Organic Gardening Articles Directory » Herbs

Stinging Nettle Facts

admin — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 16:59:50 +0000

Stinging nettle has a lot of vitamins and minerals: С, К, В2, carotene, calcium, pantothenic acid, chlorophyll, potassium, sulphur and many others. It increases blood coagulation, the level of haemoglobin, platelets, red blood cells, decreases the sugar level. Stringing nettle also has diuretic and wound healing properties.
It has also been used in folk medicine to treat asthma, cough, and digestive spasms.

The stringing nettle can be used for food as well, but at the spring time only as a chemical change occurs in nettles around midsummer which makes them particularly bitter.

Also it helps to get rid of dandruff.

Stinging nettles are an important habitat for rare butterflies species so please leave some nettles in your garden.

Tools And Techniques For Hydroponic Herb Growing

tony — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 10:12:30 +0000

Hydroponic Herb growing has become a very sought after endeavor for people who want to enjoy fresh herbs all year long. The great thing is that you won’t have to spend a lot of time and energy maintaining it once you have it put together. When you think about how much money you would spend on herbs from the store you will realize that it is worth your while.

Although many people have not heard about this type of growing system, the truth of the matter is that it has been around since ancient times when the herbs were used to treat injuries and illness. In more recent years the idea caught on with everyone from the common household to larger corporations who supply many people with fresh produce during the winter months.

Getting started

Like anything else, there are several methods for getting your garden set up. However, no matter which way you choose to set it up you will need the same types of materials to get started. The central items that you need to get started are a couple of pans with one being a little bit bigger than the other, herb plants, plant food, water, small scaled plumbing pipes, and some sort of sterile medium.

The first thing that needs to be done is to punch small holes into the smaller of the two pans. Make the holes small enough to fit the pipes in tightly. Once you do this put the pans together and insert a pipe into each opening. Put your medium on top leaving each hole open for the plants. If you can’t find this type of planting surface you can use such things as small garden rocks or even plant moss. Just make sure that they are sterile.

Take a container and mix up the recommended amounts of plant food and water. Be careful to break up any lumps if you are using a powder treatment. Cover the entire pan with the mixture being careful to get it down into all of the holes. All that needs to be done now is the planting.

You will need to take great care in rinsing all of the soil that is on the roots of your plants. It may be better to soak them in a small tub as opposed to rinsing them off with running water. Take some type of cloth and blot all the water away or simply tap them lightly on the side of your tub. Place each plant into its own tube and all that will be left is to tend to their daily care.

How to care for your herbs

After you have your garden set up find a bright area in your home to place the container in. If your house is not lit up enough you can always find a plant light to put over your pans. The ideal environment for your herbs would be cool and moist and there are many cooled air humidity machines that will provide the perfect solution for homes where the air is dry.

The best thing about hydroponic herb growing is that you can add a fresh taste to all of your dishes all year long. They will add a wonderful aroma to your home and it is an effort that your family is bound to appreciate.

Growing basil

admin — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 11:10:30 +0000

You can grow Basil outside and inside of the house in containers. All you have to do is to provide plenty of sunshine and water. The technique of planting is the same for outdoors and indoors.
You’ll need watering can, potting soil, seeds or basil seedlings.
First of all, choose a high quality soil mix. I recommend to use organic potting soil. Once you filled the container with soil, you have to water it to give seeds good contact with soil. Water the soil and mix it around. After that sprinkle the garden seeds slightly over the soil. Try to space them up as best as you can. Tap down the soil and then ad some more soil on the top. Cover the seeds up with just about a quarter inch of soil. Water it again with a gentle steam of water. Don’t let the soil to try out until you see the seedlings.
When the seedlings pop up and are about 2-3 inches tall, you need to thin them to 4-6 inches apart. It will give them a plenty of space to grow.

How to make your basil bushy
Basil has so called opposite leaves – they come out on the opposite sides of the stem. They are called setup leaves. When you get 3-4 setup leaves, you can start pruning. You need to pinch off the top part of the plant right above the setup leaves. You’ll get some basil for kitchen use and setup leaves on the main stems will turn into the branches and continue to grow. When they have 3-4 setup leaves, you can pinch off the top of each stem. Buy doing that, you’ll have a plant with 4-8 branches.

How to preserve basil
Don’t put the basil into the refrigerator – it will make it black. Place them in the bottle or glass with water and put it on your window.

Tips for Growing mint

admin — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:37:27 +0000

Growing Mint is easier then growing tomatoes in pots. Mint grows better in a fertile, well drained soil, fair amount of moisture and moderately shady place in your garden or indoors. However mint is not fussy and can grow anywhere you plant it. Mint is one of the best herbs for beginners and it is suitable for balcony or container gardening.

Mint Propagation

Mint can be propagated in two ways: by garden seeds and by root division.

If you want to grow mint from garden seeds, then it is better to plant them in a recycled pots (have a look on paper pot maker I sell here) and plant them straight into the soil with the paper pots when the time comes.

I recommend to propagate mint by root division. It is easier and quicker way. Mint doesn’t grow well from garden seeds.

It’s better to buy a small mint plants at the nursery or in the garden centre somewhere near you and then grow and propagate them.

How to plant mint

I must warn you in advance: mint is very strong plant and can kill other plants in your garden by taking their territory. So it is better to plant mint in a container without the bottom to prevent it from spreading. If you grow mint indoors it should not be a problem – just plant mint in separate pots or containers. We grow mint in a small pot on the balcony and it looks like the plant is very happy there.

If you want to grow mint outdoors, then plant herb approximately 12 inches apart and keep the soil moist until the plants are established.

Please note: the plant stop growing after flowers appearance, so if you want it to continue it’s growth till autumn, you need to remove flowers.

Growing Thyme

admin — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 19:09:21 +0000

Growing Thyme is very easy but before writing about that I would like to say a couple of words about propagation of Thyme.

It can be done by seed, from cuttings and by root division. The speedy way is to grow from root division, the longest – to grow from garden seeds.

Soil condition and requirements for growing Thyme

Thyme is not fussy, it grows by itself and you don’t need to take care of that plant. Thyme likes dry, lean soil and sunny locations as it is Mediterranean herb. You can plant it indoors in container, in the pot or outside.

Growing Thyme using root division

You should divide roots of 3-4 years old Thyme plants in April. To do that, dig up the plant, clear away soil and carefully tear the plant into 3-4 pieces. Then plant them in the ground in the area you want. At the beginning of July they should be ready for harvesting. You should repeat this procedure every 2-3 years as Thyme becomes woody by time.

Growing Thyme using seeds

Thyme has to be sown in the middle of Spring (in March) indoors our in the green house first with temperature of 60F (16C). Cover seeds with a very thin layer of potting compost. Move Thyme plants outside when the danger of frost is over and plant them in the chosen area of your garden. Place them at about 12 inches (30cm) away from each other as they will spread later.

Help the world! Use paper pot maker!
Have a look on my home garden seeds for sale!
(c)Garden Seeds

How to Grow Herbs Indoors

admin — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 13:39:47 +0000

We all like to use herbs in cooking to provide the that special flavours and aroma in our food. It will be interesting to know that most professional chefs prefer to use fresh herbs in their cooking. So why not to do the same and grow herbs indoors?

It is very easy to grow herbs indoors using home garden seeds and grow the most commonly used ones. Most of them require average soil and just some of them need rich soil, for example oregano.
Most of the herbs grown in a basic organic home garden such as parsley (note that this herb is biennial in nature. This means the first year it is grown it will not be useful for seasoning), sage, rosemary, thyme (this is a very forgiving plant and if it dries out will likely come back when an appropriate amount of water is given), oregano and basil are tolerant of direct sun, and will need minimal amount of water to survive. You can harvest leaves, sprigs and twigs from any of your herbs as they are growing giving fresh organic herbs for your kitchen.

Since some have different soil requirements and can grow under slightly different conditions, having them separated by variety can help get them started and keep them growing throughout their life.

Whenever possible, plant the organic garden seeds close to where the plants will be used.

In most cases it is easier to grow herbs indoors close to the kitchen (on the window, for example) for easy harvesting of the fresh crop. Note that you don’t have to cut and use the entire growth at once. With the right care, the herbs will grow and be usable for the entire season. You may want to dry or freeze the extra cuttings at the end of the season. It will supply you with the herbs throughout the winter.

A home garden of herbs is a great addition to your kitchen supplies and won’t take too much of your time to look after.