Grow Your Own Herb Garden
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Growing your own herb garden is such a satisfying experience. There’s nothing like having fresh, aromatic plants near your home and at your fingertips!
Freshly harvested herbs have pungent and aromatic qualities that far exceed those of their commercially obtained counterparts. Proper garden planning at the beginning of your project is of the utmost importance.
Long after the outdoor growing season, you can still enjoy your dried herbs in tea blends, infusions, tinctures, salves, sachets and lots of other herbal creations!
An herb garden will generally require little care and space, have very few insect and disease problems, and generally require only moderate fertility levels.
SELECTING A SITE
- Most herbs will grow in partial shade, however, it is better if the herb garden receives at least 4 to 6 hours of sunlight a day.
- Generally, herbs will grow well under a wide range of soil conditions, (with the exception of extremely wet, poorly drained soils.)
- Plants such as rosemary, thyme and sage, however require a well-drained but moderately moist soil.
- Poorly drained soil can be improved by amending with several bushels of compost per 100 square ft.
- Most herbs grow best without the use of fertilizers, which tend to produce plants with lots of foliage, but little flavor.
- Prepare your garden site in the same manner that you would a vegetable garden, digging to a depth of 6 to 12 inches.
- Herbs can also be blended in to your vegetable garden where they make great companion plants, enhancing flavor and repelling insects.
