How to Plant a Beautiful Herb Garden
Posted by admin on February 1, 2010
While herb gardens can give a lot of pleasure, how to plant a herb garden will demand at least some of your dedication and time. Herbs make a delicious ingredient in food, and they offer health benefits as well. They can even provide a sweet aroma and add beauty to your garden.
Eager to start but a little confused how to plant herb garden? Just focus on soil, sunlight, and the hardiness zone where you belong. Your garden will require some tender loving care, so make sure you start with something manageable first.
Hardiness zone reveals the coldest temperature during the winter season. This will indicate whether certain plants are able to withstand very cold temperature or not. If you are planting tender perennial herbs, bring them indoors during the winter as they will not survive the cold. Also, give attention to the pH level and soil structure.
To determine the level of acid or base of soil, check the pH level. Use a home soil test kit in checking. The normal level is 6.5 to 7. If the reading is higher, you have more alkaline in your soil. Simply add sulfur or any organic substances to correct this. If the reading is below 6.5, your soil is acidic. Neutralize the soil by mixing dolomitic lime, wood ashes, or eggshell. PH level is an important indicator that will significantly impact the health or the very existence of your plants.
Herbs love a well-drained soil that is rich in nutrients. To give your herbs that, mix three parts of garden soil, one part peat, compost or aged manure and one part sand. Your herbs will appreciate the richness of their habitat, plus they will not get drowned with too much water.
If you are a new hand at this and do not have much experience on how to plant herb garden, it is advisable to buy already established herbs from a local nursery, rather than growing your own seeds. There is less risk involved if you buy grown herbs. When transferring the potted herbs outdoors, give them a chance to acclimatize to their surroundings. Bring them outside in a cloudy day in the late afternoon to let them gradually adapt to sunlight.
Make a hole that has the same depth with the container of the potted herb while the opening should be a little wider. Just turn the plant around and give it a gentle tap at the bottom so you can take it out. If it does not then get a knife and slice the edge of the container, until the plant and soil comes out. Transfer the plant into the hole and fill out with soil, leaving no air pockets. Water your plants immediately and do so until one to two weeks. Add mulch, but no need to fertilize.
These easy steps on how to plant an herb garden are a good guide to get you started with growing your own healthy herbs. It is recommended that you find out more about herb gardening if you really want to make it a long term success.
Over the years I have learnt the art from trial and error, and found that to truly succeed at herb gardening you need a lot of the correct knowledge and clear instructions.
Mike Jacovelli is a gardening enthusiast who loves bringing some of his hard work into the kitchen, the most important ingredients to him are the wonderful aromatic herbs grown in his dedicated herb garden. He is a passionate herb gardener and has a burning desire to show others how to become successful herb gardeners.
To learn more about how to plant herb garden head over to my website http://www.successherbgardening.com
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Nice site, lots of usefull info. I am into herbs too, just love them!
http://mightyherbs.blogspot.com/
Most of the people really like gardening.I am sure they will really like this post because they will learn a lot by reading this article.