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Now that Fall is arriving, I’m going to miss all of the fresh vegetables and herbs that I have been enjoying from the garden this summer. But maybe it doesn’t really have to be that way.
You see, herb gardening has become a very creative outlet for people, and no longer has to be done totally outside, now that Aero Grows’ AeroGarden® Pro-100
has been invented (thank goodnes!)
Before you do anything with herb gardening, decide which herbs to grow. You should thoroughly enjoy the herbs you decide to plant, since most herb plants are easy to grow, require little maintenance, and will reward you with an abundance of herbs!
Here are some of the herbs we suggest you start with for your herb garden (whether outside or as a container garden).
- Strong Herbs - These consist of herbs like winter savory, rosemary and sage (best grown outside).
- Accent Herbs - like sweet basil, sweet marjoram, tarragon and thyme (OK for inside planting).
- Herbs for blending – Our favorites - chives, parsley and summer savory (make excellent inside plants).
You can always add a variety of herbs to your garden later on. When growing outside, you can have herbs growing with other vegetables or make a nice container garden with herbs. You should keep annual and perennial herbs separate. And try adding a little color with attractive, and colorful, herbs like parsley and purple basil.
When you select the site for your herb garden, you should consider the type of soil used and the drainage system. None of the herbs will grow in wet soil; hence drainage becomes an important factor (this is one of the reasons the aerogrow has become so popular – it takes care of all of the drainage problems for you).
If gardening outside, improve the drainage by removing the soil up to a depth of about 15 to 18 inches. Next, place a 3 inch layer of crushed stone or similar material on the bottom of the excavated site. Before placing the soil in the bed area again, you should mix some compost or sphagnum peat and sand with it to lighten the texture. You should add fertilizer if needed.
This same process can be done in your container gardner, just use smaller amounts. And, here’s a tip I just received from a friend of mine.
If you have a lot of wine corks collected and don’t know what to do with them, use them in the bottom of your container plant in the place of stones. They make excellent drainage devices.
Next you need to plant the herb seeds. If possible sow the seeds in shallow boxes in winter. If you want to transplant seedlings outdoors, sow in the spring.
A light, well drained soil is best for starting the seedlings indoors. The finer the seed, the shallower it should be sown.
You may find that you can cut and divide current herbs to re-propagate them. Cuttings are the best choice when the seeds are slow to germinate. The fresh leaves on the herbs can be picked up as soon as the plant has enough foliage to maintain growth.
To ensure good oil content in your herbs, pick the seeds after the dew has disappeared, and before the sun becomes too hot.
Get the Free Book: “Your Guide to a Successful and Beautiful Garden” at http://www.squarefootgardeningtips.com
September 15th, 2007
At our house, Jeff is the “King of Gardening,” and I seem to have been given the title of “Queen Bug Killer!”
We don’t have many bugs, but the wasps drive me crazy! They love to come over and visit as we are trying to enjoy our bar-b-q’d meals outside. They especially love seafood – it’s impossible to eat salmon outside without at least three wasps showing up for dinner.
I have those little yellow wasp catcher devices all over the place, and they seem to work, but I guess grilled salmon is much more attractive than whatever I put into the wasp catcher.
Anyway, Jeff was at the store the other day and found another device. One that we could use to instantly ZAP those wasps (and any other bug) that wanted to join us for dinner.
It’s called a BugZapper, and is not for the faint of heart. Basically, you touch the bug with this tennis racket looking thing, and the bug is instantly electrocuted (we usually do this after we get done eating). This thing uses two small AA batteries, and kills mosquitoes, flies, gnats, (wasps are a little big, but it stuns them enough so we can get rid of them).
Now for the reason I’m writing this story. Jeff gave me the bug zapper, I read the directions, and told him how to use it.
Now, what’s the first thing a man will do when given a small electrocution device that he can hold in his hands – even if his wife tells him not to touch the metal wires. . .
He touches the metal wires!
OUCH! He touched the wires – thinking that the two little batteries couldn’t have that much power. WRONG - The BugZapper gave him a pretty good ZAP, nothing that would knock a person out or anything, but more than you would think for a small device like that (it’s just a little worse than that lightening reaction game where you get zapped if you’re the last one to let go of the handle)
Curiosity got the best of Jeff, and so did the BugZapper 
I’m going to stick to using it on wasps, it’s kind of a fun “toy,” and it makes me laugh when I remember the look on Jeff’s face when he got zapped!
If you want to have some cheap fun with your bugs, go here and do a search for: Tennis Racket Bug Zapper.
Get the Free Book: “Your Guide to a Successful and Beautiful Garden” at http://www.squarefootgardeningtips.com
September 17th, 2006
Did you know there was a process for storing potatoes?
I remember when my parents had what we called a root cellar in South Dakota. It was really just a hole in the ground where we stored canned things (like pickles, jelly, potatoes, etc.) until we were ready to eat them.
One year the potatoes got a sweet taste to them, they were still edible, but they didn’t exactly taste like potatoes! We thought they froze in the cellar, but what really happened is that we put them into storage too soon.
When you store potatoes – first, make sure they are fully mature in the ground. Dig them up after 2 to 3 weeks after the tops die down to give skins time to build up some protection. After you dig them up, brush off any excess dirt, then allow them to set for about 2 weeks at a temperature of about 45 degrees, with good circulation.
After all of this, you can store them all winter in a cool, dark location (like a root cellar or basement), but make sure there is plenty of air circulation in the storage area.
Good Luck! And may you never have to eat sweet white potatoes!
Get the Free Book: “Your Guide to a Successful and Beautiful Garden” at http://www.squarefootgardeningtips.com
September 6th, 2006
Sometimes I can’t believe what’s growing in our Garden. I noticed these Bearded Iris’s outside, but suddenly, I had a vase full of them on my table when I came home from shopping. Jeff thought we couldn’t see them good enough where they were planted, so he surprised me with fresh flowers for the table.
These plants are just lovely Spring plants and would do better for Container Gardening, than for Square Foot Gardening. I think they’re called Bearded Iris because they have seeds growing down the inside of the flower that kind of look like a beard, (I think it looks more like a hairy tongue, but that’s not a very nice name for a plant). Hope I didn’t ruin it for you — they really are nice plants!
Here’s a site I found where you can learn more about this beautiful Plant: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8506.html
Get the Free Book: “Your Guide to a Successful and Beautiful Garden” at http://www.squarefootgardeningtips.com
May 23rd, 2006
