The Home Herb Garden

Archive for July, 2011

If you are the kind of person who loves to grow herbs in your garden, you will want to know how to grow your own Rosemary. This herb has been used for centuries in the best cuisine and also contains excellent medicinal properties. The leaves resemble pine needles and the flowers are white, pink, or blue, which make it not only an important addition to the herb garden so that you can use it in cooking, but a beautiful way to add more color there. Because it is a member of the mint family of plants, you will also be delighted with its wonderful fragrance.

There are several different varieties of Rosemary, so you will want to plant it based on the variety you choose. It can grow bushy and compact, tall and thick for use as a hedge, or even hang down and cascade over the rocks like a vine. In other words, it is an evergreen perennial that is native to the Mediterranean. Whichever variety you decide on, this herb requires full sun. However, in warmer climates you can give it some light shave. The soil used for planting should be well-drained garden soil.

When thinking about how to grow your own Rosemary, you may wish to begin with seeds. This will take some time and may be easiest to start in the drier Fall season rather than a more humid time of year. If you decide to start with seedling plants from a nursery, you can set them out in the spring after the weather has begun to warm up. If you have been coaxing your own seedlings along since the fall, you can plant them in the spring.

This herb tends to only handle temperatures above 20 degrees Fahrenheit, so people who live in areas where the winters are cold need to grow their Rosemary indoors during the winter months. Use a fast draining soil and be sure to bring those plants inside a few weeks before the first frost. Remember to provide a location where there is plenty of air circulation.

Many herb gardeners like to grow it in pots in the garden so that it is easy to bring indoors when it is cold, rather than having to take it out of the garden for the winter. Remember not to let the soil in the pot get too dry. Although this herb can handle some drought, letting it get too dry can easily happen, since plants in pots lose moisture more quickly than those in the actual garden soil. Now you know the basics on how to grow your own Rosemary.

The opinions are split on mint, some people find it to be very easy to grow, while others find it challenging. Both opinions are based on the fact that it grows quickly and can survive in poor soil better than most other perennials. For the gardener who doesn’t want to put much time into growing herbs, this makes it easy. However because of its quick and easy growth, it can take over a garden if it is not dealt with properly. For a beginning gardener, the best advice on how to grow your own mint is to keep it in its own pot. This controls the spread of the herb, and keeping fertilizer to a minimum will help to keep it under control.
If you want to know how to grow your own mint, you have to decide how you want to get started. Since it can be difficult and time consuming to grow it from seed, it is better to get a start from a nursery or one of your gardener friends. You simply need to cut a large piece off a thriving plant and then replant it in your pot. This is the same way to transfer your own mint to another area of your garden. It quickly re-grows itself and begins to thrive.

As you may have realized, this is one herb that can grow almost any place you want to plant it. The soil does not need to be especially fertile or loamy. The main thing it needs is water, and if it is kept moist it will grow and grow. Simply set up a weekly watering schedule, and if you need to give it a little extra water, you can easily do so. Mint grows well in shady spots, so it can grow near taller plants that block the sun some of the time. You can also grow it indoors on the windowsill.

In addition to knowing how to grow your own mint, you will want to know the best way to harvest it. Harvesting early on a dry day in late summer is the prime time to gather it. Too much sunlight or rain will cause it to lose some of the oils that contribute to its taste, so don’t do it in bad weather. Another note for getting the best flavor is to be sure to gather it before the flowers get much of a chance to grow. When the flowers are blooming, the plant must devote energy to growing them, so the edible parts exhibit less flavor at that time.

Over the last few years, gardening has become a very popular hobby. It seems like everyone has gotten bitten by the green thumb itch and is now trying to grow their own herbs and produce. Having a garden is actually very beneficial to a family. There are many health benefits that are associated with home gardening as well as the fact that you can save a good amount of money by growing your own herbs and produce. One of the most popular herbs that people grow in their gardens is French Tarragon. This widely used herb is best when grown at home and picked directly before use. People that have never had a garden before may be wondering how to grow and use French Tarragon.

The first thing that someone who is wondering how to grow and use French Tarragon should do is get online and gather some basic information about the herb. French Tarragon, or Artemisia Dracunculus var Satvia, is a herb that is native to the Caspian Sea and Siberia regions, although it is now widely grown in Europe, Asia, and the United States. The name actually comes from the French word esdragon, which means little dragon. The first uses of French Tarragon were treating snakebites, and as a favorite drink for the kings of India. It has been used in English gardens since the reign of Henry VIII and was distributed by Thomas Jefferson in the early days of the US.

French Tarragon is grown and harvested for the unique flavor of its leaves. It is well suited to dishes containing vinegar and fish. For those that are wondering how to grow and use French Tarragon, it is best used when it is cut fresh. Leaves can be harvested by snipping them with scissors. Expect to get two large harvests in the second year of the plant, but do not harvest until the plant is eight to ten inches tall. If you want to harvest the entire plant, you will want to cut it 2 inches above the ground. The leaves of the plant can be stored either in the freezer or in vinegar. Drying out the leaves will result in a loss of flavor.

French tarragon can be used for a variety of different application in the kitchen. As previously mentioned, it goes well with vinegar and fish. When cooking with French Tarragon, it should be used sparingly, as it may make other ingredients somewhat bitter. For more information on how to grow and use French Tarragon all you need to do is a simple search online.

If you have been thinking about growing your own herb garden and wondered where to start, then you may want to think about growing dill. If you don’t know how to grow your own dill, it is actually quite simple. You can purchase a transplant at a garden center if you would like, but it is simple to grow from seeds. Unlike some other plants, you don’t have to worry about starting them indoors and then planting after they have grown you can simply plant the seeds directly in the garden plot where you would like them to grow.

The first tip on how to grow your own dill is to plant the seeds in cool weather. You can plant a couple of weeks before the last hard frost of the year. If you want to have a continual harvest later on, you should continue to plant every ten days from mid spring to early summer. If you decide to plant in containers, they need to be deep because the roots are long. The plants also can grow to be about three feet tall, so that should be taken into consideration when choosing your location.

Additional tips on how to grow your own dill include knowing where and how to plant this herb. Like the majority of herbs, dill also prefers sunlight but can handle some afternoon shade. Sowing the seeds close together will allow the plants to support each other, since they grow up to 3 feet tall and can easily blow over in a strong wind. Allow the seeds a couple of weeks to germinate, and cover them lightly. It is also important to keep fennel, angelica and caraway in a different location of your herb garden. You should also be aware that caterpillars enjoy dill and can be removed by hand from the plants.

Dill fresh from the garden is wonderful to use, so you can cut it fresh as needed during the growing season. If you don’t keep it cut back, it will begin to go to seed, so keep it cut back until you are ready for seed production to begin. If this provides you with excess dill, you can spread it on a paper towel in a single layer and microwave it for 3 minutes. You can then take the leaves and crumble them and keep them stored in an airtight container. Once you are ready to let the dill go to seed, let the seed heads form and dry and then you can cut them and store them until the next spring when you are ready to plant again.

If you have a hard time growing plants in your garden, you may have heard how easy it can be to grow an herb garden. One of the easiest herbs to grow and care for is chives. Chives are the smallest species within the onion family. Here are some tips on how to grow your own chives.

First, you must understand the type of plant you are working with. Chives are a bulb that has thin, green cylindrical leaves that end in a rounded point. Each of these leaves is hollow inside. The flowers produced in the spring are a pale purple. Like all bulbs, this herb likes soil that is well drained so that the bulbs do not become mushy. If the ground is too rocky, they cannot reproduce easily. They also thrive in loamy soil. These are the optimum conditions, but this hardy bulb can survive in most soils.

Although the bulbs do spread, they do it slowly so you don’t need to worry that they will take over the rest of your herb garden. They grow in clumps and new bulbs grow on the edges of the clumps. As those get bigger, new small bulbs are formed. It is also possible that they can spread from the seeds produced in the flowers, but this is less likely. You can ask your gardening friends for a division from one of their patches of chives so that you can get your own started. This is much easier than trying to grow them from seeds as they take a season to mature.

As you learn more about how to grow your own chives, you will be happy to know that the bulbs tend to repel insects although the flowers attract bees. This makes them a very helpful herb to have in your garden. As they grow and flourish, you should regularly cut back the leaves about an inch and a half above the white stem to provide new growth. It is also important that about every three years you divide them and replant them in new soil. Thinking about how to grow your own chives, some things you do will depend on what you use them for. If they are for beauty and to add color to your garden, you can let the flowers bloom as much as you want.

However, if you plan to use them in cooking frequently, you will want to cut the flowering heads off as soon as you see them. Harvesting can happen at almost any time of the year, and you can use your chives fresh or store them dry for long periods of time.

Over the last few years there has been a huge push for organic and more natural food. One of the best ways for a person to get food that is more natural and therefore healthier is to grow it themselves. A great way for at home gardeners to grow their own plants is through hydroponic herb gardening. Hydroponics is a method of growing plants without the use of soil. This method utilizes water instead of a traditional soil nutrient base. One of the biggest advantages of hydroponic gardening is that plants and herbs can be grown year round.

Another advantage of hydroponics is that this type of gardening is more accessible for people. It is much easier for people that have limited space to grow herbs in a hydroponic environment than in a traditional garden. This makes hydroponic gardening perfect for people who live in urban areas or have only limited space to grow their plants. This type of gardening also cuts down on the amount of care that people have to put into their gardens. Traditional gardening requires weeding and maintenance but plants that are grown in a hydroponic gardening environment on the other hand require very little care. Since there is no soil it is more difficult for pests like insects, groundhogs and other things that can destroy plants to harm the herbs. This means that the gardener will have a higher yield in their crop because they will not be loosing plants to these factors. Since hydroponic herb gardening is done indoors it will keep the plants away from harsh weather, insects, and other annoyances allowing herbs to be grown year round.

One huge advantage of hydroponics is that it eliminates the use of harmful pesticides and fertilizers. Pesticides and fertilizers that are used in traditional gardening are harmful to the environment and can contribute to water and air pollution, and even greenhouse gas emissions.

One of the drawbacks of hydroponic herb gardening is that it does require a significant amount of electricity. The ultraviolet lights that are required for this type of gardening use a large amount of energy and can raise the electrical bills of a home quite a bit. The benefits of hydroponic herb gardening are huge so if you are interested in growing herbs that taste better, last longer, and do not destroy the environment you may want to look into getting your own hydroponic herb garden started.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/5344992

Cooking is one of those daily things we do without thinking. But a really great meal is something that brings people together. The perfect flavor on that perfect plate of chicken can make or break the mood. A little spice in life certainly makes it worth living. Those of us who are a little more amateur when it comes to cooking may be a little ignorant when it comes to specific technical terms. For example, what is an herb versus a spice? Most of us might say that they are the same thing, and continue on without a blink. But for those of you that would like to understand a little more about those things you use to flavor every meal, let us explain just a little bit further.

Both herbs and spices have been used for centuries all across the world for many different purposes. Not only are they used for cooking, like we may be familiar with, but they’ve also been used for medicinal purposes as well as general health or even just to fill a room with its aroma. Herbs and spices have been precious trading materials that were part of the reason of early colonization all over the world, as well as good reasons to travel and discover the unknown. They have always been precious and made a difference in every day life. But herbs are not the same thing as spices.

The basic difference between these two things are how they are gathered. Herbs and spices come from plants, but herbs are gathered from a different part of the plant than the spices. The leafy part of a plant are usually dried, and it is from these leaves that herbs are obtained. Certainly, there are a number of herbs that can be used fresh, for a little bit different flavor. Spices are generally obtained from seeds, fruits, roots, bark, or any other vegetative substance that can be edible. Usually, herbs are fresher than spices, but both can be used with great results.

Herbs also are used more often than spices in the medical field, as well as a substance to augment cosmetics and preserve foods. Spices are used very often in other things, such as aromatherapy, candles, and other things.

What is an herb versus a spice? Of course, there are a number of people that say that there is no actual difference between herbs and spices, although the botanical definition of an herb is a plant that does not produce any kind of woody stem. Nevertheless, both are important parts of our everyday lives.