By Chatbud
Singapore
Is it true herbs do not like to be fertilised?
I have been dumping diluted fish emulsion, time-released granules and chicken manure powder on my Rosemary. It is struggling very badly - brown leaves, yellowish, etc
I read somewhere the herbaceous varieties do not like to be fertilised. Am I actually killing my Rosemary instead???
- 22 Jun, 2013
Answers
Do feed Basil, and--to a lesser extent--Mint, Cilantro, and Lemon Balm. Almost all other herbs like to be on a strict diet, though herbs in containers need at least a litle fertilizer, since the nutrients leach out faster in pots.
23 Jun, 2013
Mint in my experience needs no fertiliser, grows fast enough without!
23 Jun, 2013
True, but it can still get yellow and mangy in a container if it doesn't get some food. I do tend to use something mild and slow acting, such as alfalfa meal.
25 Jun, 2013
Ah your climate is rather different than ours... mint is almost a weed in some folks gardens.
Chatbud your Rosemary will need a lot of water in Singapore.
25 Jun, 2013
It is also not going to be happy about the hot nights and humidity, there. Rosemary tends to get a little wimpy here during our monsoon season--ditto garden sage, some oreganos, and lavenders
25 Jun, 2013
The checks that I did seem to imply that Rosemary can cope with humidity - if so it does better than me!
25 Jun, 2013
In my experience, the problem is a combination of humidity, 35º+ nights, and 40º+ days. I don't know exactly how hot Singapore gets in the summer, but I'm sure that it is a lot more humid than we are, even during our monsoon season. In its native habitat, Rosemary experiences sunny, dry, moderately hot (30º-33º daytime) summers.
25 Jun, 2013
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Yes you are killing your Rosemary with kindness in their native habitat the soil is poor, rocky and on the dry side.
22 Jun, 2013