstand winter conditions and may require management practices such as autumn mulching.
• Organic production of medicinal herbs will increase the acceptance of herbs by buyers and may bring higher prices. For many medicinal herbs, certified organic production may be the only way to gain access to a market. Organic herbs are generally valued at significantly higher prices than those for non-organic herbs.
• Growers need to determine how different herb crops respond to sunlight. This is because sunlight and soil health will influence the production of the constituents that create, these provide the health benefit.
• Growers have to determine how tolerant the various herb crops they select are to soil moisture. Many herbs require well-drained soils since their roots can weaken and die in excessively moist (and cool) soils.
• A sheltered growing area provides protection from hot winds that can stop the growing process in some herbs.
• Most herbs have small seeds and require a firm seedbed to ensure soil contact and to increase germination. Seeding depth ranges from 0.3-1.19 cm, depending on soil moisture and seed size.
• Since few herbicides are available for herbs and herbs are often grown for organic markets, weed control may rely on manual and mechanical cultivation. 
• Growers need to carefully consider the time/labour commitment in growing medicinal herbs.
• Irrigation will benefit herb crops, in particular, irrigation may allow growers to push their crops for earlier harvest and in some cases achieve two crops per year.

If you would like to learn more about growing or using herbs, check out my online courses.   http://www.chi-institute.com.au/online-courses/herbal-medicines

Starting Your Own Herb Garden

STARTING OUT MY HERB GARDEN  (Part 1)

The question that I get asked again and again by keen herb growers is

                                    ‘What can I grow?’

This is such a broad question that it is necessary narrow it down by taking into consideration factors that will be influencing your herb growing.

Location, Location.

The first thing you will need before anything else is to find or have a place to grow herbs.

If you are already a land owner then problem solved. If your block of land is large, then the question might be ‘where do I grow?’

If you are leasing land then the time frame of your lease would be an influencing factor. It would not be recommended to plant a long term tree crop on land that is not your own. Tree crops can take up to 15 years to establish and it would be heart breaking to create such a long term investment and then to lose it so close to harvest.

If you have not purchased land and you are looking to buy land for the purpose of herb growing, them you might need to take into consideration some factors in regards to the location of the possible herb growing patch before purchasing the block. This might save some regrets later on.

Remember that each site for herb growing will have its own unique microclimate. Even on one block there may be many different microclimate variations. These variations will be from factors such as other established plants or trees, wind directions, slope of the land, water, sun exposure etc.

It is possible to find herbs to suit your microclimate, as there are so many to choose from, though if you want to grow specific herbs, then it may be the case of creating a microclimate to suit those specific herbs. Creating your own microclimate for these herbs can take time. You might need to establish wind breaks, plant shade trees or do major earthworks to build an environment to suit those herbs.

General guidelines for hot climates would be an area that is sheltered from hot summer winds, (these can wipe out crops in 1 day), preferably with some afternoon shade. I have found these conditions suit a large number of herbs that have been grown on the farm I had, here in Victoria I then look for places to plant my herbs in the afternoon sun. The afternoon sun is always hotter than the morning sun and the air is hotter and drier.

A northern facing slope will increase heat in summer and in cooler southern regions this may be beneficial. Slope will also play a factor on wind exposure.

What way does your land slope?

What is the direction of your summer or winter winds?

The many varying microclimates on your block of land and especially larger blocks can be used for planting different types of herbs, though would you want patches of herbs scattered, or are you aiming to focus on just one site?

These are questions that you may need to consider.

There is not much that you can do about the environmental climates, though it is possible to change microclimates, remembering though that this can take time.

It is possible to create changes in microclimates using larger herbs such as shrubs and trees. You might not have any shelter from the winds for your liquorice crop, so why not plant some shrub or tree crops next to the liquorice to help give it shelter from the hot winds.

Planting trees and shrubs in the right locations and they will mutually benefit other plants and herbs on your block.

Every herb is very different in its requirements. Herbs originate from many cultures and countries around the world. It could be a possibility to liken your environment to a certain country and then choose to grow herbs that originate from that area. This is one way of deciding what to grow.

There may still be modifications that will be needed to be made, though these modifications may not be as major than if your were building a microclimate from scratch. Watering and shade are examples of modifications that may be necessary, as is creating a 70% shade area to grow a crop such as goldenseal.

Australia does have optimal requirements for herb growing with good rainfall during the winter months (on a normal year) and dryer and warmer summer months to help with drying the herbs and for weed control. Warm summer months are great for constituent levels and high volatile oil production with aromatic herbs.

Keep in mind every herb you grow will be unique in its requirements and every site you choose will also be unique in its microclimate.

Rainfall

Plants need water, oxygen and light to grow. A well balanced and nutrient rich soil is very important when it comes to herbs coping with more harsh or extreme conditions. (See Part 2 for Soil Conditions).

Rainfall affects herbs in many ways. There are selected winter crops that are not reliant on irrigation, though they will not benefit from flooding. These can be grown through the wetter periods of the season.

‘Real’ rain is great for the growth and vitality of herbs, though rain at harvest time make harvesting and drying very hard. Having the right rainfall at the right time is something that can not always be guaranteed. (As we all know from the previous 2 years).

To put a figure on rainfall, 750mm to 1000mm is a good range for rainfall. Providing of course it is at the right times. Some places, more so in the southern regions might receive much more rainfall and this can be beneficial as irrigation through those summer months might then not be needed. Wet boggy areas in winter might be beneficial to some herbs, though they might need water to keep them alive during the summer months.

If you have plenty of water then rainfall is not a problem. You could irrigate all year round.

If you land is high in clay then waterlogging would be a problem in winter, especially for those herbs prone to root rot or fungal diseases. If you soil is has good drainage then this will not be a problem during high rainfall periods.

Optimal conditions are moist soils with dry sunny weather to give good growth. Drizzly rain that continues for days can hinder growth and decrease vitality. Though, on the other hand dry conditions will stop growth all together. Balance is the key when it comes to water requirements.

To summarize, do some research as to what your chosen location will be and what is the average rainfall in that areas and during what months. This research will pay off in the long. 

If you are wanting to find so great quality herbs visit our site www.driedherbsonline.com 

If you would like to learn more about herb growing and their uses,  http://www.chi-institute.com.au/online-courses/herbal-medicines