By Gabriel J. Adams
There are few things better tasting than foods seasoned with herbs grown in your own backyard herb garden. A small 4 foot by 6 foot herb garden can provide plenty of room to grow enough herbs for a small family. Many common herbs can easily be grown indoors or outdoors for use in cooking.
Of course, cooking is not the only reason for growing herbs. Adding herbs to a flower garden or landscaping area is a great way to add aromatic elements to your gardening area. Many of the herb plant varieties are very aromatic and can enhance the atmosphere of your backyard landscaping.
Some herbs can also enhance vegetable flavors if you plant them next to each other. Tomatoes are highly susceptible to picking up the flavors of nearby herb plants. This can create a unique and delicious taste in your vegetables that is dependent on the herbs that you plant nearby. Some herb plants produce beautiful flowers and can be a wonderful addition to a flower garden.
One of the most important aspects of growing herbs in a home garden for use in cooking is the preservation process. Herbs can be used fresh while they are in season, but if you plan to use them over the winter months, you will need to dry or freeze your herbs to preserve them.
Herbs are great for beginners because they require very little soil and fertilization maintenance. Also, pests and diseases are not usually problematic areas for herbs. If you are growing herbs for the first time, try to limit your choices to a few of the basic herbs, such as chives, parsley, basil, thyme, coriander, sage, rosemary and dill.
Growing herbs indoors or outdoors is easy and beneficial for use in cooking, aromatics or simply decoration. Try your hand at maintaining an herb garden, and you will be well pleased with the results.
Visit http://www.the-garden-shop.info/ for all the gardening gear you need.
Friday, July 6, 2007
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Summer Gardening Tips
By Donna Easton
As we move into summer the garden will be coming into full bloom. Remember and dead head the flowers. Not sure why you should be doing this? When a flower dies the plant puts all its energy into making seeds. Plants are just like animals, they are driven to reproduce. If you remove the dead flower heads, the plant will have to make new flowers so that it can produce its seeds.
Do your roses look like they need a boost during the summer months but you’re not sure which feed to buy. If you’re a fruit eater you have the answer at your finger tips. Just finished eating a banana? Don’t throw away the skin, dig a hole near the root of the rose and bury the skin. Banana skins are a good source of potassium, something that roses love.
Do you have bananas that you just don’t think look appealing enough to eat. Don’t discard them. Check your tomatoes - are there some that don’t seem to be ripening as fast as the others? Hang one of those bananas near the unripened truss, the tomatoes will quickly ripen.
Is the foliage on your tomatoes and peppers needing to green up? Try putting some Epsom Salts on the top of the soil. You should notice a difference in no time.
Have your tried growing leeks in the past but they didn’t turn out too well. Next time trying giving them a drink of heavy beer e.g. stout or when first planting out put some soot into the plant hole first. You’ll notice a vast difference in your crop.
Dandelions starting to appear in your lawn? Apply a teaspoon of salt in the center of the dandelion, and other weeds within the lawn, being careful not to spill too much on the grass. You should notice the unwanted weeds turning brown and dying off within a few days.
If you enjoyed this article please visit my blog at http://donna-howtogardenblog.blogspot.com/ or my review website at http://www.gardenreviewer.com - Thank you and happy gardening
As we move into summer the garden will be coming into full bloom. Remember and dead head the flowers. Not sure why you should be doing this? When a flower dies the plant puts all its energy into making seeds. Plants are just like animals, they are driven to reproduce. If you remove the dead flower heads, the plant will have to make new flowers so that it can produce its seeds.
Do your roses look like they need a boost during the summer months but you’re not sure which feed to buy. If you’re a fruit eater you have the answer at your finger tips. Just finished eating a banana? Don’t throw away the skin, dig a hole near the root of the rose and bury the skin. Banana skins are a good source of potassium, something that roses love.
Do you have bananas that you just don’t think look appealing enough to eat. Don’t discard them. Check your tomatoes - are there some that don’t seem to be ripening as fast as the others? Hang one of those bananas near the unripened truss, the tomatoes will quickly ripen.
Is the foliage on your tomatoes and peppers needing to green up? Try putting some Epsom Salts on the top of the soil. You should notice a difference in no time.
Have your tried growing leeks in the past but they didn’t turn out too well. Next time trying giving them a drink of heavy beer e.g. stout or when first planting out put some soot into the plant hole first. You’ll notice a vast difference in your crop.
Dandelions starting to appear in your lawn? Apply a teaspoon of salt in the center of the dandelion, and other weeds within the lawn, being careful not to spill too much on the grass. You should notice the unwanted weeds turning brown and dying off within a few days.
If you enjoyed this article please visit my blog at http://donna-howtogardenblog.blogspot.com/ or my review website at http://www.gardenreviewer.com - Thank you and happy gardening
Cost Effective Gardening
By Donna Easton
Do you have troublesome weeds in the garden? Is the earth crying out for feeding? Slugs a problem? Your neighbor cats use your garden as a toilet? Do you want to solve these problems but don’t want to use chemicals or part with too much cash? You should have a look in and around your home; you will find everything you need to help with the above.
Problem weeds? Next time you boil some eggs don’t drain the water down the sink. The water left over from the boiled eggs is one of the best weed killers. Just pour over the weed while the water is still hot and after a week the weed will have died.
Once you’ve shelled the eggs, don’t bin the egg shell. Place it around the bottom of plants that the slugs enjoy eating. Slugs don’t like the sharp edges of the shells and will give your plant a wide berth. Don’t eat eggs? Don’t worry, lay out some plastic trays (the ones you use at the bottom of the plant pots), sink in areas of the garden level with the soil and pour in some beer. The slugs will perish but at least they’ll go happy!
Wondering what else you could do with those egg shells? Sweet peas love them. When you’ve made the hole to plant the sweet peas put in some egg shell before placing the plant. The sweet peas thrive on the nutrients the shells hold and you have will have stronger plants and more flowers.
Is your garden starving? When out for a walk gather up some nettles and dock leaves and put them in a hessian or muslin bag. Place the bag in a bucket of water. When the water turns green dilute the solution in a watering can (about 1 cupful per can). The solution will feed everything in the garden, even the lawn!
Another idea if cats are messing your garden, soak used teabags and some cloves of garlic in water for about a week. Fill your watering can and soak around the edges of the garden. Your garden may not smell of roses for a day or two but it should solve the problem of the cats.
If you have enjoyed this article please visit my blog at http://donna-howtogardenblog.blogspot.com or my review website at http://www.gardenreviewer.com - Thank you and happy gardening
Do you have troublesome weeds in the garden? Is the earth crying out for feeding? Slugs a problem? Your neighbor cats use your garden as a toilet? Do you want to solve these problems but don’t want to use chemicals or part with too much cash? You should have a look in and around your home; you will find everything you need to help with the above.
Problem weeds? Next time you boil some eggs don’t drain the water down the sink. The water left over from the boiled eggs is one of the best weed killers. Just pour over the weed while the water is still hot and after a week the weed will have died.
Once you’ve shelled the eggs, don’t bin the egg shell. Place it around the bottom of plants that the slugs enjoy eating. Slugs don’t like the sharp edges of the shells and will give your plant a wide berth. Don’t eat eggs? Don’t worry, lay out some plastic trays (the ones you use at the bottom of the plant pots), sink in areas of the garden level with the soil and pour in some beer. The slugs will perish but at least they’ll go happy!
Wondering what else you could do with those egg shells? Sweet peas love them. When you’ve made the hole to plant the sweet peas put in some egg shell before placing the plant. The sweet peas thrive on the nutrients the shells hold and you have will have stronger plants and more flowers.
Is your garden starving? When out for a walk gather up some nettles and dock leaves and put them in a hessian or muslin bag. Place the bag in a bucket of water. When the water turns green dilute the solution in a watering can (about 1 cupful per can). The solution will feed everything in the garden, even the lawn!
Another idea if cats are messing your garden, soak used teabags and some cloves of garlic in water for about a week. Fill your watering can and soak around the edges of the garden. Your garden may not smell of roses for a day or two but it should solve the problem of the cats.
If you have enjoyed this article please visit my blog at http://donna-howtogardenblog.blogspot.com or my review website at http://www.gardenreviewer.com - Thank you and happy gardening
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Soil, Moss, and Other Bonsai Garden Essentials
In order to have a successful bonsai garden you need to have the best soil possible. It is first important to understand that you should never use garden soil in your bonsai garden. This type of soil is typically heavily ridden with bugs, pests, and even diseases that can really create a huge problem in your bonsai garden. In order to have the fewest problems possible you want to use a prepared soil, which is intended for repotting if possible.
While you need a repotting soil, you can use a basic soil there is no need to search for the most advanced soil you can find. Some plants do better with a simple soil rather than one that is heavily saturated with additives. If you have pines in your bonsai garden then you will need to use a grittier soil because they perform much better this way.
When you are looking for the perfect moss for your bonsai garden you may become frustrated, however it is possible to grow your own moss instead. This is much cheaper, plus your moss will not go through "shock" when it is planted. This helps your bonsai garden be much healthier.
As you progress in your bonsai garden, you will eventually need to pull the plant from the planter and trim the roots. When this is necessary, carefully remove the moss from the top of the plant and set to the side. Once you are finished repotting your plant you can carefully replace the moss. It will generally take a couple of weeks, but with proper watering your moss will begin growing again and be as healthy as before you moved it.
As your bonsai garden grows, you will experience some form of pest infestation at some point. Most of the time it is either aphids or scale insects, this is ok because they are some of the simplest to rid yourself of. However, it is important to check your bonsai garden each day to ensure that the problem is caught quickly and handled as fast as possible. If you wait even as little as a week before beginning treatment you could be allowing a few small bugs to become thousands which will take a lot more time and effort to get rid of.
Instead, closely monitor your garden each day when you are watering. Since you are already watering your plants, it makes the easiest time to do a quick check. If you find any bugs, it is always best to gently remove them. However, if you have a large amount of bugs you may need to seek the help of an insecticide to really keep the bugs at bay and off your beloved garden.
Chris Wight has been developing a green thumb for years and has recently fallen in love with the art of Bonsai. To learn more about Bonsai Gardening, please visit his site: http://www.BonsaiBoyDeals.com
While you need a repotting soil, you can use a basic soil there is no need to search for the most advanced soil you can find. Some plants do better with a simple soil rather than one that is heavily saturated with additives. If you have pines in your bonsai garden then you will need to use a grittier soil because they perform much better this way.
When you are looking for the perfect moss for your bonsai garden you may become frustrated, however it is possible to grow your own moss instead. This is much cheaper, plus your moss will not go through "shock" when it is planted. This helps your bonsai garden be much healthier.
As you progress in your bonsai garden, you will eventually need to pull the plant from the planter and trim the roots. When this is necessary, carefully remove the moss from the top of the plant and set to the side. Once you are finished repotting your plant you can carefully replace the moss. It will generally take a couple of weeks, but with proper watering your moss will begin growing again and be as healthy as before you moved it.
As your bonsai garden grows, you will experience some form of pest infestation at some point. Most of the time it is either aphids or scale insects, this is ok because they are some of the simplest to rid yourself of. However, it is important to check your bonsai garden each day to ensure that the problem is caught quickly and handled as fast as possible. If you wait even as little as a week before beginning treatment you could be allowing a few small bugs to become thousands which will take a lot more time and effort to get rid of.
Instead, closely monitor your garden each day when you are watering. Since you are already watering your plants, it makes the easiest time to do a quick check. If you find any bugs, it is always best to gently remove them. However, if you have a large amount of bugs you may need to seek the help of an insecticide to really keep the bugs at bay and off your beloved garden.
Chris Wight has been developing a green thumb for years and has recently fallen in love with the art of Bonsai. To learn more about Bonsai Gardening, please visit his site: http://www.BonsaiBoyDeals.com
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Hello Friends,
Welcome to this Gardening Blog which is really different from other blogs. Check out what your garden is missing in. Get some real gardening tips by gardening expert. You will make your garden blossom everyday you check out this gardening blog. Feel Green and you will be HAPPY!
Welcome to this Gardening Blog which is really different from other blogs. Check out what your garden is missing in. Get some real gardening tips by gardening expert. You will make your garden blossom everyday you check out this gardening blog. Feel Green and you will be HAPPY!
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