A Fresh Herb Garden Will Zest Up Your Life
Posted: Thursday, January 14, 2010
by Sarah Phillips
HerbGardeningCentral.com
A fresh herb garden is the fastest way to add zest to dull gardening. Nothing can be simpler than growing fresh herbs. Even if you can kill a silk plant you can quickly discover how to easily grow fresh herbs.
Having the ability to decide to plant your garden indoors or outdoors is one of the best parts of growing herbs. Planting indoors gives you the chance to admire the herbs you are growing. Interacting with your plants can help you to remember to water you plants. And having fresh herbs so close means you will never want for something special to put in your favorite recipes.
Some fresh herbs can serve more than one purpose in your garden. Mint is a prime example of a culinary herb that helps to aid digestion. As such it is also a medicinal herb. One more reason it is popular in fresh herb gardens.
Your garden planning will serve you well now as your herb choices impact whether you have an indoor garden or one outdoors. While some herbs thrive indoors, others need all the elements available outdoors. Know thy herbs.
When you choose an herb that needs plenty of room then planting outdoors sometimes makes the most sense. Rosemary fits in this category. However, since rosemary spreads easily, it can overtake a garden. You will find herb gardeners who will only grow rosemary indoors, or in container, to prevent this. A rose hip is used as a nutritional supplement (medicinal herb). It must be grown outdoors to have success.
A very important element in a successful fresh herb garden is the soil condition. Most herbs do not do well in soil with a high nutrient content, like pure potting soil. Many beginning herb gardeners make this mistake. Herbs prefer a well drained soil that holds enough moisture to keep from drying out. Potting soil will hold too much water.
Herbs do very well in a soil mixture that combines potting soil, regular dirt, and clean sand. This combination creates a medium that has a lower nutrient content and is well drained. Herbs do quite well in a slightly alkaline soil. To accomplish this simply add one tablespoon of agricultural lime in each container. If planting outdoor then use one tablespoon for each square foot of garden.
A common mistake when direct planting seeds or cuttings is to cover too deeply. When this is done the tender plant cannot germinate or sprout correctly and your fresh herb garden will die off before it starts. Usually, a depth of about two inches is best, making sure the soil is not overly compacted, but slightly loose.
Sarah Phillips is an herb gardening enthusiast, and enjoys helping others get started in this wonderful hobby.
To discover more about creating a fresh herb garden click here.
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