How to Select Herbs for Your Herb Cooking Area Garden
If you have decided you want to create your own kitchen area herb garden, you should initially decide on what herbs to grow in it. As soon as you have done that you can start preparing your herb garden plan and start looking at things like herb garden packages or herb seed catalogs. To make things as simple as possible for you I have composed this article to teach you about the "Three things every herb gardener requires to understand" before going out to buy herb plants or seeds.
How many different types of herbs do you wish to plant in your cooking area herb garden? The majority of people, when they are establishing their herb garden, select about 5 or 6 types of herbs. But a recognized little to medium-size herb garden could have as many as 20 to 30 different kinds of herbs. Nevertheless, I recommend that you start with simply a couple of, and develop the varieties of herbs as you get experience.
If you are interested in a particular type of herb (garlic for example), there are lots of resources available to help you investigate your picked herb and understand how to cultivate it effectively. But, if you spend excessive time on research, you'll never get your kitchen area herb garden developed. This post will help you to make your research job easier by teaching you about the different kinds of herbs that you could pick to grow in your herb garden, and give you some concepts on how they could be used around your home.
1. The Main Categories of Herbs
Herbs, like other plants with which you will be familiar can be taken into 3 different classifications - annuals, perennials and biennials. Annuals like basil, cilantro, and summertime savory die when the first frosts arrive, and they consequently need to be planted as seeds each year (or as plants if you purchase from a nursery). Sage and winter season mouthwatering are perennials and can survive colder temperature levels. They will return year after year. Finally there are the biennial herbs. These form their leaves throughout the very first growing season and after that flower and seed throughout the second season. After this they die.
2. Tips on Growing Herbs in Your Garden
Biennial herbs like angelica and parsley can be planted in the garden in the late spring. Before you sow your seeds you must prepare the soil initially by simplifying till it has a fine texture. Next make it very slightly damp and plant the seeds in shallow rows. Finally spray a thin layer of soil on top and firm it down.
Some herb seeds are challenging to sow due to the fact that they are very fine. The trick to sowing them evenly is to mix them with extremely fine dry sand (like children's play-sand). Sprinkle the sand and seed mix onto your seed-bed and then cover with soil as explained above. Another excellent idea is to cover your herb seed bed with wet sacking, woven fabric or absorbent paper to keep the soil moist during the period of germination.
3. The Different Uses of Herbs
Herbs are frequently taken into categories which explain how they are usually used. Culinary herbs are probably the most popular for the herb kitchen garden. They can be used in a vast array of different methods cooking. Herbs like garlic, chives, thyme, sage, basil, majoram and mouthwatering have strong tastes. They are used regularly in different kinds of food, but just in small quantities (but that obviously relies on individual taste choice).
Fragrant herbs are grown for the smell of their flowers or foliage. Aromatic herbs like mint, lovage, and rosemary include vital oils which can be used in fragrances, fragrances and toilet waters. Some aromatic herbs like lavender are used as complete plants. They are dried and taken into muslin bags and then used around the home to scent linens and clothing. Another popular use of these herbs is to make potpourri, a mix of dried, aromatic herbs which is used to provide fragrant aromas in houses. You may frequently come across ornamental wooden bowls of potpourri consisting of lavender, lemon verbena, marjoram and mint. There are great deals of mix's of herbs which can be used to make potpourri. If this is something you wish to try, you'll have great enjoyable comprising the organic mixes.
Some herbs are also used for to promote health and aid recovery. These are called medicinal herbs. There are lots of stories and examples of how herbs have been used for medicinal purposes, a few of them returning to the times of the ancient Egyptians.
Present medical knowledge still recognizes that some herbs are beneficial to health, but many claims produced medicinal herbs are now thought to be over-rated. If you do decide to use herbs from your kitchen herb garden for medicinal functions you need to exercise caution. Whilst many herbs are totally harmless, others (such as hemlock) can be dangerous if consumed.
Some herbs are grown purely for their appeal; they are called decorative herbs. These herbs have brilliantly colored flowers and foliage. Valerian for example, has crimson blooms and borage and chicory have blue flowers.
However, despite the fact that these classifications are useful, many of the herbs you can grow in your herb garden have several uses. For instance, mint can be used to make mint tea or used in cooking. It can even be used in the garden for bug control!
I hope this post has offered you some ideas which will stimulate your interest in herbs and allow you to select those kitchen garden herbs that will be of most use to you.
Discover a lot more about selecting your garden herbs [http://www.herb-gardening-help.com/choosing-your-garden-herbs/] by visiting Adam Gilpin's website. On his website you'll find extra info and pictures to complement this short article and great deals of concepts and ideas about all aspects of herb growing. You'll also discover how to use herbs to develop memorable meals and promote health and wellness.
To help herb gardening newbies Adam has actually put together a totally free email mentor course on herb growing, and for those who wish to take the next step in learning more about the terrific world of herbs Adam has produced a digital book "The Tricks of Successful Herb Growing". Both of these finding out resources can be accessed on Adam's site.
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