Backyard Gardening Tips

Growing herbs in your garden can be a great way to get fresh herbs for cooking or medicinal purposes. In many cases you can grow them right in with your other flowers, or keep them in containers so that you can bring them inside in the winter months for a bountiful indoor herb garden.

Herbs can be perennials or biennials so you need to plant them with this in mind. You wouldn’t want to put your biennials in the back row knowing that you might have to trample over some perennials to get to them and replant. Since herbs can be decorative as well as useful, pay particular attention to how tall they are and what they look like when they flower so that you can incorporate them into your garden accordingly.

One thing to keep in mind when growing herbs is that they like a sandy, well drained soil that has a neutral PH. An interesting thing to note is that a very fertile soil is not recommended for herbs since this will encourage excess leaf growth which will reduce the flavor of the plant. Organic matter is great for herbs so consider adding some compost or peat moss to your soil.

One interesting thing about herb plants is that most pests tend to avoid them and they are not highly susceptible to diseases either, so a herb garden can be rather easy to maintain.

Harvesting herbs at the right time will insure that you get them when they are their most flavorful and potent. For most herbs this is shortly before the flowers are to bloom (except for mints which are most flavorful when in full bloom). You want to pick the third sunny day in a row and be sure to harvest in the morning right after the dew has evaporated.

While growing herbs outdoors will yield you the most productive plants, you can still have a great indoor herb garden as long as you have a window with plenty of sunlight and good well drained soil. You should put them in a southerly facing window and you might consider supplementing the light with a grow light in the winter months. Be sure your pots allow for plenty of drainage and never leave your herb plants to sit in a saucer of water. When summer comes, consider placing your herbs outdoors so they can flourish.

Whether you are growing herbs outdoors or want an indoor herb garden on your kitchen windowsill, trying your hand at herb gardening can be a fun way to get great plants, enjoy a relaxing hobby and add some spice to your cooking!

If you want more tips on gardening and growing herbs including the key elements you need to know about when gardening, how to grow plants in containers and tips on growing herbs and vegetables sign up for my free gardening tips report at http://gardening-ez.com/gardeningtipsreport.php

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