Herb Gardening

A trip to the local supermarket normally offers a selection if fresh herbs for sale.

These herbs can be grown in your garden with really little effort. Herb Gardening is fun, doesn't use up much space in the garden and if you have children, it's a great way to introduce them to gardening.

Herbs can be grown from either cuttings or seeds. Heavy growing herbs can be divided and made into new seperate plants. However you decide to grow your herbs, and whichever format that you decide to use, herb gardening adds fun into the garden and also provides loads of textures and flavours for soups, garnish and many other uses in the kitchen.

Herbs come in various guises, they can be annuals, biennials or perennials. Basil, Coriander and Dill are examples of annuals that bloom for one season only and then die. Caraway and parsley are biennials that live for only two seasons but produce a bloom in the second season only. Perennials like fennel, mint, chives and tarragon die backover winter and then, once the plant is established, blossom each season.

Herbs need to be planted in a good sizes but not overlarge area. A 20 by 4 foot garden space in adequate for a lovely sizes herb garden. In your herb garden, you can split the area into smaller separate plots for each type of herb. For an area this size, I would recommend a mini plot that is approximately 12 by 18 inchs. With the many herbs that are being used, colorful and frequently used herbs can be planted around the edges of your herb plot. Good examples of herbs for the edging to give plenty of colour are Parsley and Purple Basil.

For your herb garden to thrive the soil should be fairly well drained. Herbs do not grow well in wet soil. To make your herb plot well drained try removing 15 to 18 inches depth of soil. To the bottom of the hole add some crushed stone or other similar material.

A compost and sand mixture added to the removed soil will lighten the texture making it easier for the water to seep through the soil and drain away. Some hummus will enrich the nutrients within the soil and restore the soil to a good state with no acidity or alkaline PH. Then refill the hole, slightly higher than it was originally.

Herb gardenss can be planted in the ground in late winter. Herb gardening requires that you first grow them indoors in shallow trays, the seeds shoudl not be covered with a thick coating of soil and it should be light and well drained. This type of soil texture will get your herb gardening off to a cracking start.

Once you move your herbs and plant them outdoors there are very few insects that will attack the plants. However, there are a few you must look out for. Aphids like caraway, dill and fennel. The red mite spider attacks low growing herbs. Rust can be a disease like status for mint plants.

These minor problems aside, herb gardening is a very peaceful and intriguing aspect of gardening that provide great produce for cooking, medicinal or even to be used for their aromatic qualities.

Herb gardening is becoming more and more popular with gardeners. Try the pleasures of growing your own crop and see how you get on.