Growing a herb garden has been a favorite pastime for many a gardener but growing an organic herb garden is even more rewarding.
Today's organic herb gardens stem from our past when herbs were picked from natures own gardens in their wild habitats. These herbs were then gradually introduced into the home gardening community.
Staying away from chemical fertilizers and pesticides will ensure your organic herb garden produces the best tasting and most aromatic herbs you have ever used.
The best time of year to start planning your organic herb garden is in late March or as soon as the last chance of any frost has passed.
Ready to start planting some of the many varieties of perennial herbs in a greenhouse or even indoors is advisable to acclimatize them slowly before planting outside in the early spring.
Some of the herbs you can try are lavender, bee balm, rosemary, feverfew, delphinium, lemon balm, St John's wort, wild marjoram, licorice and one of my favorites mint.
The basic properties of herbs that spring to mind are, savory, aromatic, and medicinal. Some herbs are just used for their ornamental pleasures.
The secret to growing a lush and successful organic herb garden is to observe how they grow in their natural surroundings and try to mimic this as much as possible.One of the most common problems associated with growing your own herbs is a tendency to either over water or not water often enough. For best results and to take the guess work out of it you should try purchasing a soil moisture tester.
Don't rule out planting other things in with your organic herb garden there are many combinations of flowers and vegetables that are extremely beneficial when grown together. A good example of this is Roses and Garlic. Roses can be protected from pests such as aphids by the pungent smell of the garlic plant saving you time and energy trying to fight off the aphid infestations common in rose gardens.
Before you do any planting you should stop and ask yourself a few questions about your organic herb garden such as, are you going to be using herbs mainly for culinary, medicinal or ornamental purposes?
How much room do you have available for planting herbs? Do you plan on planting them in a sunny or shady part of the garden? This is important as some herbs prefer shade and others need at least 6 hours of light. If you intend to plant them in amongst flowers you should consider height, texture, color and fragrance.
Herbs can be grown simply in a small container on a kitchen window sill or outside in large areas the choice is yours to make when you decide to enjoy the pleasures of growing your very own organic herb garden.
Quick Tip #1
To be a successful Organic gardener you should learn from nature, take a walk in any forest or wooded area and observe how fallen branches leaves and a multitude of plant life forms decompose to create nutrients that are put back into the soil. Insects eat other insects, birds eat insects, and grubs. The whole system survives without any form of chemical intervention. keep this in mind when your planning your organic garden. |
Quick Tip #2
At the start of each organic gardening year take some time to sharpen your tools. You will work much more efficiently with a sharp spade than with a dull one. Check the wheel or wheels on your wheelbarrow make sure they are not going to let you down when it's full of heavy soil or potting plants. |
Quick Tip #3
If your plants are being eaten away by aphids, use a solution of mild washing up liquid and water in a clean plastic spray bottle. Give the bugs a liberal spraying, leave for a few minutes then spray off the dead aphids with clean tepid water. Repeat this every ten day's or so until you are aphid free. |
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