Monday, March 15, 2010

Great Tips For Growing Herb Garden Plants

There is something incredibly wonderful about having fresh herbs for cooking. Growing your own herbs is the best way to guarantee having a supply of fresh herbs at your fingertips. Herb gardens require a minimal amount of time and space, but the rewards are huge.

Once you have decided to grow your own herbs, the first step is to choose which plants you would like in your garden. If you new to herb gardening, starting with a few herb plants in your kitchen window is the best of all worlds. You have your herbs in a convenient location for both maintaining them and using them, plus you have the wonderful fragrance lingering in your kitchen.

If you're not sure which herbs to begin with, look at what you have in your kitchen. By having your own garden with these herbs you save time and money not having to purchase them at the grocery store, plus you'll know your herbs are fresh! Good herbs to consider for your first garden are sage, basil, dill, mint, chives and parsley.

When selecting an outdoor location for your herb garden, remember herbs require good drainage. In a container herb garden this is easy to do; but outside might be a challenge, depending on the soil in your area. If the soil does not have good drainage, the simplest way to remedy this is to remove about a foot of the top layer of soil and add a layer of crushed rock. The layer of rock will allow water to drain and your herbs will be happy! Replace the soil, adding new higher quality soil from your nursery if necessary.

Next is to plant your herbs. One option is buy plants from a nursery, however, it is easy to grow herb from seed. You can save money by starting your garden from seed, while plants give you a little boost in terms of time.

Some herbs are known to grow at a very, very fast rate. One example is mint. A mint plant can take over an entire garden in a matter a days. For aggressive growers, such as mint, it's much better to contain the herb plant in a pot, even if it's outdoors.

The last herb gardening tip is about harvesting your herbs. Be a bit gentle with your herbs, especially when they are first getting established. Generally, herbs need a few months of growing before removing any leaves. Taking this extra precaution means your herb plant will have a longer, more productive life.

An herb garden is offers so many plus; fresh herbs, health benefits and a relaxing hobby. Getting started can be the hardest part, but once your garden is established; it will require minimal work and return much reward.

A.G. Coco is an herb gardening enthusiast, writer and researcher. Her most recent book, "The Ultimate Guide to Fresh Herbs" is a step-by-step guide to growing your own fresh, healthy herbs at home.

For additional information on herb garden plants, visit or to sign up for a free "Secrets to Growing Fresh Herbs" mini-course, visit http://www.growingfreshherbs.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=A._G._Coco

Friday, March 12, 2010

The Pleasures of Having Your Own Home Herb Garden

The use of herbs, whether in cooking or medicinal uses, can be traced as far back as thousands of years. World historians agree that the use of different types of herbs was already common with the Egyptian and Chinese civilizations. The use of herbs continued to the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and eventually, to the modern age. Herbs are very useful to organic gardeners because of the variety of practical uses they have. Apart from providing exquisite and varied flavors to food and beverages, herbs may also be used for tea and of course, for common health maladies.

Growing herbs is a pleasure: because you have full control of how the gardens would end up. Whether you are out to produce a holistic herb garden of medicinal herbs or a fresh organic garden of tasty spices for the whole family to enjoy, herb gardens can be guided by your own hands. If you have a plot of land 4 x 6 feet in dimension, then your family of herbs would have an adequate plot to grow on. Two of the most popular uses of herbs are for aromatic foliage and of course, for handy spices. Whether dry or moist, your herbs can be used to bring out a richer, more sumptuous flavor in pasta, pastries and whole meals.

Botanically, herbs are just like other plants used around the world. Some of them grow to become trees or short shrubs. Some herbs are classified as annual plants, while some are more of a perennial type. Many herbs are natural sun-lovers, while some prefer the cool protection of shady plots.

Though herbs are attacked very rarely by pests or diseases, there are some common problems especially if you are in a very dry region. For example, red spider mites have been known to infest short, shrubby herbs while members of the aphid family have been known to take advantage of herbs such as dill and the popular fennel. For some reason, the mint plant is also affected by plant rust.

If you wish to grow herbs in your own garden, you have several choices: transplanted herbs or seeds. Just like other plants grown in the garden, you can buy from a respectable breeder, grow the small plants in your greenhouse and plant them when the environmental conditions are just right. Inversely, you can attempt to grow them straight from active, germinating seeds. If you wish to develop some horticultural skills, herbs would be a wonderful way of entering the interesting world of gardening.

There are some things you have to remember about seeds and planting in general. When the temperature is beginning to drop, signaling the start of winter, make sure your seeds are kept in a box and away from the biting cold winds outside. Light, airy soil should be used in these shallow boxes to give the seeds the space they need to grow well. Herbs do notgrow very deeply into the soil, so avoid choking them with excess soil. As a general rule of thumb, remember that the smaller the seeds you have to sow, the less soil you have to use to cover the seeds. Some herbal varieties require direct planting; examples of these herbs are anise and coriander,as well as dill and fennel.

Growing herbs can be quite a hobby, or passion. The purpose of this article was to give you a small taste of herbal gardening. The time has come for you to seek out the best and most comprehensive information to support what you have learned here. The journey begins now. We wish you luck!

A. G. Coco is an herb gardening enthusiast. For more great tips on herb gardens, visit http://www.growingfreshherbs.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=A._G._Coco

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Herbal Medicine and Medicinal Herbal Plants

Herbal medicine is the oldest form of health care known to mankind, and is also called botanical medicine or herbalism. Herbal medicine began with primitive cultures using different plants for shelter, clothing, and medicine. Herbal medicine is a complementary therapy that uses plants or plant extracts to treat illness, and is an important part of keeping healthy holistically and naturally. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that as many as 4 billion people, or 80 percent of the world's population presently use herbal medicine for some aspects of primary health care.

History of Herbals

Nearly every people, including ancient cultures dating back thousands of years, has used herbs. Medicinal herbs were found in the personal effects of an "Ice man" whose body was frozen in the Swiss Alps for more than 5,300 years. They appear to have been used to treat the parasites found in his intestines. In the written record, the study of herbs dates back over 5,000 years to the Sumerians, who described well-established medicinal uses for such plants as laurel, caraway, and thyme. The continuing importance of herbs for the centuries following the Middle Ages is indicated by the hundreds of pages of information on herbs published after the invention of printing in the fifteenth century.

How To Use Herbs

Herbs can be prepared in a variety of forms depending on their purpose. They have been used in all cultures throughout history to restore balance by nourishing the body and have provided humankind with medicine from the earliest beginnings of civilization. Herbs contain a large number of naturally occurring chemicals that have biological activity. They help the body strengthen its own resistance to infective organisms and throw off illness. Herbs can act on the body as powerfully as pharmaceutical drugs and should be treated with the same caution and respect.

Herbs can also have undesirable side effects just as pharmaceutical products can. Herbs may be harmful if taken for the wrong conditions, used in excessive amounts, combined with prescription drugs or alcohol, or used by persons who don't know what they are doing. Most herbal traditions have accumulated knowledge without modern scientific controls to distinguish between the placebo effect, the body's natural ability to heal itself, and the actual benefits of the herbs themselves.

Who Can Use Herbs

Medicinal plants can be used by anyone, for example as part of a salad, an herbal tea or supplement. Many of the herbs and spices used by humans to season food yield useful medicinal compounds. To use an herbal product as safely as possible consult your doctor or a trained herbalist before you begin. Do not take a bigger dose than the label recommends. Take it under the guidance of someone trained in and experienced with herbal use. Be especially cautious if you are pregnant or nursing.

While herbal medicine is older than any other type of health care, it continues to influence the medicines of today. Herbal medicine has proven to be a huge benefit to mankind and has never been more popular than it is today.

You can improve your health and personal well being as you begin to use complementary herbal medicines confidently and effectively.

Friday, March 5, 2010

The Perfect Kitchen Garden Herbs, Fruit and Vegetables

A kitchen garden has a charm all its own. There really is nothing to beat the look and taste of fruit and vegetables that you've grown yourself. If you add a few decorative herbs to the mix, there's absolutely no reason why your kitchen garden can't look as good visually as your flower garden.

It's a fact that fruit, vegetables and herbs are very rewarding to grow. There's an extra special flavor to produce you've grown yourself.

But be warned, a kitchen garden is going to be very labor-intensive. If you're not into hard, manual work in your garden, a kitchen garden may not be for you. The only way you're going to get bumper crops of the fruit, vegetables and herbs that you grow is by lavishing tender loving care and attention on them.

Starting your growing early can produce a bountiful crop weeks ahead of its normal time, giving you a home-grown harvest at a time when those fruits and vegetables are particularly expensive in the shops.

You can make your kitchen garden as visually attractive as possible by careful planning. If space is at a premium you can choose some of the more decorative vegetables and herbs and plant them in your flower beds.

Ideally you need to choose a sunny site in your garden for most herbs and vegetables to do well. If you are growing fruit trees, you should ensure that they do not cast a shadow over the vegetables and herbs.

Remember that although most herbs are leafy and lacking flowers, they will provide greenery in your garden, even in the winter. Just exercise a little thought as to where to place them and think in terms of what your garden will look like in each of the seasons and factor this into your planning.

Most herbs will do very well when planted in containers, so they are an excellent container garden even if you don't have much space in your garden. Tall herbs can be planted at the back of a traditional flower garden and low-growing herbs make excellent flower garden borders.

The normal method of growing vegetables is in regimented rows. If they are kept properly weeded, this can still look good. Again, if you don't have much space, you can still grow a large range of vegetables in containers e.g. peas and potatoes. Some vegetables are even attractive enough to be planted amongst the flowers - but remember that you are going to have gaps once the vegetables are harvested.

You may be surprised to learn that there's a large range of fruit that you can grow even if you don't have several acres worth of orchard plot. Small apple trees can grow in pots on the patio, you can grow strawberries in containers and there are even certain varieties of cordon-trained apples and pears that can be grown against a garden fence.

Nearly all fruit trees prefer a sunny site. You will certainly suffer from poor crops if you allow frost to damage the blossom on apple and pear trees. Pears are particularly vulnerable because they tend to flower earlier than apple trees.

If you don't have space in abundance but still want to try your hand at fruit growing then you should look at planting trained fruit trees such as espaliers, cordons and fans against a fence or wall. They can look very decorative and take up very little room.

With a modicum of planning, thought and imagination there really is no reason at all why you can't have the joy of growing and harvesting food for your own kitchen table in your own kitchen garden, no matter how small the plot.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Herb Tonics: An Introduction

The focus of tonic herbs is not relieving symptoms, but to increase or fortify the natural processes and systems of the body. Tonic herbs are generally very safe to use, with few or no side effects, and many benefits.

The tonic herbs are also medicinal herbs, but not all medicinal herbs may be used as tonics.

Researchers have coined the term "adaptogen" to describe some of these tonic herbs. They discovered that adaptogenic herbs have a stronger effect when the organism taking those herbs is under greater levels of stress.

Ginseng root is probably the most familiar tonic herb. There are several types of Ginseng, all of which share many characteristics.

Panax Ginseng is the most famous of the Ginsengs. It is most often available as "Red" or "White" Ginseng. (The difference between Red Ginseng and White Ginseng is how the roots are treated after harvesting.)

Panax Ginseng has a very long history as a tonic herb, going back thousands of years. The word "Panax" comes from the same root as panacea, (cure-all), and was used to describe the many, many uses of ginseng.

There is also a Siberian Ginseng. Eleutherococcus Senticosus (often called Eletheuro) may be the most researched herb on the planet. This was the first herb described as an adaptogen. (Acanthopanax Gracilistylus is also sold under the name Siberian Ginseng, and shares many properties with Eleuthero.)

A few effects of Siberian Ginseng are: increases endurance; helps insomnia; lowers blood pressure; improves blood circulation; improves blood flow to the brain. (A full listing would take several pages.)

Some herbalists say Siberian Ginseng is the safest of the Ginsengs. It is often used with elderly or infirm individuals, to improve their energy levels.

There is also an American Ginseng, Panax Quinquefolium, which once grew wild in great abundance. Over-harvesting has made wild American Ginseng scarce. Botanically, this is the closest to Panax Ginseng.

All these varieties function as adaptogens, and tonify a range of body systems. They are all safe to use, and are suitable for long term use.

Some people find that Panax Ginseng over-stimulates them, and find Siberian Ginseng to be a better choice.

All of the Ginsengs are available as raw herbs, in capsules and freeze dried powders. Capsules and powders are the easiest to use, simply follow the manufacturer's directions. Some herbalists say that using standardized extracts gives you less benefit than using the whole root.

Trying one or more of the Ginsengs is a good way to introduce yourself to the benefits of herbal tonics.

The information in this article is for information only. It should not be used as a substitute for medical advice. Consult the appropriate medical professional if you have a medical condition.