Melanie’s Herbs and Growing Tips. Introduction to Herb Gardening
Think about herbs. Think about herbs AND growing herbs yourself. Now lets travel back in time. Way back. As far back as early biblical passages will take us. And back further to humanity’s ancient civilizations in Egypt and China. On each of our stops on our travels through time, herbs are mentioned for their abilities to enhance food as well as the use of herbs to cure and sooth injury and sickness.
Experienced gardeners have long known the vast variety of beneficial uses of herbs. Their presence in the kitchen takes common types of food and transforms them into something delicious and even exotic. And who really needs chemical air fresheners when an herb potpourri, dry in a bowl, or simmered gently on the stove, soothes our frayed nerves and transforms a stuffy home into a magical forest of scents and good memories.
Herbs and Growing the Workhorses of Our Garden
Herbs are the workhorses of our outdoor and indoor gardens. Why? Because well chosen herbs placed alongside our delicate plants and flowers, control pests that would otherwise devour our prized crops and blooms.
So, you can see that whether herb gardens are grown for their many health benefits, the magic they bring to your recipes, or just for their beauty grown in containers indoors, herbs have a place in all our lives.
Herb Garden How To: Growing Herbs 101
Indoor herb gardens:
Using herbs and growing them right in the kitchen, the herbs are known as Culinary Herbs. But the foliage and flowers on many herbs make them perfect as visual accents in our homes. Even dried, a tied bunch of herbs make a long lasting bouquet for your living room, guest room or to personalize a washroom or even to brighten and freshen the air in the laundry room.
Our Outdoor Herb Garden
Transplanting, or seeding herbs and growing them outdoors, we will only need a small space for an outdoor herb plot. A four by six feet area would be more than enough to provide a small family’s herbal needs for a whole year.
“Annuals” and “perennials” are common terms you will hear from gardeners. Annuals are plants that have a single season life time, and then a new plant has to be planted the following season. A perennial is a plant that can have an indefinite life span and grows and flowers time and again with each passing year. This is true with herbs as well. Some are annuals and some are perennial herbs. Both types should be given well drained soil that isn’t overly heavy or compressed. If we find that our herbs are suffering from heavy, wet soil, adding an organic compost to the soil will help our herbs breathe and drain properly again.
Planting herbs and growing them outdoors, you will find they are naturally resistant to most common plant diseases. And although most herbs love to have lots of sun, sometimes in overly dry conditions the spider mites can attack. Other infestations like aphids can show up on herbs such as fennel, dill, anise and caraway. A mild soap solution can be spritzed on our herbs to deal with aphids especially. Mint can have problems with “rust.” But fresh soil and good drainage will more often than not prevent all these, and give us healthy herbs.
Get the Kids and Teenagers Involved in Herb Gardening
Starting herbs and growing them indoors from seeds is perhaps the most rewarding way of introducing herbs to our families. Grown from seeds, herbs can be an activity every family member can be part of. It might even get the kids off the couch and away from their computers to care for the tiny seedlings they perhaps planted themselves. They can learn the pride and respect of nature that can only come from giving life and protecting a plant that is grown from a single seed. We can all learn (or be reminded) that all life has a purpose, and herbs have thousands of purposes!
Our Home Herb Garden
Seeds can be started indoors in early spring or very late winter. We can use a shallow seed tray or a low pot. Herbs do not have a deep root system so we’ll plant our seeds shallow in a nice light, well drained soil to get them started. Here’s a tip that is generally true: “the smaller and more delicate the seed, the shallower it should be planted.”
Our herbs and growing indoor seedlings can be transplanted into our outdoor herb garden in the spring. Even though growing herbs in pots works for almost all herbs, some herbs actually just don’t like to be transplanted. What are they? Coriander, Dill, Anise, Fennel would much rather be planted straight into our outdoor herb garden.
I Beg Your Pardon, I Really DO Promise You a Herb Garden
I can promise you that you can grow healthy herbs and improve your life and health by doing so, but there’s actually quite a lot you need to understand about herbs. Our articles here will give you a flying start and we hope to take you the rest of the way with our free mini-course. I’ll see you on the next page. Have Fun!
~ Melanie ~
