Herb Garden Help.

[basslover1]

I'm pretty new to this whole gardening thing and I'm not sure what to do right now. I've got five herbs in some pots and they're all doing really well. But here's my issue. I think a few of them are getting to be too big for the pots and they aren't thriving like they were say three weeks ago. My basil for instance is about 2.5 ft tall, which I think is just too big for the size of planter it's in. The big fresh looking leaves are all on the top, and the leaves towards the bottom are dying, perhaps the top leaves are blocking the sunlight from the bottom?

Anyway, I want to cut back maybe a foot off the top where all the fresh leaves are and dry them out, but I'm afraid if I do this with the bottom leaves not looking so healthy, the whole plant will die. I mean, it's only a four dollar plant so it isn't a big deal if I lose it but I'd rather keep it alive.

So AToT, what do I do? Hack the whole top off and hope for the best, or maybe just do one stem at a time (there's four total)?

 

[SagaLore]

I'm pretty new to this whole gardening thing and I'm not sure what to do right now. I've got five herbs in some pots and they're all doing really well. But here's my issue. I think a few of them are getting to be too big for the pots and they aren't thriving like they were say three weeks ago. My basil for instance is about 2.5 ft tall, which I think is just too big for the size of planter it's in. The big fresh looking leaves are all on the top, and the leaves towards the bottom are dying, perhaps the top leaves are blocking the sunlight from the bottom?

Anyway, I want to cut back maybe a foot off the top where all the fresh leaves are and dry them out, but I'm afraid if I do this with the bottom leaves not looking so healthy, the whole plant will die. I mean, it's only a four dollar plant so it isn't a big deal if I lose it but I'd rather keep it alive.

So AToT, what do I do? Hack the whole top off and hope for the best, or maybe just do one stem at a time (there's four total)?

Do this:

- Move them into larger pots with fresh potting soil
- Add a little bit of bone meal to the soil, which will aid in leaf and root growth
- Cut off the top 2 inches of the planets, this will help stimulate regrowth near the bottom
- Is this indoors or outdoors? If its indoors, look for a window with better light if possible
- Don't use fresh tap water to water them. Fill up a jug with tap water, and let it sit for about a week so it can evaporate off **lorines in it. Or buy distilled water, or collect rainwater.


If you don't want to spend any money at all, alternatively...

- Cut half the height of the plant off
- Unpot the plants, aggressively break up the outer roots and soil
- Rinse off a bunch of egg shells and crush them up into little pieces, mix in with soil
- Repot plants back into original pots
- Previous advice about window light still applies
- Previous advice about water still applies

 

[sixone]

Trim back the tops, but don't change pots. Moving them to a bigger pot will direct the plant's energy towards growing the roots, and away from the leaves.