Lemon balm: Sowing, planting and harvest calendar
How to sow lemon balm successfully outdoors?
Sow your lemon balm, Melissa officinalis, outdoors from late spring when conditions allow even emergence. Choose sun or light shade with well-drained soil that retains some moisture. A very dry, scorching position makes it harder to keep the tiny seeds consistently moist.
Weed, break up clods and prepare a fine surface. Moisten it before sowing if necessary. Distribute seeds sparingly in marked rows or in a pot with drainage holes. Press lightly and cover with a very thin layer: some light helps germination. You do not need to place every small seed thirty centimetres apart. Set the final plant spacing after emergence, when you can see which seedlings have developed.
Water with a fine spray so you do not move the seeds. Keep the growing medium moist without saturating it and check young shoots regularly. Weed carefully to avoid pulling out seedlings. Once easy to handle, thin or transplant crowded plants, leaving room for them to form clumps. Retain labels: seedlings do not necessarily reproduce the exact colours of a named variegated selection.
How do you plant lemon balm?
How to harvest lemon balm
