Organic Herb Garden - My Top 5 Herbs

Life would be pretty dull without herbs. Growing your own organic herb garden can be a fun and rewarding hobby. Once you grow your own herbs you will never go back to the store bought herbs again. It is kinda' like comparing a store bought tomato to a home grown tomato, there is no comparison.

Growing herbs is easier than growing a complete vegetable garden. Just in size and work alone there is a large difference. An organic herb garden is easy to maintain once it is in place and all you need to do is pick and prepare your herbs and enjoy tasty meals.

Herbs do not require a lot of fertility. In fact many herbs are more flavorful if grown in poorer soil. You will need to research the herbs you want to grow in your garden to properly provide the right growing conditions.

My top 5 recommended herbs

Basil is used in everything and is easy to grow. You can often find plants already started at your local nursery. Look for sturdy plants with good color. The soil for basil needs to be well fed with compost as it grows.

The soil should be well drained. When watering basil try not to get water on the leaves, but water around the base of the plant. Just keep the soil moist, but not damp.

Marjoram is grown in fertile soil in direct sunlight, but will tolerate a poorer soil. Sweet marjoram is used in a lot of meat dishes, but is also used in dressings. It is a pretty plant in the garden.

You can start marjoram from seed indoors about six weeks before the last frost date. Or, if you know someone who raises marjoram you can divide the plant for transplanting.

Chives are so easy it does not matter what color your thumb is you can grow chives. Many people keep a container of chives in the window sill for a constant supply.

Chives are an onion like plant that can be used in almost any dish. You just snip off the amount you want and it will grow back. If you want, you can grow it outside in the warm months and inside when it is to cold outside.

Oregano is an herb that I use a lot. It does not take much to add flavor. Oregano is not fussy about the soil, except you will want the location to be well drained. It can be started from seed indoors or directly in the soil, or it can be transplanted from another start.

Oregano is easy to grow and should be in your garden.

Sage is the old standby. Sage is used a lot with meats. It is an old fashion herb that has been in use for a long time. Sage likes a range of soil types as long as it gets lots of nitrogen. Sage will bush out and get up to 36 inches tall, so give it some elbow room. It, too, likes the sun.

That should get you started with your own organic herb garden. Most herbs really are easy to grow and maintain. I hope you will give them a try and good eating.

To learn more about growing herbs and vegetables organically just click here for a free newsletter. For a web site with more information go to http://solutionsfororganicgardening.com/

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Tips in Plant Selection for Butterfly Gardening

This article will explain some basics of butterfly gardening and plant selection. Now, keep in mind, you must research (you can do this online, using your favorite search engine) what butterflies are native to your area, and what plants those butterflies use as their host and nectar plants. Use that information combined with these tips and you will have a flourishing butterfly garden in no time at all!

1. It's about the "many", not the one. You cannot expect to go and buy one plant and have tons of butterflies. Keep in mind that butterflies are not ground level- they are many times flying high in the sky and will be more attracted to plants that are in bunches. Once you have researched what host and nectar plant the butterflies in your area use, buy several of these plants, and plant them together. At least 3 plants is recommended of any one variety.

2. Avoid being "monochromatic". Buy flowering plants with a variety of colors. For instance, you can buy tropical milkweed in both yellow (or "gold", as it is often called), as well as orange/red. You can pair this with Pentas, or Lantanas, in white. But again, keep them in bunches, as opposed to single plants. Plumbago has a periwinkle or blueish color. Mainly you want to have as many colors as possible, but again, make sure you purchase a few of each, and place them together so they are easily found.

3. Choose a variety of heights. Place the plants that are the tallest in the back, with the shorter growing plants in the front. Herbs, such as fennel and parsley, are going to attract Swallowtail butterflies, and these plants are very low-growing. You may want to place these in front of a taller growing plant such as Plumbago. Other low growing plants include Lantana (which comes in white, lavender, and yellow varieties).

4. Plan ahead. Keep in mind that if you are planting host plants and larvae hatch on these plants, they are going to defoliate it. So, if you plant milkweed, you may want to do so in the back, so if the plant does get defoliated, there will be lower growing plants in the front to cover the empty stalks, which some gardeners see as unsightly. Once it is completely defoliated you can simply prune it back and it will grow back in even fuller.

E. Wilkerson
Natura Butterfly Farm
Buy butterflies, order a butterfly release!
http://www.naturabutterflyfarm.com/

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Organic Gardening 101 - Getting Started

Have you been thinking about starting a garden to grow your own food? In this article on organic gardening 101 I want to help you get off the couch and get your hands dirty. As you are thinking about getting started let me suggest that you get started right a go organic from the beginning.

There are many reasons to grow your food organically. The biggest reason is the health of your family. That alone should be reason enough. Would you pour chemicals on your cereal in the morning? Of course not! Then why would you want to put chemicals in the form of fertilizer, insecticides and herbicides on your green beans?

So, the question is how do you get started with organic gardening? There are a lot of things to consider. First, and maybe the most important, is the size of garden space you have to work with. Then, consider the location and how you are going to build your soil fertility.

What size is your garden?

It really does not matter how much area you have. I have known of people who garden in an apartment window. So, you have not excuse, just pick your area and let's get going.

For our purpose here we will say you have some space in your yard that you can put a small garden. I recommend you start out small and grow as your garden does. Gardening is a learning process just like anything else.

Where will you locate your garden?

A garden has to have sun. The amount of sun that reaches your plot throughout the will determine how well your garden grows. You can grow vegetables in varying amounts of light, but results will vary too. So, try to pick an area that has full sun for best results.

It is best to stay out of low areas where water will collect. If plants constantly have their feet wet they do not do well. We can work with a location like this, but it is a little more difficult, and not near as much fun.

Building soil fertility

Since we are not using a bag of chemical fertilizer we need to find an alternative. If your goal is the same as mine, to raise the best tasting, most healthy food, then I suggest you go totally with compost as your veggie food.

Using compost means you must maintain a compost pile. That is really not as difficult as it may sound. In fact, building a compost pile can be a project of its own.

You make compost out of stuff you normally want to get rid of, so making compost can actually save you money. A compost pile should be made from a combination of green stuff and dry stuff.

The green stuff can be grass clippings, weeds from the garden, house hold scraps, etc. The dry stuff can be leaves from your, or the neighbors, trees, a bale of straw, etc. Compost is everywhere. Once you get started you will be amazed at what you can compost, newspaper, cardboard, and even tree limbs will compost over time.

If you follow the advice in organic gardening 101 you will soon be dining on your own very tasty, and more importantly, healthy vegetables that you grew with your own hands. So, get out there, pick your spot, lay out your very own garden area and build that compost pile.

To help you easily raise your own organic vegetables for your table you can get free gardening tips by clicking here. For more information check out http://solutionsfororganicgardening.com/.

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How to Grow Seed Potatoes

Like any fruit and vegetables, growing your own seed potatoes is both fun and exciting and most definitely rewarding.  Not only this; it is also easy and simple to do and is a great start to growing your way to 5 a day!

Step 1: Choosing

There are many Varieties of seed potatoes out there so you have to choose the right one for you and for the right time of year. Seed potatoes are divided into the 4 following categories regarding their harvest and sowing time:

Step 2: Chitting

For the most successful results, it is best to allow your seed potatoes to 'chit' (sprout) before planting them into the ground. Chitting allows your seed potatoes to grow stronger sprouts and once planted into will encourage them to grow faster and will be an all-round more successful crop.

What to do:

Chitting should be carried out during February and March.You place the seed potatoes in a tray; an egg box is ideal as they hold the potatoes still, so they are not rolling around. Ensure any shoots that are there are facing upwardsThe tray needs to be kept in the light and kept away from frost as well as hot rooms such as the spare room, garage or shed.You then leave them in the tray for approximately six weeks.Once the sprouts have reached a length of about 1.5 - 2.5cm (0.5- 1in) long they are ready to be planted into the ground.

Step 3: Planting and Aftercare

Seed potatoes can be planted straight into the ground, pots or planters or grow bags if you are limited for space. The Haxnicks potato patio planters are an ideal container for growing seed potatoes if you cannot plant them directly into the ground. Planting seed potatoes into the ground, differs to those planted into a grow bag or container.

In the ground:

Choose the correct area in your garden; a sunny area and avoid any frost pocketsDig your chosen area to break up the soil removing any lumps.Dig a trench 15cm deep and 15cm wide, length is determined by you and how many seed potatoes you have. Seed potatoes need to be positioned 30cm apart and if you need to dig more than one trench they need to be 60cm apart from one another.Place the seed potatoes into the trench with their shoots facing upwards 30cm apart.Cover over the trenches with excess soilOnce the first shoots appear in a few weeks' time cover them over with a fresh layer of soil.When the shoots surface again, wait until they are 5cm tall and then cover over again with soil to block out any light, this process is called 'earthing up'.Repeat this process twice.Ensure you water the soil especially when there is foliage formed.

In a grow bag or container:

Fill either the grow bag or container with 15cm of compost.Position 3 to 4 seed potatoes evenly on the surface of the compost with the shoots facing upwardsCover over the potatoes with excess soil, about another 10-15cm.Ensure you water the soil keeping it moist, but be careful not to completely saturate it.When the first shoots appear cover them over with new soil about 10cm deep to block out the light.Repeat this process twice.Ensure you water the soil especially when there is foliage formed.

Step 4: Harvesting

When the potato plant starts to flower, it is a good indication that your plants are ready to be harvested. The flowers usually appear about 12 weeks after they were planted. If you leave them for longer, the potato will be larger and the yield will be bigger, leaving them for longer is ideal for maincrop potatoes.

To harvest:

From the ground carefully dig them up using a fork from the side of the trench. If this is not done carefully you may bruise the potatoes.From a grow bag or container remove the whole potato plant.Wash the potatoes and store in a cool, dark and frost free place.

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Examples of Features You Can Add To Your Garden

Many people looking to hire landscape gardeners are also in search of some ideas of what to do with their gardens. There are many things that you can add to your garden which will make it look very attractive and beautiful. Here are some of the most common garden features that can be put in a garden by landscape gardeners:

Paths - You can add many different kinds of paths to a garden. These can be paved, or they can be made out of loose stones. It is also possible to use wood in order to create a path that goes through your garden. The type of path that you add will depend on how big your garden is and also what your budget is. If space permits, you can add a path that goes around trees, shrubs, flowers and other features of your garden.
Water features - These can be very attractive to have in a garden and are actually not as expensive as some may think they are. You can easily add a water fountain in your garden. You can also create a small pond in it. This can help decorate your garden and can also serve to attract some wildlife to it. There are landscape gardeners which are experienced in planning, building and installing water features if you plan on doing something elaborate, such as installing a large stone fountain at the center of your garden.
A play area - If you have children, then you can add a play area for them right in your garden. Depending on the size of your garden and your budget, you can add things such as swings, a see saw, a slide, a sandbox, etc. This will help your children have more fun in the garden and encourage them to spend more time playing outside.
A dining area - If you plan on hosting barbecues or have dinner outside in your garden, creating a dining area is a good idea. All you need is some outdoor furniture such as tables and chairs. You can also create a dedicated area for the barbecue if space allows.Seating features

If you like to relax in your garden and enjoy the outdoors, adding some seating features is a must. The type of seating can be very basic such as patio chairs, or you can add an ornamental bench, which will add a lot of beauty to your garden.

Greenfellas has experienced landscape gardeners North London to help you with all your landscaping needs. Check out our website to find out more about our services.

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