Herb Garden Disaster :(

Hi,

Planted out a herb garden several years ago. It flourished for several years giving me fresh mint and gorgeous fennel. Then last summer it crashed: wipe-out.

I suspect ants, there were mounds of fine ant-chewed soil at one end of the raised garden, with ants in attendance. What can I do please?

Here are before & after photographs.

They mostly left the oregano untouched, everything else has been wiped out :(

Advice please.

Thanks.

 

It looks like you have a liner under the plants. Mint is pretty tough - surprising that it died.

If it is definitely dead, I'd dig out the soil and inspect it.

Not sure if vine weevil would attack mint but if the soil is contained in polythene, it could be to blame.

Looks like its time to start again in springtime, treating the soil if you can find the culprit

 

Fennel is short-lived and usually self-sows, but the mint has probably just gone dormant for the winter. Bet the raised bed is chock-full of roots, which may have contributed to the demise of the other herbs. As andrews says, it would be best to dig it all out, replace with fresh soil and re-plant.

 

I was thinking that with the mint as ours disappears for the winter. I didn't mention this as OP said that the plants disappeared in summer.

And fennel self seeding …. its weed-like ! I have a number of seedlings in the tunnel to see if they will over-winter ok. Looking good so far but I'm sure I'll have plenty of young plants come up this year.

I'll be starting my herbs from seed again this year. More packs of seed on the way right now.

 

My mint disappears in the summer (too hot) just when you want it for salads and mojitos lol. The big surprise here was coriander. Self-sows like a weed!

 

Seems to me that the liner is the problem . I agree with the above and after removing the liner start again.

 

Also I would suggest you grow mint separately as it likes damp shady conditions and most other herbs like it dry, sunny and hot.

 

Ah! You pinched my words Redwing ...I agree about mint. It could well have been too hot, dry and difficult for mint last summer esp if grown in full sun in the open. I find it often gets attacked by mildew too if not in partial shade or receive water supplement in summer heat.
I always grow mint in its own container and divide and replant every autumn to maintain lush leaves

 

I grow mint in an old sink on the NW side of a wall and it does well and is contained. Also water mint beside the pond.

 

I hadn't given the location of mint too much thought as it is so hardy. I have spearmint seed on its way and will plant it in a bit of shade

 

Thanks. The raised bed was a pond, that's what the liner is doing there. You suggest I dig it out please?

The fennel had self-sown itself about a metre away, so for the parent plant to suddenly vanish in 2018 looks odd. In 2017 the fennel was as tall as me. It just vanished. Mind you, someone else said fennel is short-lived?

No-one seems to think ants are the culprit then? That would please me, I dislike using ant treatments.

There were lots of herbs in there, origano, mint, lemon balm, rosemary & others - probably too many, I had no idea herbs can grow & bulk out so. I wonder if the soil was exhausted? The herb garden flourished for about 4 years. Several winters ago it was invaded by sedge which had to be dug & wrenched out, that upset the earth there a lot.

Possibly I need to create several herb patches - some in the sun and some in the shade.

 

Thanks to all who have taken a kind interest in the progress & plight of my herb garden!

 

Am receiving no alerts for this post from the forum, I have ticked the alert box & checked my email address which is current. This is why it took me a while to see the kind replies.

 

Oregano, rosemary, thyme and sage require well drained, sunny conditions. Many are native to the Mediterranean area.
Mint on the other hand likes shady damp conditions and can get hit by mint rust.
Lemon balm just grows and self seeds for me.

 

Fennel flourishes for a few years, then suddenly stops, so worth allowing a seedling to grow on every couple of years. Each year it dies back, then re-grows from the base... If the seedheads are left for winter interest ( they look stunning with filigree frost), it will self-seed extensively, but the seedlings have to be lifted when very young, if you want to move it, as the root v quickly becomes bulbous, and brittle.

Rosemary will grow into a rather majestic shrub, if happy. In just 5 years it can be over a metre high, and wide. The only risk then is that the stems break under the weight of heavy snow. Personally, I think it holds its own in a "normal" flower bed, being more substantial, and less temperamental, than lavender.

Lemon balm can struggle in hot weather, just like mint.... neither like to dry out, and both can get a dusty mould on the leaves.

Oregano and marjoram grow like weeds for me, but then I've gardened on poor sandy/chalky well-drained soil for the last 25 years, so it may just like where I live!

I'd start again, removing the liner (maybe keep it to contain mint and lemon balm in a shady corner?), and digging a little grit/sand into the replacement soil, if you have good, rich soil (trying not to go green with envy here, if that is the case!)