Advertising

Tips On How To Build An Herb Garden

| Print |

E-mail

Written by Lee Dobbins

Thursday, 10 July 2008

by LeeDobbins

Herb gardening is a simple and easy skill to learn. Compared to things like roses and orchids, herbs are easy to care for. They do well in poor soil, hardly any fertilizing and little watering. Compare that to many other garden plants, learning how to build an herb garden is a breeze.

However, this does not mean that you can enter into it unprepared and you must have some basic herb garden plans before carelessly tossing seeds around.

Because herbs can grow well in poor conditions, it is easy for them to overgrow. Lavender and yarrow can grow like wildfire over large areas. Even chives can proliferate quickly. Be sure you have enough space in your pot or garden for the plants you wish to grow.

You should be fine as long as your herb garden plans include about 1 foot of room between major areas. Chives are an example of an herb that grow well in a bunch. However the roots need a sufficient amount of nutrients and water and anything planted near them will have to compete for those.

Soil is a must for growing herbs, although extensive soil preparation is unnecessary when learning how to build an herb garden. If you intend to grow a wide array of herbs, try to use a good compost or combination of sandy loam and clay. Herbs do well in soil that is rocky and somewhat dry because of their Mediterranean roots. Their background of growing in areas with enough drainage makes this a must. Make sure the soil stays moist as herbs do need some water, but do not drown them in soaking wet soil.

For example, sage and lavender can thrive with nearly no manual watering. Natural rainfall can satisfy these herbs. Peppermint needs some more attention, but this can be easily accommodated by an automatic drip watering system.

Landscape fabric is a great way to keep weeds from growing in your garden, ruining the beauty of your garden and choking out your precious herbs. Digging up weeds later can be tiring and frustrating, while using herbicides might kill your herbs since they have a similar makeup. You also do not want to spray poison on your future food supply.

Despite herbs natural resistance to insects, you may want to consider adding a few sacrificial plants to your herb garden plans in order to save the ones you want the most. Dill plants can serve as a 'trap crop' that bugs will enjoy over your ripening tomatoes you have waited so long for. If you are hoping to use the produce of your dill plants for eating, try to use as little insecticide as possible to save them.

The final thing to consider when learning how to build an herb garden is to know when to plant your herbs. Some thrive at different times of the season, some should be planted every 4 weeks. Knowing when to plant will insure a great crop.

About the Author:

You can learn more about all types of herbs as well as how to build an herb garden at http://basicherbgardeningtips.com/ where you will get basic tips for growing herbs both indoors and out.

Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register.