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Herb Garden-Why and How to Grow Herbs

By Carol Stack

If you are looking for an inexpensive way to try out your green thumb, you may want to try growing an herb garden.

Herb gardens actually trace back to medieval times when monasteries and nunneries would use them to grow needed medicinal herbs and as time went on they were also used for culinary and decorative purposes.

Now herb gardens are making a comeback and many people are beginning to try their hand at growing these simple gardens.

Why Have a Herb Garden?

There are a variety of great reasons to have an herb garden including medicinal uses, culinary uses and decoration. For years, herbs have been used to improve health and there are various herbs that have been found to improve the health of the body as well as the health of the mind.

Growing herbs is much cheaper than purchasing them at your local supplement or nature store, so you can save money by having an herb garden.

Herbs are used for culinary purposes as well and, once again, it is much cheaper to grow your own herbs than it is to purchase fresh herbs at your local supermarket. Herbs make great additions to a variety of foods and enhance the taste without adding unneeded salt.

Another reason you may want to have an herb garden is for its decorative qualities. Herb gardens have long been used as decorative gardens and if you are just getting started at gardening, an herb garden can be a simple place to start.

Where to Plant an Herb Garden

If you want to plant an herb garden, you can either plant it in pots or planters or you can make a garden plot in your yard. If you have limited space in your yard or do not have one at all, the pots and planters will be a great place to start an indoor herb garden.

Whether you decide to grow in pots indoors or you have a plot outside, there are a few things to remember.

You need to be sure that your herbs are in a place where they get plenty of sunlight each day. If you keep them inside, make sure they are near a window with plenty of sunlight and if you have an outside garden, be sure to pick a plot that gets sun for at least 6-7 hours each day.

Also make sure that the soil is good and if not, you can add organic materials to make the soil more productive. Water is also essential to your herb garden, whether it gets rain outside or you are watering it inside.

Choosing Herbs to Grow

Making a choice on what herbs to grow in your herb garden will undoubtedly be somewhat based on your purpose for growing an herb garden. If you are growing the garden for medicinal purposes and special remedies, herbs to consider are aloe vera, ginger, chamomile, calendula and thyme.

If you are growing herbs for culinary use, you should consider growing herbs like basil, oregano, sage, marjoram, bay leaves, chives, parsley, mint and dill. If you want a decorative herb garden, you will want to pick the more attractive herbs like lavender, sage, rosemary, evening primrose, chamomile, hollyhock and lemon balm.

Herbs are both beautiful and very useful and having an herb garden will be a joy. You can have the pleasure of eating your herbs or just enjoying their simplistic beauty while you watch them grow. Whatever your reason is for starting an herb garden, you will undoubtedly find hours of pleasure and enjoyment in your herb garden.

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Carol Stack has enjoyed gardening all her life. She lives with her husband, children, dogs, cats and chickens in the United States. They have a large property that keeps them busy with gardening chores. You can learn about landscaping, organic gardening, lawn care and more at Carol's Web site, http://www.howtogarden.info

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Carol_Stack

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Editor's Note:

To learn more about the metaphysical properties, healing benefits, folklore, how to grow, recommended usages of the herbs mentioned in these articles, as well as dozens of other herbs, check out our Herbs A-Z Correspondence Course!
Send email for complete information - Click Here Now

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How To Start Your Own Herb Garden

By Michael Haydon

Herb gardening Is one of the most rewarding pastimes you will begin. I say will begin because by the time you finish reading this you WILL begin! You will need some basic information and knowledge about the herbs you choose to use and grow, but after that the actual process is easy and fast. The best thing is that after you work out what you need to do, it becomes a passion that lasts forever and, even better, it’s a real money saving hobby.

What you Need to Know About Herb Gardening

Basically you need to work out your seasonal needs. Choose the herbs you like or use most often in your cooking. The easiest way is to go to your kitchen shelf and look at what you have accumulated over the past and decide which ones you really use. Then, look up the growing requirements. You can do this on the Internet or go to your local nursery for free tips. Most plants are easy to grow, but will need a little attention and need replanting in spring.

Next you need to learn how to dry your herbs for storage and use during those times when fresh plants are unavailable. Here are my tips for drying herbs successfully:

• Cut off tops of the leafy varieties in midsummer.

• Hang them up just long enough so that the drops of water can evaporate.

• Wash them off with cold water.

• Tie them with string, binding them quite tightly at the end of the stalk.

• Place them in a paper bag with the stem ends at the opening, and then close the bag with a rubber band.

• Then you need to use a paper clip as a sort of hook through the band and then place the other hooked end over your line where you are going to hang the herbs to actually dry.

• Wait for a couple of weeks, to ensure they have dried out completely.

• Remove them from the paper bags, and then crumble the leaves and place them on a shallow pan and dry them out in the oven – just make sure that the oven is not set to be too hot, because you can burn them, and you certainly do not want to do this.

A lot of herb gardening enthusiasts prefer to use the open air as their preferred way to dry herbs. This method however can be messy as insects can interfere with the drying plans and get caught up and become part of your larder! If you are careful and pick them out it may be OK. My view is that open air drying is unnecessary and does not yield better results at all.

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Michael is the owner of Herb Magic, the BEST site for all herb lovers with great herb gardening tips and healthy herb recipes and information.

Article Source:

http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Haydon

http://EzineArticles.com/?How-To-Start-Your-Own-Herb-Gardening&id=446846

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Herbs & Herbalism

Volume I Issue 6

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