Sunday, June 9, 2013

Herbs: A Place to Begin... Another Propagating Tip

Being part of our county's Master Gardener Speakers Guild is a lot of fun. My program is titled "Herbs: A Place to Begin". It is for anyone who might be curious about growing herbs or is just beginning to use them. I give simple advice for ways to incorporate tasty herbs into your every day life. After such a sweet reception to my presentation, I will be adding regular posts about herbs.
 
 
Watch for the ones titled "A Place to Begin".

Last week, I showed you how to Divide Mint and about this time last year, I wrote about how to have More Basil.  If you missed either post, they are on my Gardening Page.

The photos today happen to be of Common English Thyme, but this technique works on just about any herb that stays low to the ground.

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All you have to do is gently weight the stems.  I'm using decorative stones.  Anything that will hold the stems against the soil without crushing them would work.  Each stem that touches the soil will sprout roots.  It's surprising how quickly the plant will spread using this technique.

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Here is the same container about a month later.  It's one of my 'Recipe Pots' that inspired my Scarborough Fair Butter.  The lowest growing plant is the Common English Thyme.  See how pretty it spread?  It has practically covered all the stones.  Let me tell you about the other plants.  The widest leaves are Common Sage.  The spiky, taller plant is Rosemary.  Yep, sage, rosemary and thyme.

Consider trying this propagating trick with oregano, marjoram, chocolate mint, spearmint or peppermint.  Really, any lower growing plant will do well.

Have you tried it on something?  I'd love to hear about it!

Remember to visit my Stone Cottage each week as I give tips on simple ways to bring herbs into your everyday life. Look for the posts titled "A Place to Begin".

;-)  -Marci


24 comments:

  1. Great tips! Love your blog - i'm following!

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  2. I have done this with ivy and philodendron, but never thought of doing it with herbs! Great tip Marci!

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  3. Thanks so much for sharing these tips - I have my first herb garden this year and am still learning!

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  4. My mint is trying to take over my garden world!! I really need to take it way back and share the wealth. I will give it a go. Thank you for your tips

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  5. I never would have thought to do this. Thank you for sharing. Saw this on Fancy This Friday.

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  6. Great tips! We have lots of herbs this year.

    Thanks for sharing at the Creative HomeAcre Hop. Looking forward to seeing what you share this week!

    http://back2basichealth.blogspot.com/2013/07/welcome-to-another-creative-homeacre-hop.html

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  7. Started growing herbs a couple years ago. This year potted 4 types in a large pot outside my kitchen for easy access. Thanks for joining Wake Up Wednesday!

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  8. This is so helpful....the entrance to our development has a great big thyme planting and now I can use your tip for propagating it! Thanks!

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  9. This works great with lavender too.

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  10. This works great for lavender too.

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  11. You seem to really know what you're doing with herbs, thanks for sharing your knowledge and tips, very helpful. I've pinned this post.
    I've never grown herbs and not many other plants except when we lived in KY where they seemed to grow themselves with out my help, lol Our climate is super dry here (western CO) and we have lots of alkali in ground so have to plant many things in pots. When I can print this out I will along with any other posts on growing herbs/plants. Happy weekend

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  12. I never knew about this technique - it kind of happened naturally with my thyme - where it rooted in areas that tougched the ground. Thanks for linking this wonderful post up to my “Themed Blog & Shop Hop!” http://www.godsgrowinggarden.com/2014/05/themed-blog-shop-hop-colorful-gardens.html
    Angie

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  13. Thanks for your tips and it will benefits of us. Thanks for sharing with 4 seasons blog hop. Cheers and have a nice day.

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  14. Thank you for sharing at Tuesdays with a Twist! See you again this week!

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  15. I love the rock idea I could use this on other things too, Im sure. Heck, I just love rocks!! Lol

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  16. Great idea - your herb pot is so pretty! I have all the basic herbs in my garden but am looking for a few more to fill in for next year. Maybe I'll add some thyme - we all need more thyme in the garden, right? (stopping by from ARWB)

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  17. Great tips, Marci! Thank you bunched for linking up and partying with us!

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  18. Great Article! I just pinned it! thanks for sharing these tips!!

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  19. New to herb gardening. Thanks for the tip!

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  20. Great idea! Thanks for linking up at the Home Matters Linky Party. #homematterparty

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  21. Gorgeous, what a great idea! Thanks for linking up to Awesome Life Friday!

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  22. I have done this and it worked well.... I need to do more of it this year. :)

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  23. What a great idea!

    Thanks for linking up with Green Thumb Thursday! We'd love for you to join us again this week!
    ~Lisa

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