How to Grow Your Own Bay Leaves
originate bay laurel leaves , or more specifically , a bay Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree ( Laurus nobilis ) in the UK , need nurture a flora that can add both culinary pleasure and aesthetic entreaty to your garden .
Laurus nobilis Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree are hardy and can be grown both in the ground and in container , making them suited for a diverseness of garden sizes and case .
Here ’s a step - by - whole tone template on how to grow bay leaves in the UK :
1. Choosing a Plant
2. Planting Location
3. Soil Preparation
4. Planting
5. Watering
6. Feeding
7. Pruning
8. Overwintering
9. Pests and Diseases
10. Harvesting Bay Leaves
11. Propagation
Growing Bay: A Quick Snapshot
When to Sow – Apr - Sep
When to Plant – Apr - Aug
When to Harvest – Jan - Dec
intermediate Yield per flora – 10 - 30kg / year ( once fledged )
Spacing – 2 MiB
Depth – 1 cm
How to Grow Bay Leaves at Home
Native to the Mediterranean , the bay laurel is technically a small tree . Left unpruned , it will grow to a height of around 6 m after about 20 year . However , it ’s also very adaptable – whether produce as a hedge ( like other honour ) , a bush , or even a houseplant , bay will expand so long as you give it the correct growing condition .
Growing Requirements for Bay
Since this is a Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree that has evolve in a Mediterranean clime , alcove does best in full sun , but will tolerate partial tincture too .
When it come to hardiness , this reckon on how exposed your garden is . engraft your true laurel in a protected and shelter situation and it could tolerate temperatures down to -15ºC. However , disclose it to freeze winds and it will start to suffer once temperatures dip below -5ºC. For this reason , gardeners in cold climates that do n’t have access toa greenhousewill often grow their bay in pots – this allows them to bring the flora indoors once the stale season hits .
Ideally , give your true laurel treefertile and well - draining soil . Addingsome compostor well - rot animal manure to your soil can help to ameliorate its caliber .
How to Grow Bay Leaves from Seed
Bay plants are easy enough to grease one’s palms . This be given to be the easiest choice if you only ask one or two tree , since mature alcove from come can be a little tedious . This does n’t mean that it ca n’t be done , but be develop for low germination rate and seedling that bonk to die .
If you would still like to give this a go , aim tosow double the number of seeds than what you actually need .
How to Sow Bay Seeds:
In ordination for bay seeds to burgeon forth , they need a cool and moist sleeping period , just like a Mediterranean winter . you may reduplicate those conditions at plate by aim your seeds into an airtight bag , along with some sand or perlite , plus enough water supply to drizzle your growing medium .
Leave a small opening in the recession of the bag and put this into your fridge . Check the seeds every few days , giving them a mist of water supply if the sand starts to dry out .
After about eight or nine weeks , your seeds will bourgeon . Leave them in the old bag for a duet more workweek before carefully removing them . Place them into small pots that are fulfil with a aseptic seed - starting commixture .
grade your pots somewhere warm and protected , making sure that you keep the soil moist . Your seedlings will postulate to continue indoors until they ’re about 15 - 20 cm tall . This means that you probably wo n’t be capable to plant them out until the following year .
How to Plant Bay Outside
Once your plants are at least 15 - 20 cm marvellous and you ’ve had your last frost , you may start thinking about embed your bay outside .
However , before you do so , you ’ll need toharden your plants off . This is extremely important – your bay seedlings will have been spring up indoors for several months , meaning that outdoor conditions will be a immense shock to the organisation . Gradually acclimatise them to this over a period of ten days or so . The dull you take it , the quicker your plant will instal once they ’re in the ground .
Once you ’re ready to get planting , make certain that your chosen uprise expanse is weed - free . Then , dig a hole in the stain that ’s just slightly larger than the size of it of the pot that your bay laurel is presently in . lightly remove your plant from their pots and place them into their new homes . insure their roots over with grease and firm the dirt down , before water well .
If you ’re plant more than one bay tree tree , the spacing that you take will depend on how you intend to arise your plants . An average of two metre in between each flora is recommended . However , you could go for a short less if you plan on keeping them as low shrubs , or increase this if you ’ll be provide your trees to raise uncivilised and free .
How to Plant Bay in a Greenhouse
Since bay is n’t fully hardy in some climates , it ’s commonly develop ina greenhouse . That articulate , most nurseryman choose to keep it in a pot – not only does this help to prevent the tree from growing too large in terms of size ( after all , that greenhouse bed space is precious ! ) , but it also allows them to move the plant outdoors during the summertime months , when their greenhouse is pack with other seasonal crop .
If you settle to grow your bay in pots , use a potting premix consisting of compost , soil , and sand . Keep in mind that you ’ll need torepot your Laurus nobilis tree diagram into big container every brace of twelvemonth .
How to Care for Bay
So far , it may seem as though bay laurel is quite a gamy - upkeep flora . However , once it ’s established , it postulate very little attention . How do you assist your bay to establish quicker ? By follow these care tips :
Watering Bay
With bay laurel being a Mediterranean flora , it opt to be kept on the desiccant side . That say , you ’ll still need to irrigate your bay tree on a regular basis until your plant have set their radical . Once they have , water sparingly whenever the top 5 cm of territory feels dry . Don’t be tempt to over - water your Laurus nobilis – they hate to have doughy feet and are easy susceptible to root rot .
Feeding Bay
Although bay trees are not weighed down feeder , a few lotion of aslow - release granular fertilisercan supporter to give their growth a boost . Feed your bayonce every six calendar week during the spring and summertime , but stop once autumn get in . give your bay tree too of late in the time of year will forestall them from enter quiescency once wintertime hits .
Weeding and Mulching Bay
weed can chop-chop put out out bay seedlings , making it important to keep your maturate area weed - free while your plants are still new . Even once they ’re establish and look to be taller than most of the weeds in your garden , any weeds that down up around your trees will still be stealing vital nutrients and moisture , meaning thatregular weedingwill still be helpful for promote increase .
To cut back on the amount of weeding that you ’ll need to do , keep your true laurel treeswell - mulch . If you go with an organic mulch , then this will also feed your trees as it part down , doing off with the need for a fertiliser .
Pruning Bay
There ’s nothing wrong with leaving your bay tree diagram to grow naturally , without any pruning . However , if you would care to keep your plants under control , then feel costless to give your bay a haircut from former spring to mid - summer . A Christ Within pruning wo n’t bear upon your tree too much , whereas it may take a year to recover from a heavy pruning .
Either fashion , but abridge away any dead or damage stem and leaves . Bay trees take very well to being shaped – they ’re often used astopiaries . So , do n’t be afraid to get a little creative withyour secateurs , so long as you do n’t abbreviate aside too much of your Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree in one season .
One thing to remember when pruning – do n’t give those trimmings out . alternatively , clean the leaves off and dry out them ( more on this later ) for use in the kitchen .
How to Harvest Bay Leaves
Bay is one of the few plants out there that can beharvested twelvemonth - circular . That said , mid - summer tends to be the proficient fourth dimension for harvesting bay leaves – the heat stimulates them into producing more of their essential oils , which not only makes them easier to pick , but also so much more fragrant .
To harvest your true laurel , all you need to do ispick off leaves as and when you need them . you may do this in with child quantities too if you ’re looking for a big hoard of leaves to dry .
However , stave off harvest your bay tree until your plant are at least two year honest-to-goodness .
How to Store Bay Leaves
Fresh alcove leaves can be kept in the electric refrigerator for about a calendar week .
To dry out your bay bequeath , you have a couple of choice . you could either air - ironical them , which takes a couple of week , or you could dry out them in a dehydrator , which takes a pair of hour . If you ’re looking to make a bay leaf pulverisation , you ’ll involve to dry out the farewell first before travail them up .
Once dry , store your bay leaves ( or gunpowder ) in an airtight container in a cool , gloomy , and juiceless place . They ’ll be respectable to expend fora pair of class . instead , you could also place your pertly - dried leaves into the freezer . This helps them to better retain their floral flavor .
How to Prepare & Cook Bay Leaves
embayment leafage do n’t necessitate much preparation . Simply give fresh parting a rinse under scarper water and they ’re ready to be used .
Bay is most commonly added as a flavouring to slowly - cooked dishes , from sauce to stews to soup . After the cooking process , the leave of absence are unremarkably removed , since they do n’t have a very pleasant flavour or grain when eaten on their own . This applies to both refreshing and dried leaves . However , keep in mind thatif you ’re substituting dried for fresh in a recipe , you ’ll need to use two fresh farewell for every dry leaf . This is because the dry out farewell have a more acute tone .
One democratic fashion to use bay tree leaves is in atraditional French bouquet garni . This comprise of tie together a bundle featuring bay leaves , Petroselinum crispum , and thyme , which you could then tot up to whatever you find to be ready . There are plenty of variations you could experiment with too – try addingrosemary , basil , or tarragon into your bundle as well .
Common Bay Problems
There are a few pests and diseases that affect bay trees , with the most plebeian being :
Popular Bay Leaf Varieties to Grow
The most popular true laurel leaf varieties to grow are :
Conclusion
Although bay leaves are n’t an ingredient that people use in big quantities , they can still make a vast remainder to the flavour of the dish that you cook . As an add bonus , bay leave-taking are deep in several vitamins and digestive enzyme , and can be harvested twelvemonth - round , make this ornamental herb worthy of growing in any veggie garden .
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