Container Herb Garden

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Once you plant your first container herb garden and start using fresh herbs in your cooking you will more likely than not want to venture into additional container herb garden projects.

For ideas on what herbs to grow, consider the foods you prepare most frequently and what spices you will need in the cooking process.

Your First Container Herb Garden

Gardening is such a rewarding hobby. If you live in a small condo or apartment you can reap some of the satisfaction of gardening by creating a container herb garden.

Indeed, you don't need land or a large amount of space for an impressive selection of herbs. You just need a few supplies and a spot indoors or outdoors that gets plenty of sun.

When starting a container herb garden, it is important for you to choose the type of container you would like for the space you have to work with.

For instance, you can select round clay or ceramic pots, cloth-sided soft planters, or window boxes. Be certain that your planters drain well and that they will get adequate sunlight at least part of the day.

Selecting Herbs for Your Container Herb Garden

For the beginner, planting herb seedlings is the easiest way to start out with your container herb garden.  When thinking about which herbs to choose, try to select a mix of herbs you would like to use in your cooking. Some popular choices would be the following: 

• Thyme
• Parsley
• Dill
• Epazote
• Lavender
• Oregano
• Sage
• Rosemary
• Basil
• Cilantro
• Mint
• Chives

Soil, Water, and Pest Control

Choose a potting soil mix and fill the pot or window box approximately half way with loosely packed soil. Remove the seedling from its container and with your hands or a small garden shovel create a well to put the seedling in. Repeat this process with all of your herbs.  You may wish to mix the herbs in container or keep all of one kind in each separate pot, box, or planter.  As you can determine, there are few “hard and fast” rules for a container herb garden.

After covering the seedling herbs with more potting mix, lightly pat the soil down to secure the plantings. Water thoroughly but not too heavily and place the filled container in its location. Remember that small containers will dry out quickly, especially during hot summer days.  And when it is sunny most of the day, you may need to water the herbs more than once a day.

Even though a container herb garden requires minimal maintenance due to the fact that there is rarely any weeding, herbs are not immune from squirrel and other pest attacks.  Consequently, you will periodically need to keep an eye on your container herb garden and ward off pests when necessary.

When watering, you may wish to add a light fertilizer to the container herb garden to encourage the flourishing of the leaves.  And for some of the herbs such as basil, moreover, you can increase the production of leaves by pinching off the tops from time to time.

Container Herb Gardening: Conclusion

While the space required for a container herb garden is amazingly small and the effort you will expend is minimal, the satisfaction you reap from the container herb garden, however, is surprisingly large! It is so satisfying to be able to clip fresh herbs on your deck or patio, rinse off the fragrant and potent leaves, and add them to your soups and sauces.

Keep in mind that cooking and gardening are both creative and trial-and-error activities.  As you learn more about growing herbs and using them in the cooking process you will begin to experience more satisfaction and fun.  This, in turn, will lead to further experimentation and resourcefulness as you plan your next container herb garden.

Copyright 2009 - Denny Soinski.  All Rights Reserved Worldwide.  Reprint Rights: You may reprint this article as long as you leave all of the links active, do not edit the article in any way, and give the author credit.

About the Author

Denny Soinski writes about garden decor, gardening, bronze garden sculptures, water fountains, and outdoor metal sculptures.  For more information, please visit http://www.water-fountains-and-garden-decor.com right away!

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