Herb Garden Secrets For Beginners

 The popularity of gardening is breaking new ground fast.  Every day people are rediscovering the advantages of gardening.  Whether it be for saving money, going green, or seeking sources of healthful organic foods gardening is a beneficial way to spend ones time and efforts.  Many of these new gardeners are discovering the rewards of growing herbs.  Herbs are more that just flavoring for your favorite Italian dish.  They are the most amazing family in botany that offer the herb gardener a gold mine of exciting choices of plants to grow.

Herb plants are easy to grow and maintain and an herb garden will provide many months of more kinds of pleasure than any other type of garden.  For instance, aromatic herbs begin giving its pleasing scents immediately without waiting on a bloom.  Herbal plants have a tradition of use that touches all societies and histories.  They are highly practical and offer a wide range of uses including culinary, medicinal, aromatic, ornamental and industrial.  Using herbs for their different purposes often will lead to a desire to grow them.  Here are some factors to consider.

Herbs share a common genus with other plants so general gardening principles apply but a few specific concerns should be addressed to assist in the gardening success.

The herb garden should first be planned out. The size and type of garden will depend on available space, family needs, personal interest and time. It is recommended to begin small and expand the gardening pursuits along with the gardener’s growth in experience and confidence.   Herb plants can be integrated with other vegetable and flower plants in a starter garden.  There are two factors to be mindful of when planning a herb garden and they are sunlight and drainage.

Most all herb plants need plenty of sunshine. It is recommended that they receive from ten to twelve hours per day but as long as they get at least four to six hours per day they should be able to perform adequately.  If your garden will be located in a southern clime a little shade in the afternoon will be helpful to the plants.  If your garden location is in the shade there are herbs suited for those type areas.  With this in mind the first thing to consider in planning a  herb garden is to determine the amount of sunlight that the proposed garden spot receives.

Drainage is another important planning consideration. Herbs do not like wet feet so it is important to make sure that the garden location will drain.  The best way to determine this is to put a layer of water on the surface of the proposed location and note how long it takes for it to soak into the ground.  If the water does not immediately disappear into the ground it has poor drainage and either a new location must be selected or the drainage on the selected must improved.  This can be accomplished by either raising the site or installing a drainage media about eithteen inches below the soil.    

This information is what the beginning herb garden should know to begin a successful and exciting project.  The time to start is now.