Herbs

Herb gardens are a wonderful addition to the edible landscape. Herb gardening in Sacramento County can be a rewarding experience when you consider a few basics.

Herbs need at least 5 to 6 hours of sunlight per day.
Fertilizing herbs should be done once or twice per season with a low nitrogen, organic fertilizer.
Prune herbs to create an abundance of harvests throughout the growing season and to maintain their shape.

Below is a collection of resources just for the home gardener.

Grow Herbs - a list of 25+ herb varieties you can grow.

FOHC Herbs - a history of the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center herb garden.

Master Gardener Publications and Videos

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Landscaping with Herbs (PDF 77KB) covers planning and planting an herb garden. (EHN 15)
Culinary Herb Profiles (PDF 82KB) shows a plant by plant profile of commonly used culinary herbs. (EHN 70)

Videos

Growing Herbs in Containers (3:18 min.) - UCCE Master Gardeners of Sacramento County
Harvest and Rejuvenate Your Lavender (3:07 min.) - UCCE Master Gardeners of Sacramento County

External Resources

Information from UC Integrated Pest Management online about herb pests and diseases including
Lavenders for California Gardens (PDF 166KB) is an informative ANR publication directed to all those who wish to increase their knowledge of this wonderful plant. (ANR 8135)
Sage growing is explained on this UC Integrated Pest Management online page.
UC Arboretum All Stars has a few wonderful herb choices such as Lavandula x ginginsii ‘Goodwin Creek Grey’, and Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Mozart’.

ANR = free publication from the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources Catalog
PN = free publication from UC Integrated Pest Management
EHN = Environmental Horticulture Notes from the UCCE Master Gardeners of Sacramento County
GN = Garden Notes from the UCCE Master Gardeners of Sacramento County

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