Double Cropping
When desired, herbs may be used as secondary crops to follow such early
vegetables as early cabbage and peas; or, if likely to be needed still
earlier, after radishes, transplanted lettuce and onions grown from
sets. These primary crops, having reached marketable size, are removed,
the ground stirred and the herb plants transplanted from nursery beds or
cold frames.
Often the principal herbs--sage, savory
marjoram and thyme--are set
close together, both the rows and the plants in them being nearer than
recommended further on. The object of such practice is to get several
crops in the following way: When the plants in the rows commence to
crowd one another each alternate plant is removed and sold or cured.
This may perhaps be done a second time. Then when the rows begin to
crowd, each alternate row is removed and the remainder allowed to
develop more fully. The chief advantages of this practice are not only
that several crops may be gathered, but each plant, being supplied with
plenty of room and light, will have fewer yellow or dead leaves than
when crowded. In the diagram the numbers show which plants are removed
first, second, third and last.