Herbs have been
around since time began and served different kinds of purposes. They
have been used to treat sickness and season cooking. Interested in
starting your own herb garden? Here are a few ideas on how to begin
an herb garden.
Plan your
garden. Consider the herbs you want to plant. Think about their
types. Would you like annuals, biennials or perennials? Are you
wanting certain plants for cooking, or another purpose?
How much space
will they occupy in your garden? If you want, you can purchase a
book that can give you the right information on what specific plants
you are planning to grow. You can also check out a gardening book
or catalog or the nursery you purchase plants from to give you that
information.
List or draw your
garden on paper first. Separate the annuals from the perennials so
when the time comes that you have to pull out the annuals, you won't
be disturbing the perennials. Perennials can be planted on the edge
of your garden so when it is time to till your garden they won't be
in danger of getting dug up, or try to place them in an area of the
garden all their own.
Another thing to
remember is that you should plant the tall ones at the back and the
shorter ones in front. Provide your plants with enough space to
grow and also consider their sunlight requirements. Proper position
shall help you in this area.
If you would
rather keep herbs out of your garden (and some are quite invasive)
you could have herb pots. These are large containers with three or
more outlets for the herbs. Fill the pot up to the first outlet and
plant it before continuing on with the filling and planting process.
Usually, the herb that requires the most water is planted in the
bottom hole, while the variety that requires the least, goes in the
highest hole. Use a great quality potting soil and make sure it
has proper drainage.
You can consider
having a square herb bed. You can have your square bed divided into
sections. You can edge it with stones or bricks for a beautiful
look . A wooden ladder may also do the trick. You can lay it down
on your garden and plant your herbs between its rungs. You can also
choose to have a wagon wheel bed. Planting here is like planting
with the wooden ladders. Plant your herbs in between the wagon
wheel's wedges.
Of course,
different plants have different needs, but many of them require
alkaline soil. This is the reason why you have to determine the
herbs you want to plant in the planning stage. This can help you
find out how you should care for your plants. If you germinate your
herbs from seeds, remember to follow the directions on the packet
for soil, watering and temperature.
Herbs are some of
the easiest plants to grow. You just have to provide them with an
effective drainage, sunlight, enough humidity or moisture and
fertile soil. Even with just minimally meeting these requirements
they will be bound produce a good harvest.
You’ll also want
to explore what you’d like to do with the harvest, if you want to
use them fresh, dry them or even freeze them. You’ll most likely
discover that you have some real favorites every year and which ones
didn’t work out like you had hoped.
