Home growing of herbs is gaining in popularity as more and more herbs are being enjoyed for enhancing the flavors and taste of foods. One of the best ways to make our low fat dishes more appetizing is to add the wonderful, natural flavors of herbs. It's season to be planning your herb garden. Whether you're thinking a big or small garden, herbs are very easy plants to grow. They can even be grown indoors or in small containers. They require little care and space, have few insect and disease problems and require only moderate amounts of fertilizer. Thus, growing herbs has become continuing and satisfying hobby for many home gardeners.
When beginning an herb garden, it is important to choose a proper site. An optimal site is one where the herb garden receives at least 4 to 6 hours of sunlight a day. Herbs will grow well under a wide range of soil conditions, with the exception of extremely wet, poorly drained soil. Popular herbs such as sage, rosemary and thyme require a Well-drained but moderately moist soil.
Modifying or amending the soil can improve poorly drained soil. Although they have little fertility requirements, herbs do better in soils of low to medium fertility. The garden site should be prepared in the same manner as a vegetable garden: spaded to a depth of 6 to 12 inches, leveled and raked to remove any large clods and debris. The size of the garden depends largely upon the quantity of herbs desired; a good size for an average kitchen herb garden is 8 by 10ft.
If you don't have that much space, consider using a few large containers like a 1/2 barrel filled with a mixture of one part sand, one part peat moss, and one part soil. You can add some vermiculite to help hold moisture if need be.
You can buy the plants from your local retailer or you can sow the seeds yourself. More common herbs, such as dill, basil and parsley are usually available from local seed dealers, and those that are less common may be purchased from companies specializing in herbs.
If you choose to start your herbs from seed, check to see if the herbs you want to grow are annuals or perennials. Annuals can be sown directly into the your soil mixture. They will germinate quickly. Perennial herb seeds, because of their very hard outer coat covering, should be placed in the freezer, and frozen, thawed and refrozen two or three times, to stratify the seed coat. This enables the seed to germinate more readily. Now all you need to do is plant them in a smaller container, keep them inside until they are a couple inches tall, then plant in your garden.
Summer care includes weed control and provision for adequate moisture. Mulch is an attractive and effective means of controlling weeds and maintaining constant soil moisture and temperature for the root systems.
With a little effort you can have a great little or big herb garden. The fruits of your labor will be lower fat, flavorful food, wonderful fragrances and some time in the sunshine... all things know to be good for you.
—Maria Pippidis
Originally published in
“Newark Outlook,”
The Newark Post
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