Mint, Oregano and Thyme in early life... guidance?

[cf]

I'm soliciting advice on pruning/harvesting these three.  They are all in early growth but maybe I should be training them in some way OR taking early harvest to promote growth?  Specifics re size, etc. listed just before each photo.  All of these are as they germinated from the pod, I have not culled any of the multiples of plant stems that germinated out of these pods. 

Any thoughts, observations or advice at this stage would be much appreciated since I don't want to miss "shoulda done xyz" on any of these. 

Thanks in advance!

Mint:  Tallest leaf = 3 inches.   

Oregano:  4 inches tallest leaf.  Widest horizontal span = 6 inches.

Thyme:  2 inches tall.  Small, compact but with one very long stem relative to the rest of it.

Edit to add:  Excuse please the messy looking mudroom sink in this photo (it's not a kitchen sink.)

cf I feel like a lot of this is up to personal preference. Hopefully other folks will chime in with their philosophies.

Personally I feel like these three plants benefit from a bit of neglect. With some plants you want to trim early on to promote multiple shoots and bushy growth. But in my experience so far, these three are going to do that any way. (The mint will likely put out shoots into the water basin, so be prepared.)

[Shawn]

Have you check out the Pruning (Harvesting) Herbs with Videos link? 

Personally, the thyme I always leave be and snip when tall and thick (you can view my gardens for my past Thyme projects).  The oregano the same.  I never grew mint.

[cf]

Thank  you both! 

Zyphax, I appreciate that idea.  They don't seem to be inviting a lot of attention at this point so I may wait to do much of anything with them.

Shawn, no I had not seen those videos, thank you much for linking to them.

[airscapes]

I can not give advice on what to do in this environment as I am a newbie to AG as well,  but I can relate a story in the dirt.  I planted mint in my raised beds once, it sends out shoots under ground (as was mentioned above).  It is VERY hard to kill off.  I had mint coming up for several years.. If you want to try some mint now, I would say you will not hurt it one bit.. very invasive plant.
Everything looks really good!  My thyme has just germinated a couple days ago.  In the dirt Thyme is also very hardy, had the same plant over winter for a few years in a planter here in SE PA. It should not have survived but did. If you need it for dinner I would not hesitate to snip what you need if it were mine.

[belugaleuca]

Seconding what everyone else has said already, there's not necessarily one 'right' way as they naturally branch pretty well on their own.

For mint, I do like to pinch the tips off regularly to encourage denser growth, but that's my personal preference.  The only thing to note is that I always cut the mint just above a set of leaves. From those leaves, two new branches will readily grow. 

In the picture below you can see where I just cut above a leaf pair (circled), and the two new branches are budding out. Even if you don't see any buds, after you make the cut the buds will appear soon.

The arrows are the branches from an older cut, to show how these branches will grow over time. 

[cf]

Oh dear. Now the mint is starting to scare me. Maybe I shouldn't have asked. Only kidding. But I'm actually wondering if it would make sense to pull that mint out and stick it in a jar and let it share the light. Just put it right next to the unit. Has anyone done that?

[Sher]

Feb 14, 2021 10:39:09 GMT -5 cf said:

Oh dear. Now the mint is starting to scare me. Maybe I shouldn't have asked. Only kidding. But I'm actually wondering if it would make sense to pull that mint out and stick it in a jar and let it share the light. Just put it right next to the unit. Has anyone done that?

I think it woild be the best way to deal with it. 

[cf]

Seriously? It would not have the circulating water every half hour, it would just be sitting in a jar of water. Basket and all, correct? If so, how would I deal with it's nutes? Or were you kidding.

[Sher]

cf , it would be in a Kratly (aka passive) hydroponics system.

We have an entire board devoted to it under Other Kinds of Gardening/Other Hydroponics Systems.

The secret is that the plants grow air roots so they don't need the water oxygenated. It works best with salad greens and herbs.

However, once the plants develop air roots, you must leave air space for them when you refill your jar. If you add too much water, you will drown the plant.

Start with 5 ml. AG nutrients per gallon -- or whatever strength you are feeding them now.

Khang Starr does a 4 part step by step tutorial on it, from seed to mature plant.

He is using a baby formula container. Most people use quart Mason jars. When I use Mason jars, I buy the screw on plastic lids and cut my own holes in them. I have read here somewhere that you can buy ready made lids. Maybe on Etsy?

If you have a hole saw attachment for an electric drill, it is very easy to drill a smaller hole and use an Aerogarden pod.

[cf]

I thought Kratky was another company who competed with AG.  Hmmm.  Well, this looks very interesting!  And I do have a circle drill bit.  Oh I can see how hydroponics could quickly own a person.  LOL.  

[cf]

By the way, Sher, thank you for the informative reply and especially taking the time to link the video. I meant to say that in my last post but got distracted away from computer, came back and hit send.

[dee2]

Your plants are exceptional. The leaves are huge!