You can become successful herb gardener if you know the secrets of setting up a herb garden and taking care of it the right way. Even though each herb grows in different conditions, all herbs maintain the equilibrium of their surroundings. Herb gardening can either be done indoors or outdoors. While few grow well indoors in a pot or a container, others grow well only in the garden. Edible herbs grown by you would be free of herbicides. In turn, you can safely consume chemical-free herbs.

Maintenance

Easy maintenance and low costs are the main advantages of herb gardening. However, there are few points to remember when you try growing herbs, especially the edible varieties. If you opt for indoor gardening, make sure you choose appropriate pots or containers. While selecting the edible parts of the herb for consumption, make sure that they are not infected or have any insect bites. Some of the herbs may not like to be restricted to a pot or vessel. Make sure that you do not plant such herbs inside the house.

Herb Gardening In Containers

You can use any container for growing plants. Make sure that there are no insects, bugs or snails hiding inside the vessel or pot used for sowing the seeds. Insects are the worst enemies of any kind of plant, as they destroy the leaves and other important parts of the herb. Also, make sure that the holes are such that bugs cannot crawl into the pot after filling it with soil. Before you fill the pot or container with soil, cover the bigger holes with a thin cloth so that it covers the hole and a small portion around it. The cloth should be one that allows water to drain out and at the same time, keeps the insects out.

Fill the pot with sufficient and appropriate soil, and then sow the seeds in appropriate climatic conditions. You can also choose to purchase ready-made pots with the herb already planted in it. In both conditions, you should remember to change the soil after 3 months. Moreover, make sure that you pluck off the dried and dead leaves, and keep trimming the herb so that it does not grow wild.

Raised bed herb gardens and Parterre are other styles of herb gardening besides container gardening. With a sincere effort on your part and proper care, you too can show off your homegrown herbs to all and sundry.

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Pick containers that go with the décor of your home. Since herbs are pretty plants anyway, a well chosen pot will only add to its beauty. After you have chosen the herbs to grow and the container to grow it in put some stones or broken pieces of pots in the bottom of the container to ensure good drainage. Aeration is needed for herbs and this method works well. A loose soil works best for herbs as a compact soil will inhibit root growth.

To plant your herbs, put a bit of soil into the container, add the herb and then loosely fill with additional soil. To keep it simple, put a Popsicle stick with the name of the herb in the soil next to the plant. Keep a small notebook handy to write down the needs of each individual herb you are growing. Now, you are on your way to growing and using fresh herbs and seasonings.

To ensure your herb container garden is a true success there are a few other tricks you should know about. It is crucial that your herbs get from six to eight hours of sunlight per day. If there is no place in your home that this is possible, then purchase some grow lights from your neighborhood garden center. Having your herb container garden indoors cuts down on the amount of fertilizer you will use. Read the information tag for how much the herb will need. Unfortunately, even indoors, pests can be a problem. Be very careful not to use commercial insecticides because you will be using your fresh herbs in cooking. Here is a recipe for a natural bug repellent:

In a jar, combine 1 teaspoon dishwashing liquid and 1 cup vegetable oil. Shake vigorously. In an empty spray bottle, combine 2 teaspoons of this mixture and 1 cup water. Use at ten-day intervals (or more often if needed) to rid plants of whiteflies, mites, aphids, scales, and other pests.

Container Herb gardening indoors will not only add flavor to your food but will also add color and texture to your home. By growing your own herbs you will never lack seasonings for your food and it may even grow into a bigger hobby of growing herbs for medicinal and beauty purposes too.

Happy Herb Gardening!

Copyright © Mary Hanna, All Rights Reserved.

This article may be distributed freely on your website and in your ezines, as long as this entire article, copyright notice, links and the resource box are unchanged.

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One important part of herb gardening is drying the herbs for use during the winter months, especially if you plan on cooking with them. First the tops of leafy herbs have to be cut, washed, and hung up for the water to evaporate. Then, tie stems together and hang up in a paper bag to dry. After two to three weeks they must be removed; crumble the leaves, dry them out in the oven, and store in a glass jar.

One of the most common herbs gown in herb gardening is basil. “Dark Opal” and regular green basil are beautiful additions to any garden and often used as decoration. Dark Opal has light pink flowers and dark red leaves. Basil isn’t just used for its looks; it is used for extra flavor in tomato juices and pastes.

Chives are very petite looking and resemble a blade of grass. They are much stronger than they look, however, and will grow well through a drought and a drought. Their toughness and sturdiness makes Chives a perfect plant for herb gardening, especially if the gardener doesn’t want plants that require a lot of hassle. Chives are good used in salads, egg dishes, and many different sauces.

Mint is also very simple to grow and is good to use in mint jelly, mint juleps, lemonade, and any other kind of fruity drink. Mint is also good in herb gardening for its unique minty smell. Two herbs that appear in nearly everyone’s herb garden are thyme and sage. Both of these herb gardening favorites are used for flavoring soups, chicken, turkey, pork, and other sausages. Sage is also grown sometimes for its beautiful blue spiked flowers.

Lavender is probably the best smelling herb in all of herb gardening and is often used in candles, as a perfume scent, and to improve the smell in linen chests. The light purple flowers smell absolutely lovely.

Other types of herbs often grown in herb gardening include borage (used in salads), chervil (used in egg dishes), sweet marjoram (flavors lamb, fish, salad, and soup), sesame (flavors crackers, cookies, and bread), and dill (flavors meats and used in pickles). Herb gardening allows gardeners to use herbs from their own garden for cooking, looks, and smell. Herb gardening will produce much fresher herbs with more flavor than store-bought herbs, and are a lot cheaper.

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Down the years, herb gardening has become a widely acknowledged activity. Nearly all kinds of common herbs can withstand both dry weather and disease. In addition, since herbs can be grown indoors at all times or require just a couple of weeks to develop outdoors, for kids an herb gardening assignment is just the right pursuit. Carefully choosing herbs with an agreeable fragrance like lavender or appetizing herbs added to food like pizza topped with basil, provide an extra dash of amusement to herb gardening.

No more than a couple of essential and easily available things are needed to set you off on an herb gardening assignment together with your kid:

6 tubs or flowerpots with perforations at the base permitting kids to paint the containers gives an added element of fun, especially on a wet day) Herb saplings or seeds, which are easily accessible at the provisions store, via the Internet, or the local plant sales outlet. The most favored herb selections for kids are:

Sage

Coriander

Basil

Lavender

Mint

Parsley

You will also require:

Potting mix (nearly all commercial potting mixture is suitable for this form of gardening)

Plastic wrapper

Felt tip pens

Popsicle stick

Poster paints in primary colors (Optional)

10 tips to start your own indoor herb garden:

1. Top the flowerpot with the soil mixture.

2. Let kids disperse the herb seeds on the top of

the soil, keeping a watchful eye that the seeds do not lie on top of each other.

3. Carefully deposit the soil above the herb seeds and gently push down. Ensure the seeds are not in excess or in shortage since not all the seeds will germinate.

4. Water with care to make certain the soil is not saturated. As is the case with other forms of gardening, excessive watering is not suitable for herb gardening. A good hint would be not to let the soil to become completely dry but to maintain it in a semi-dry condition.

5. Write down the herb name with a felt pen on the Popsicle stick and insert it into the planter.

6. To seal in the soil moisture, envelop the potted seeds with a plastic wrapper. Prevent mildew from forming by letting in fresh air every alternative day.

7. The flowerpot should be put near the window or on the window ledge, where sunlight is accessible.

8. The seeds will sprout in about two to six weeks, depending on the kind of herbs chosen.

9. When the seeds begin to sprout, remove the plastic cover.

10. Simply enjoy! Kids get immense pleasure in sniffing and sampling the outcome of herb gardening.

Beyond doubt, herb gardening is the best way to arouse and instill fondness and enthusiasm for herbal plants in kids.

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You may not know it, herb-gardening, indoor herb gardening is becoming more and more popular and one of the reasons for that is its practical value. Why? Aside from its uses in kitchen, herb garden also offers a decorative view that flowering plants can do. In other words, herb garden serves for a double purpose.

Another essential part of herb gardening, whether an indoor herb gardening or container herb-gardening is that, you can dry herbs so that they can be used during winter or off-season. To have this done, you may cut,wash, and hang up-as the process of preservation. Then, after a couple of weeks, you can put them in a jar after drying in an oven. Though this can be laborious in your part, proper herb gardening management can make it simpler for this procedure.

One of the most planted in herb-gardening is Basil. This offer a decorative view like ornamental flowers and also can be used in your kitchen. Specifically, this can be added to tomato juice and paste to add flavor

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Another is the herb called Chives that is similar to grass. They are much stronger, more than their appearance and can be grown up to the most dry season- drought. Whether in container herb gardening or not, you can add this as part of your herb garden. Chives are being used in egg-dishes, salads and several types of sauce.

Mint is also one of the most planted and this is very simple to grow. This is commonly used in mint juleps; mint jelly; lemonade and other kind of drinks.

Another is the Lavender and this perhaps the best smelling herb from all. This is used to produce scented candle, as a perfume scent and for improving the linen chests. Herb gardening really have several uses and that is the fact that can not be denied.

There are a lot more of herbs that you can plant in your garden. These will surely make your garden beautiful like ornamental and other decorative plants; these also give you the things that you need to add in your kitchen stuff like salads and other foods that need herbs for additional flavor. You can achieve its full benefits if you learn more knowledge regarding their particular usage.

And one thing is for sure, herb gardening can be an ideal hobby that you can have. So, it is practically essential that you are able to have an herb gardening management strategy to maximize its benefits.

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One of the most appealing things anyone will learn about herb gardening is how relaxing and simple growing herbs can be. Discovering all the wonderful, various herbs and what they do is a captivating pastime, and can be quite beneficial. You can use herbs for cooking, as medicinal aids such as topical dressings or healthy teas, or simply for decorative plants in the garden.

There are so many herb plants to choose from, it can be a bit daunting to the beginning herb gardener. A good source of information that you probably have is your cookbook, which often devotes a chapter or two to the uses of different herbs as flavorings and accents.

Planting a Basic Herb Garden

Get acquainted with herb gardening by growing herbs you think you’ll use, plus throw in one or two that sound interesting to you. Herb gardens can range in size from small containers to vast outdoor gardens.

To best learn herb gardening, start simple with a small, sunny plot, or use a clay pot filled with potting soil.

The Two Big Needs that herbs have are:

- lots of sun, and

- well-drained soil.

Most herbs have a preference of full or partial sun, and the seed package or nursery will have this information clearly stated. Most herbs will not do well in very wet soil, and watering about every 2-3 days is usually sufficient. Raised garden beds are a good fit for herb gardens. They have excellent drainage and can be easily arranged for proper sunlight.

When planting herb seeds, cover them lightly with soil, and don’t plant the seeds too deep. A good rule of thumb with herb gardening is “the smaller the seed, the shallower you sow.” If you are using young herb plants already started in growing trays, simply transplant them into your pots or garden bed. Sometimes the plants in the trays are dry; if so, water them first before planting them.

Finally, remember that annual herbs (herb plants which only grow for one season and then die) and perennial herbs (herb plants which will return the following year) do best when planted separately. This avoids disrupting the perennial plants’ roots when it is time to dig out the dead annuals. It also prevents leaving dead root pieces behind which can contribute to fungus growth.

Grow Fresh herbs for Cooking

Cooking with fresh herbs from your garden is a wonderful experience. To get started, here are gardening tips for two well-known herbs that are great for beginning herb gardeners.

Sweet Basil — Sweet basil leaves are good in salads, and are a main flavoring ingredient in tomato dishes such as spaghetti and marinara sauce. In the northern climates, basil is usually grown as an annual plant. In milder climates, sweet basil will return each year on its own, and therefore is considered a perennial plant.

The sweet basil herb is a pleasure to grow because it thrives in average soil, and likes sun or partial shade. Sow the seeds after danger of frost is over, or start them indoors about eight weeks before growing season and then transplant them outside. You can also purchase ready-to-grow starter plants from nurseries and through catalogs.

It’s easy to promote the bushiness of the basil plant leaves by pinching and clipping the herb throughout the summer. Use the leaves fresh during the summer growth months, and in the fall, dry the leaves and store them for use during the winter.

Garlic — Garlic is full of minerals and nutrients, and is known to have great medicinal properties. It is a staple in every chef’s kitchen for cooking dishes from chicken and pasta to seafood and vegetables. We’ve all seen garlic bulbs at the grocery store… but did you know that one simple garlic bulb has enough cloves to begin a garden full of garlic plants? Here’s what you do:

When spring arrives and the weather has begun to turn warm, prepare a small garden bed in a sunny spot. Take the cloves and place them, pointy side up, in the soil. Plant them in clusters, or rows, and put a light layer of topsoil over them with some compost mixed in. When fall arrives, lift the garlic bulbs out of their bed.

Dry the garlic by slicing the bulbs into thin slices and placing them on a rack at room temperature. You can also store the bulbs by braiding the stalks and hanging the garlic in a dark, cool space. You may also freeze the entire garlic bulb!

Learn about herb gardening with these herbs, and then begin to branch out with more. In the meantime, you’ll add wonderful flavors to your recipes, and mouthwatering aromas in the kitchen!

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