Growing Your Own Herbs

Growing Your Own Herbs
By Freddy Escobar

If you’re not the type of person that wants to spend their time managing
an elaborate fruit or vegetable garden, you might consider planting and
maintaining an herb garden. While the product might not seem as
significant, you’ll still enjoy the constant availability of fresh,
delicious herbs to flavor your meals with.

First you’ll want to choose the herbs that you’ll plant. You might have a
hard time doing this because of the huge scope of herbs available. But the
best way to choose is to do what I did; just look at what you have in your
kitchen. By planting your own collection of these herbs, you can save
money on buying them from the grocery store while having the added benefit
of freshness. Some of the herbs you might start with include rosemary,
sage, basil, dill, mint, chives, and parsley among others.

When choosing an area to put your herb garden, you should remember that
the soil should have extremely good drainage. If the dirt gets watered and
stays completely saturated, you have no chance of ever growing a healthy
plant. One of the best ways to fix the drainage problem is to dig a foot
deep in the soil, and put a layer of crushed rocks down before replacing
all the soil. This will allow all that water to escape, thus saving your
plants.

When you are ready to begin planting herbs, you might be tempted to buy
the more expensive plants from the store. However, with herbs it is much
easier to grow them from seed than it is with other plants. Therefore you
can save a bundle of money by sticking with seed packets. Some herbs grow
at a dangerously fast rate. For example, if you plant a mint plant in an
open space then it will take over your entire garden in a matter of days.
The best way to prevent this problem is to plant the more aggressive
plants in pots (with holes in the bottom to allow drainage, of course).

When it comes time to harvest the herbs you have labored so hard over, it
can be fatal to your plant to take off too much. If your plant isn’t well
established, it isn’t healthy to take any leaves at all, even if it looks
like its not using them. You should wait until your plant has been well
established for at least several months before taking off any leaves. This
wait will definitely be worth it, because by growing unabated your plant
will produce healthily for years to come.

Once you’ve harvested your delicious home grown herbs, you’ll want to use
them in cooking. Why else would you have grown them? Well first the
process begins with drying them out. This is easily achieved by placing
them on a cookie sheet and baking them 170 degrees Fahrenheit for 2 to 4
hours. After they’re sufficiently dried to be used in cooking, you can
consult the nearest cookbook for instructions on using them to effectively
flavor a dish.

If you want to store your herbs for later usage, you should keep them in a
plastic or glass container. Paper or cardboard will not work, because it
will absorb the taste of the herbs. During the first few days of storage,
you should regularly check the container and see if any moisture has
accumulated. If it has, you must remove all the herbs and re-dry them. If
moisture is left from the first drying process, it will encourage mildew
while you store your herbs. Nobody likes mildew.

So if you enjoy herbs or gardening, or both, then you should probably
consider setting up an herb garden. It might require a little bit of work
at first to set it up for optimal drainage, and pick what herbs you want
to grow. But after the initial hassle, it’s just a matter of harvesting
and drying all your favorite herbs.

The author is an irrigation engineer dedicated to design and installation of garden irrigation systems. More info on gardening, landscaping and gardens irrigation at:

http://gardensirrigation.com/garden

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10 Herbs You Can Grow in Containers

10 Herbs You Can Grow in Containers
By Lee Dobbins

Growing herbs has become a very popular hobby today. Not only are they decorative, but growing herbs yourself gives you an ongoing fresh supply of herbs for cooking.

A good thing about growing herbs is that they can be done indoors. This way, they can be enjoyed even if you are living in the city and do not have room for outdoor gardening space.

Helpful Tips for Growing Herbs in Containers

1. Herbs ideally thrive in the ground, but with proper choices and the right precautions, they can flourish in the indoor garden. They have to be positioned inside the house where they can grow well.

2. You can combine herbs of different colors to create an atmosphere inside your house. For example, you can get calendula or lemon thyme, herbs with sunny colors for a brighter effect.

3. Let the herbs grow together. They can create a climate among them that will further encourage their growth. They also create a fuller and healthier appearance.

4. Limit the amount of herbs you will plant in a container. It should depend on the size of your container. There should at least be an allowance of four inches square in between each type of herb.

5. Get a clean container to start with the hobby. The container must allow good drainage for the herbs. Use also the type of soil that is porous enough to let water easily go down to the roots.

6. Try to pick commercial potting mix instead of the usual garden soil. They especially contain minerals that can support the needs of your herbs in containers.

7. Check out regularly your herbs, especially if they need some watering. Different herbs will have different moisture requirements.

Just make sure that they do not get too much dry. At the same time, do not drown them either.

10 Herbs to Grow in Containers

There are many kinds of herbs to choose from for your indoor garden. It is best to choose those that can be arranged together. Here are some of them that should be in your top 10 consideration.

1. Silver Plants

Most herb growers would choose according to a color scheme. The herb containers can have an arrangement according to the hue of the plants.

There are herbs that give out silvery hues. They are best for creating an elegant look in the corner of your house and perfect for a garden to be enjoyed in the evening.

You can use artemisias, curry plants and santolinas.

2. Golden Herbs

There are also golden herbs that can add a bright attitude in your mornings. They are perfect for days when the sun shine greets you inside the house.

Your golden garden can have lemon thyme, calendula, nasturtium and even the variegated sage and lemon balm.

3. Blue Garden

If your favorite color is blue, then you can have your indoor herb garden in all blue also. Choose or combine borage, hyssop, rosemary and catmint for that blue collection.

4. Italian Choices

People who love anything Italian can make use of the Italian selection.
Sweet basil, oregano, marjoram, thyme and the Italian parsley can perfectly grow together and respond to your Italian needs anytime.

5. Salad Bar

To vegetarians out there or people who simply enjoy salads, planting herbs like garlic chives, salad burnet, celery and rocket will be a good choice. You need not go to the market to enjoy a bowl of salad.

6. Go French

People who enjoy French cooking can also tend tarragon, parsley, sage and chervil.

7. Enjoy the Scent

Some households can make use of a lovely scent to set the mood. Lavender, lemon thyme, pineapple sage and the rose scented geranium are some of the perfect choices for a pleasant garden.

8. Insect Repellent

You can also grow herbs in your container that can function as insect repellents. This is especially useful for a household with kids.

9. Culinary Herbs

It is also nice to grow and tend culinary herbs inside your house. It is like having your own kitchen needs at hand anytime you want them.

Some of these culinary herbs that can be grown in containers are rosemary, mint, chives, or sage.

These are good seasoning for most of your cooking. The lemon balm is also perfect for your barbecue afternoons.

10. Loner Herbs

There are herbs that have to be kept and maintained in their own containers. They tend to overpower other herbs if they are put in a group.

Oreganos, lemon balm or bee balm and even mints are herbs that must be on their own or else they will overtake all the plants in your indoor garden.

Conclusion

Planting herbs in containers will definitely let you enjoy the delight of growing herbs even if you do not have any space outdoors.

Lee Dobbins writes for http://www.herbs-home-remedies.com where you can learn more about herbs and their uses

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Panting An Herb Garden

Planting An Herb Garden
By R Birch

Herbs of all kinds have been cultivated and used for thousands of years. They have been used for cooking, tea and medicinal purposes. Herb gardens easy to grow and require little maintenance. The following article covers the basics of starting an herb garden.

Plan your garden before planting it. Consider the herbs you want to plant and what you'll use them for. Herbs grow in various ways; some herbs, such as thyme, are low growing and spreading while others, such as parsley, grow in clumps. Mint is a taller, vigorously growing herb which often needs to be contained. Herbs are considered either annuals or perennials and many will bloom just like more traditional flowers.

List or draw your garden on paper first. If you know the size of your garden you'll easily be able to choose the appropriate plants. Likewise, if you have certain herbs in mind you'll able to plan the right size garden. Plant the annuals and the perennials in different locations in the garden. When fall arrives and you have to pull out the annuals, you won't disturb the perennials. Perennials can be planted on the edge of your garden so when it is time to till your garden they won't be in danger of being dug up.

Research the growth habit of the herbs you plant in the garden. As a general garden design rule, plan your garden with the tall herbs at the back and the short ones in front. Also, give your plants with enough space to grow; many of the spreading herbs require quite a bit of space. In fact, some can be quite invasive and require frequent pruning.

If you lack the adequate space for a garden, plant your herbs in containers. Be sure to use a high quality planting mix. A good planting mix will feed your plants throughout the entire growing season.

Designing your garden depends on the plants you choose as well as your own preferences. Square beds can be divided into four by two paths crossing at mid point. You can border it with stone or brick. A more rustic idea is to create a wagon wheel bed. Plant your herbs within the wagon wheel's wedges. Locate the garden where they'll be easiest to access; especially if you plan on using them in your cooking. An herb garden adjacent to a patio usually works well. Kitchen window boxes are also a great place to plant herbs.

Though different herbs have different needs, a sunny location is almost always necessary. Add lime to your garden since many herbs also prefer alkaline soil. Become familiar with the herbs you'll be planting and design and prepare your garden accordingly. Though perennial herbs can be planted anytime during the growing season, annuals should be planted in the spring, after there is no longer a chance of frost. You can also start herbs from seed, just be sure to follow the directions on the packet for soil, watering and temperature.

Herbs are simple to grow and, once established, easy to maintain. If you provide them with adequate drainage, a sunny spot, water and nutrient rich, organic soil, your herb garden with thrive for years.

R Birch is the publisher of http://www.gardenlistings.com For information on all kinds of garden projects visit http://www.gardenlistings.com/Resources.htm

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