5 Ways to achieve a continuous herb harvest

There are ways to ensure you always get a fresh supply of aromatic herbs in your garden. The herb family is large and varied, but the one common thing with herbs is how much of a continuous harvest they can have if grown correctly. With these tips, you can keep them growing productively for a continuous harvest.

Extending your herb harvests

Provide the right conditions

Most herbs prefer lots of sunlight and good soil drainage. Herbs such as parsley, mint, or coriander enjoy plenty of light but will get stunted or tough if they are too dry and hot. However, growing the basil herb may be fussy and needs to be grown in good light, avoiding the strong midday sun. By providing the right growing conditions, you are enabling more blooms for future harvests.

Keep watering for the best quality

All vegetables need water, but pot-grown herbs are particularly thirsty. When your herbs are water-stressed, they will quickly slow down their growth. Aim to water regularly for consistent soil moisture, which will translate into plenty of well-formed herb leaves free of problems, rot or cracking. Watering well will also avoid the annoyance of your herbs dying when they reach maturity.

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Re-pot your herbs if necessary

Boost perennial herbs with fresh compost around springtime. Mint herbs need good nourishment, so pot up a few strong roots into new compost in spring. You can divide chives just after the winter frost in early spring. Repotting gives the roots a chance to grow and spread out evenly.

Allow them to photosynthesise

The golden rule to growing herbs is to take no more than a third of any one herb within a given week. This ensures the herbs can keep photosynthesising and making food. This is where the continuous growth of herbs comes from. If you give each herb time to bounce back, you get to return for more harvests in the future.

Prune your herbs

Prune your herbs to let the sunshine in. Strong growth happens around the spring and summer months. This means that the leaves can cast a shade where they didn’t before, compromising production on your herbs. You need to consider cutting back on growing leaves so that your herbs get good air circulation.