An Herbal Gardening How To Guide
July 29, 2008
rbs have been around for a very long time and served different kinds of purposes. They have been used to treat sickness and season cooking as well as being used in many craft projects. Interested in starting your own herb garden? Here are a few ideas on how to begin an herb garden.
Make your garden plan. Think about the type of herbs you want to plant. TConsider their kinds available. Would you like annuals, biennials or perennials? What are the purpose of the herbs that you are interested in?
Time to research some specific information on those plants. How big will they be full grown? What are their sunshine and soil requirements? You can get a book at the library or gardening catalog of some type that will list those variables for you.
Time to draw out your plan on paper. Some suggestions would be to separate the annuals from the perennials. The reason for this is at the end of the season you can easily pull up the annuals without disturbing the perennials and make planting annuals next season easier. Sometimes you can plant the perennials on the perimeter of the garden, or in a section by their lonesome.
Another factor to consider is to plant the tall ones towards the back and the shorter ones in front. Give your plants plenty of space to grow and also find out their sunlight requirements and make adjustments accordingly. Properly positioning will help you in this department.
If you would not put your herbs in your garden you could grow them in container pots. These are large pots with three or more outlets. Fill the container to the first outlet and plant it before filling the second outlet, and continue that process until finished. It’s preferable that the herb that requires the most water is planted in the bottom outlet, while the variety that needs the least, goes in the top one. Use a good quality potting soil and ensure that it has proper drainage.
You can design your garden in a creative manner. Try using a wooden ladder or wagon wheel and lay on top of the garden. Then plant your plants in between the sections for a square or circular division and interesting look.
Of course, different plants have different needs, but many of them require alkaline soil. This is the reason why you have to determine the herbs you want to plant in the planning stage. This can help you find out how you should care for your plants. If you germinate your herbs from seeds, remember to follow the directions on the packet for soil, watering and temperature.
Herbs can be very easy to grow on your own. Give each plant it’s basic requirements in regards to sunlight, proper drainage, moisture and fertile soil and you’re bound to get a great harvest.
Think about harvest time as well. What will you do with them? Eat or cook them fresh? Freeze or otherwise preserve them? You’ll discover after your first year which ones you really liked and were useful to you, and which didn’t work out as you would have liked. So next year your herb garden can be even better with more experience under your belt.
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