Soil for Herb Bed
Answered by: Conrad Richter
Question from: Barbara Burrill
Posted on: August 5, 2003

I live in zone 5 in Michigan and I am digging an herb bed. What soil mix would be good all purpose mix?

The most important issue is drainage. Any good mix with compost, top soil and liberal amounts of sand will work well for most herbs. Composted manure can be added also as an additional nutrient source. The exact proportions are not critical, but something in area of 5-10% sand, 20-30% compost and the rest top soil would be fine.

What can I plant this summer yet that will winter over alright?

There are many herbs that can be planted right up until the early fall. As a very rough guide if you choose herbs that are rated hardy to zone 4 they will stand a better chance of making through the winter with just half a season of growing left. The hardiness ratings of most of our herbs can be found in the Richters Herb Growing Infobase in the Richters InfoCentre area of our website (http://www.richters.com/show.cgi?page=./InfoSheets/webbase.html).

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