Monday, February 23, 2009

Herbal Gardening - Tips To Get It Right

By Susan Honeywell

Putting the decision to grow herbs and vegetables organically into practice may look like an overwhelming task, but you will quickly see that growing without artificial fertilizers or pesticides is very rewarding, and also easier than it may seem at first glance.

Organically grown vegetables and herbs are safer, healthier and also taste better than those grown with the help of chemical products, plus you can save get for free what would cost you at the grocer's.

Te first thing that you should do, as it will take a little while for this to be ready, is to separate your kitchen waste from the rest and build a compost heap. This can also be done indoors. Compost will prove a great boon as it is the best natural fertilizer for an organic garden and its vegetables and herbs.

In fact compost will also help your garden to retain moisture, so you won't have to water much compared to non-organic gardens. Most of your food waste can be composted as well as some animal waste, but for your first compost heap be sure not to add human or pet (cat or dog) manure to your compost as these need special treatment to eliminate some potentially nasty bacteria that you won't want near your edible plants.

You'll also need to source organic seeds or sprouts for your organic vegetable and herbal gardening project. In most cases, commercial seeds are not organic so you will have to make doubly sure to get the right starters.

There probably are specialized shops that sell organic seeds for gardening in your area, but you can also buy them through an online shop and have them mailed to you. Online is probably better for most users, as you get the convenience of choosing from home from a bigger catalogue, and as for all mailed products you can return organic gardening supplies if they are not up to your expectation.

To begin seeding, don't start your organic garden outdoors right away! Use a glasshouse or put your seeds inside the house, where it's warm. Let them sprout on a piece of damp cotton or paper and then transfer them to small pots and let them grow a bit.

Once the first leaves are showing, put them into individual pots as a preparation to outdoor planting in your organic garden. There are some fine composting pots that you can use, plant them in the ground together with your seedling and let them act as extra natural fertilizer for your organic garden.

Now that you have compost and grown seedlings, you will also need good organic soil. This earth is much better as it acts as a natural pest controller, and will let your plants grow more vigorous. If you had a on-organic garden or flower bed where your organic garden is going to be planted, we recommend removing and substituting a layer of old soil altogether.

Fill your windowsill pots with organic soil, or put a layer of at least six centimeters in your outdoors organic garden as topsoil. Ass compost and you will be on the right track to grow delicious and healthy organic herbs and vegetables. - 15634

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