Deck garden: tips for a good start?

[NCC1966]

Since some some ago me and my wife have thinking about keep a small garden in our deck with tea and spice herbs (mint, basil, etc) and yesterday I finally gave the first kick and bought this small jardiniere with nice and cute mint:

Our mission is to reach five or six of different herbs (I think that it's already too much for my inexperience!).

I would like to know if someone could give me some initial instructions to not leave the plants to die. I know that at certain point I will have to replace the earth because it will exhaust the nutrients. Other than that I am a total idiot and don't know anything. I have peeked here and there but I got overwhelmed by the big amount of information so I would like to go straight to the point. Some questions...

1) How to correctly harvest to not weaken the plant?
2) What's the correct amount of water and sun?
3) What's the ideal time interval to replace the earth?

Any idea and tip for this dumb newbie gardener will be welcome!

Thanks!

 

[Beth_B]

Hi!

First...Just be aware that mint can and will take over if it is allowed contact with the ground. I think that container in your photo is a little bit too shallow for the mint to get really bushy, especially in your climate. I have some in a three gallon container, dies off every winter but comes back big and bushy each spring.

So! Generally what most herbs need is at least 6-8 hours of sun per day (not sure how hot it gets where you are... direct sun might be too much.) We-draining soil, water only when dry. Most herbs love being pruned (and eaten!) regularly. Pruning the tips and removing flowers if applicable encourages leaf growth. Feed or compost a couple of times during the growing season.

A good tip for figuring out a plants needs is to look up where it's indigenous to. For instance, oregano is Mediterranean in origin, I think. So likes dry, sandy soil, not too much water. It's a woody herb.

 

[NCC1966]

Hey Beth! What a plethora of good tips! Thanks!



Although I am in Brasil I live at an untypical place, so it's not really hot here. We have a mild climate mostly of the year and a LOT of rain.

 

[Beth_B]

Ah! Well if you get LOTS of rain, you may want to keep some of your herbs from getting too much.

We have a fairly short growing season here, and sometimes a fair amount of rain. Enough so I rarely have to water anything, even the herbs and annuals in containers. Good luck! Post pics!

 

[NCC1966]

Cool, thanks, I will keep it in mind to not drown my herbs! We have low temps here (for Brasil standards) because the height of my town and also rain all over the year. Currently we are getting the end of Summer and having really HEAVY water coming from sky causing flood, etc. But in the next couple of weeks it should normalize and then we will have only OK rains in a regular basis until Winter (June).

And I will post more pics, yeah!