Greens & herbs
Thyme, oregano, chives & sage
Plant Oct to Nov or Feb to Mar; evergreen.
- Outside
- Plant once, Oct to Nov or Feb to Mar
- Where
- In ground, a lean well-drained corner
- Sun
- Full sun; afternoon shade in peak heat
- Water
- Dry out between soaks; chives a bit more
- Harvest
- Year round, cut as needed
Care
- Water
- Thyme, oregano, and sage want to dry out between drinks, an occasional soak once the top inch is dry, since soggy roots rot them. Chives are the outlier, an onion cousin that takes steadier moisture. All four want drainage first.
- Sow
- Set them in as nursery plants or rooted divisions, not seed. The plant windows here are October to November, or February to March, the cool seasons that root a perennial before summer.
- Feed
- Skip it; lean soil is what concentrates the oils, while rich ground breeds soft growth and rot. If an evergreen pales, compost and mulch are the county's standing answer before any stronger feed.
- Ready
- Cut sprigs as the kitchen wants them, every month of the year; these four are evergreen here. The dry herbs give the most flavor just before they bloom, so keep them clipped leafy. Shear a chive clump and it regrows for another round.
- Trouble
- The killer is wet feet or rich soil, not cold; give them a lean, well-drained corner. Afternoon shade at the summer peak is the other kindness the sheets ask of this climate.
In a bag?
- Yes
- Up to a 5–15 gal bag.
- Water
- Drainage is the whole secret; water when the top inch of mix is dry and let it run through, and give the bag afternoon shade at summer peak.
- Feed
- Lean mix, no feeding but a spring compost scratch; a weekly plain-water leach keeps salts from building in alkaline water.
- Sow
- One plant per 5 gallon or larger woody-herb pot; sage-class perennials are the pot herbs the sheets name, but they live years, so pot once, pot big.
Thyme, oregano, chives, and sage are the garden's permanent staff here: evergreen perennials, planted once, cut every month of the year.
Growing
The Texas herb sheet classes all four as evergreen perennials, and the winters here let them keep the promise: no die-back, no protection. Set them out in the October to November or February to March windows, in lean, sharp-draining soil, and hold the fertilizer; the oils arrive when the plant has to work. Shear thyme and oregano after bloom to keep them dense, cut sage back by half in late winter, and divide chives every third year. In the afternoons of July and August they take a little shade, the one concession the sheets ask for here.
In the kitchen
Oregano bundles dry fast in a Killeen July and out-cook anything sold in a jar. Sage waits all year for November and earns it.