Best For The Garden

Herb Gardens Are A Delightful Addition To Any Garden

Herbs have been in use since centuries for various medicinal, culinary and aromatic purposes. Herbs are used even in many of the modern medicines, cosmetics etc. Having your own herb garden can be very useful. Planning it is definitely great fun!

Herbs can be grown in a number of ways. With a proper planning a herb garden can be an essential part of your home. You can choose to have it either indoors or outdoors. In case of limited outdoor space, you can opt for planting herbs on a windowsill or in a window box.

Planning

The first step to cultivating a herb garden is selecting the herbs you want to plant. There are different kinds of herbs for different purposes. Hence you need to first decide the main purpose of having a herb garden. Some herbs like thyme grow low and spreading while others like parsley grow in clumps. Some herbs are perennials and some are annuals.

First plan on paper. Decide the exact size you wish your garden to be. This helps in selecting the right type of herbs. Also, you can determine the amount of space per herb as per your requirements.

Requirements

Firstly, do note that herbs require well-drained soil. Before staring to plant your herbs, test if the soil is alkaline. Herbs need alkaline soil to grow. You can add lime to your soil to keep it alkaline.

Sunlight is a very important factor for herbs to grow well. Herbs need at least six hours of sunlight. In case you can not find a suitable sunny spot, you can plant the herbs in a garden container so that it can be moved around in sunlight. Keep enough space for the herbs to grow. The herbs need adequate air circulation to prevent molds.

Familiarize yourself with the herbs you will be planting. Read about the requirements and conditions of growing them. This will help you take proper care of them.

Planting the herbs

You can begin planting either with seeds or small plants from the garden center. It is better to have small plants rather than seeds as you will have a higher success rate.

When using seeds to plants, it is better to plan them ahead since the seeds require several months to grow. Keep your herb garden close to your home. This will help you to take care and check for the problems.

You can plant your herbs either in straight lines or in geometrical shapes. You can even have square beds divided into four paths. Plants even in the shape of flowing, curved beds and walkways look amazing. Some flowers and shrubs can add to the beauty of your herb garden.

You can refer to various magazines and books to know what type of garden best suits your needs. You can even seek professional help if required. They are easy to maintain and simple to grow. With enough drainage, sunlight, water and nutrient rich and organic soil, your herb garden can thrive for years.

Peter Finch
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/herb-gardens-are-a-delightful-addition-to-any-garden-101680.html

Eight Steps to a Bountiful Vegetable Garden

You’ve decided that you want a vegetable garden to lower your grocery bills. But, where do you start? There are eight essential steps to successful vegetable gardening.

Step 1. Pick an appropriate area for your garden. When you choose your site, consider these important factors:

- Sunlight. Most vegetables grow best in full sunlight. Choose an area that gets at least six hours of sunlight a day.

- Soil. The best soil for growing vegetables is a dark soil, rich in nutrients, that has good drainage but will still hold sufficient moisture for the plants. Don’t plant your garden too close to trees and shrubs whose roots will steal nutrients and water from the vegetables.

- Water. Place your garden near your water supply — faucets that can be reached by no more than two hose lengths.

Step 2. Create your site plan. Make a plan before you purchase your seeds or plants. It will help you decide how many you need to buy to best fit the available space. Base your plan on the vegetables that your family likes, how much work you want to do on the garden and how much room there is in the garden. Create a quick sketch to follow while you are planting.

Step 3. Buy your plants and/or seeds. Be sure that the plants you get will grow well in the area where you live. Buy young, healthy plants that are not limp or straggly or that have been over-crowded in pots. On seeds, look at the date stamp on the package to make sure they are not too old.

Step 4. Prepare your soil for planting. This is one of the most important things to do for a successful garden. To prepare the soil, add a layer of compost or fertilizer over the top of the soil. Then till (or spade) this layer into the existing soil. Rake the soil into rows or mounds, depending on the type of vegetables you’ll be planting.

Step 5. Sow your seeds. If some of your vegetables will be planted from seeds, plant them first. Sometimes seeds are started indoors or in a greenouse to give them a good start. When seedlings appear, thin them to the distances recommended on the seed packets.

Step 6. Plant your plants. Plant young plants following the directions given by the plant nursery where you purchased them. Planting times can be tricky. You want to plant early, but not so early as to stunt their growth in cooler weather. Some plants will require netting or wire forms for best results.

Step 7. Care for your growing plants. Once your vegetables are all planted, you need to care for them by watering, weeding, pruning, and protecting them from insects.

Step 8. Harvest your garden. Different vegetables are harvested at different times. Vegetables should be carefully watched and picked at their peak. You may eat them immediately after harvesting or you can freeze or can them for later use.

Jude Wright
http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/eight-steps-to-a-bountiful-vegetable-garden-110141.html

What are the best fruits or vegetables to plant in billings montana?

I would like to know what the best fruits or vegetables to plant in billings montana, and if you could give me soil temps, and how long after or before last frost should i plant, and when to harvest and how much sunlight they need daily that would help greatly!

Plant after the last frost of the spring season. Some fruit trees that you can plant in your area are:

http://www.naturehills.com/catalog/fruit_trees.aspx?&e=Full%20Sun&zone=4

Some vegetables:

http://www.naturehills.com/catalog/Edible_Plants/Edible_Vegetables.aspx

And some small fruits:

http://www.naturehills.com/catalog/Edible_Plants/Edible_Fruits.aspx

What is the best time to plant seeds?

I have some seeds that I want to plant in my garden and I want to know the best way to get them growing! Should I start them off in seed trays with compost?

When should I plant them?

Any tips you have will be really appreciated!

That depends on what kind of seeds you have and the weather.

Some plants do best seeded in the cool spring and some like the warmer soil and air temperature of summer.

Let’s say you have some lettuce seeds. Web search growing lettuce in (insert the town and country where you live). And, talk to you neighbors who garden.

what perennial plants look best under a magnolia?

I live in zone 5 in the midwest and have a small sweetgum magnolia that needs plantings around the base. I would like to use an azalea and some iris for spring bloom, but I’m at a loss for what other plants would compliment the shape and size of the magnolia leaves for summer color.

Verbena is probably the best one. it can give you a smooth carpet type look. You can mix different colours of it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verbena

I want the best Garden Hose Timer?

I had a MELNOR garden hose timer which runs on one 9-volt battery that lasted 2 years. It handles one hose and can water up to three times a day for up to 180 minutes each time.

It stayed outside all winter and got frozen too many times. I want to replace it with something similar. I am not at all happy with the offerings I see at Walmart and Home Depot.

If you have *first hand experience* with a hose timer that runs forever and never lets you down and it affordable, let me know.

Of course I could just go buy another Melnor, but I’m open to ideas!

I have a few of these I bought at Home Depot made by Toro. Similar in design to what you have. It looks like a gray box with two knobs on it. One sets the frequency of watering and the other sets the duration. About $30 if I remember right. The oldest one I have is about 5 years old. I use them to control irrigation in my greenhouse, so they get a good workout all year long. The only time I had a problem with on was when a spider got into one and made a nest that clogged up the valve. Other than that, no problems.

Found a link from Toro –

http://www.toro.com/sprinklers/bsd/sourcefittings/53746.html

What are the top five best vegetables to have in your diet? And if you know the nutritional properties of the

If you know the nutritional properties will you please post?

Such as egg plant, what do they have in them that make them good for us?

List as many as you know.

Thank you very much in advance.

Check out this site:

http://www.healthalternatives2000.com/vegetables-nutrition-chart.html

Where is the best place to store seeds?

I have a few packs I’d like to use next year and have some that I am reseeding from my current plants. Where is the best place to store these seeds over the winter?

I live in KS if that matters.

Mine just sit in a shoe box on the shelf in a closet! Any dry, cool place is fine. I planted some seeds that had been in the box for seven years this year, and they grew! The germination rate was not great, but some still made it…I was surprised.

what’s best; leaving potted perennials outside in the pots, bring into the garage or the basement over winter?

I’ve got all sizes of pots and different species of plants – I’ve read they can be brought into the unheated garage near a window (do I still water them); into a heated part of the house (like a basement) or just leave them in the pots outside? I’ve got lily of the valley, hostas, small redbud trees (10-12"), daylillies, forsythia, ferns and some others that I don’t even know exactly what they are. Obviously I can’t bring them ALL inside, but I could spread them out; some outside, some in the garage and some in the basement – but how do I know what to do?

In my experience, the pots will not fare well if left outside. Red terra cotta pots all broke the year I tried that.

I don’t have potted perennials now, but what I’d probably do is leave as many in the garage as I could fit, and not worry about the lighting, either, since the leaves don’t do photosynthesis in winter. Water lightly maybe once a month–about what they’d get if snow thawed a little on a sunny day.

what is the best garden hose?

I’m looking for a simple garden hose, and I’m considering one of those flat hoses. However, I’ve heard some bad stuff about them blowing apart, and that you have to run them to their full length to use them. I’ve heard bad things about coiled hoses, too.
I’ve also bought medium duty hoses (I think nylon), that kink even on the first use. I wonder if it’s worth the money to buy a good rubber hose. And, if so, which one to buy?
Thanks, I know about the kink-free hoses. My point is that the ones the say "won’t kink" , do anyway (and right out of the box so it’s not about how I store them). I keep spending in the $25-$35 range for a 75 foot hose, and I just want to know if going up to the $40-$70 range is gonna make a difference. If so, what specific hose should I buy?

the coil hoses they sling back when your done