What's New Sq. Gardening BookStore Past Articles Herbs that thrive in Austin soil by Ellen Zimmerman of Many herbs thrive in Central Texas. Most love the abundance of sunny days and dry weather so common in the Austin area.
Herbs can bring breathtaking beauty to the garden and tasty treats to the table.
But don't use the same standards for producing herbs that might be appropriate for the lush herb greens of England or even the garden state of New Jersey. The fact is, the area around Austin is unlike what you read about in most garden books. Austin has rocky soil that is rich in lime in many areas. This soil is known as caliche. In other areas, the soil is a heavy clay that buckles, cracks and moves with severe fluctuations in rainfall and temperatures.