Maintaining
adequate moisture at the roots of your plants is essential for uninterrupted
growth. The best way to add manure or compost to increase its content of humus,
partly decomposed organic material that soaks up water like a sponge and
releases it slowly, together with essential nutrients. If the soil has been
enriched with compost or decaying manure’s in the beginning, it should be
sufficient to spread a layer of compost of manure once a year.
Your plants should be fine then with a weekly deep watering.
This
is an important part of caring for your garden, as it protects it from erosion,
rapid drying , structural deterioration after rain and hot sun, and also to
smother weeds. An organic mulch, pulverised bark or cocoa shells or even gravel
can be used.
As
weeds grow very easily and prolifically, and take all the available nutrients
from the ground, you need to
prevent them from taking over your precious herbs. You can inhibit their growth
by mulching around your herbs. In severe cases you could cover the area around
the plant with black plastic sheeting and then covering it with pebbles or bark.
Persistent weeds could be individualy painted with weed killer or carefully
pricked out with a weeding fork.