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 from the UC Master Gardeners of Sacramento County and other external resources. 

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

Herbs at the FOHC -  a history of the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center (FOHC) 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
  
  • aphids
  • thrips
  • snails and slugs
  • leaf spots
  • powdery mildew
• 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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