When To Plant Fall Herbs In Northern Virginia

08/20/2009
The tremendous heat and humidity we have experienced in northern Virginia for the past several weeks makes everyone long for the cooler days of autumn. Consequently, recently we have begun receiving customer queries about when to plant "fall herbs".

While the dog days of August are ideal for growing warm weather herbs such as basil, marjoram, stevia and kaffir lime trees, the heat and humidity make it difficult to grow cool weather herbs such as cilantro, dill and parsley. These herbs do best when night time temperatures are routinely less than 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Consequently, late September and early October are the best time to plant fall herbs in our area.

What about perennial herbs like mint, sage and rosemary? As a general rule, perennials do better the following year if planted the previous fall, rather than spring. This is because fall planted herbs have more time to establish a root system before the heat and drought of summer begins. Again, late September and the first half of October are the best times for planting these types of herbs.

While many gardeners may find it difficult to get motivated to work in their gardens in the heat of late August, it is a good time to take stock. Are the sage and rosemary which you will use for your Thanksgiving dinner doing well? Have you made enough pesto from your giant basil plants to last the winter? Did your parsley survive the heat of summer? Do you have room in the garden to plant the perennial herbs which were kept in containers on the deck during the summer? All of these questions, and many more, occur to the savvy herb gardener as summer comes to an end.