Planting A Herb Garden

If your the type of person that doesnt want to get involved with a huge vegetable garden and caring for it why not try a herb garden. It won't take near as much time as a vegetable garden and it will reward you with all kinds of tasty herbs to use in your kitchen. You could even build a herb garden into a small business if you liked or just enjoy the herbs yourself.

You will have to choose what herbs you want to grow and for most of us the easiest way to do this is to pick the herbs you most often use in your own kitchen. By growing your own herbs you won't have to buy them anymore and you'll be getting the added benifit of having fresh herbs which you will really enjoy if you plan on cooking with them.

Some of the herbs you might start with include rosemary , chives , sage , basil , dill , parsely and mint. And their are many others you could add.You can start with either plants you get from your local garden shop or you can plant seeds.

The one thing you will want to keep in mind is that the soil where you are going to plant your garden should be well drained. Well drained soil is very important for a herb garden.One of the best things you could do for a herb garden is to dig down in your herb garden a foot deep under where you are going to plant your herb garden and put in a layer of gravel 4-6 inches deep. Then replace your soil and plant your herb garden. Your plants will thank you for the well drained soil and reward you with greater growth of your herb plants. And lots of great herbs for your kitchen.

You really don't need to go to the added expense of buying plants when planting a herb garden because herbs are very easy to start from seeds.You can actually save a bundle by sticking with seeds. And some people say you end up with stronger plants by starting with seeds.

You will for sure want to keep in mind that plants like peppermint and really most species of mint will take over your garden if planted directly into the ground so you will want to plant peppermint or anything from the mint family into containers with plenty of holes in the bottom for drainage. And you want a good layer of gravel in any container you plant herbs in so the plants have plenty of drainage.

Be sure that when it comes time to harvest your herbs that you take herbs only from healthy plants. When it comes to basil you want to be sure to trim off any flowers so that your basil will keep bushing out. Basil grows best when it can get the morning sun.

Avoid harvesting from your herb plants when they are wet. If you do so your plants could catch a fungus. Harvest from your plants only when dry and never in full sun. Hang your harvested herbs up in a plant shed or your basement to dry. Never dry in the microwave as this destoys the essential oils in your herbs.

Once your herbs are dry you can store them in tightly closed jars that you have labeled so you will know what you have in each jar.  

If you have only limited space you could grow a herb garden in containers. You will want to use large enough containers to allow your herbs to have room to grow. And you will want to add gravel to the bottom of each container to make sure your herb plants have good drainage.

If you do choose to plant your herb garden in containers be sure when you water to cover all of the top of the dirt with water. Resist the urge just to water in one corner of your container.

And make sure you buy good top soil to fill your containers with. In the average container put a layer of gravel in the bottom of each container and then fill with top soil. You can then place your containers where you want them to be and plant your herbs.