Organic Herb Gardening: It's easier than you might think

All herbs require a little care from time to time. Organic herb gardening is no different. Of course, that's part of the fun of growing herbs in the first place.

Enjoying the intoxicating smells of the essential oils within the plants as you prune them for your own use and weed around them throughout the summer and fall.

As for organic herb gardening, well, it has been around for centuries. It's just since we have become so "smart" and learned how to make chemical pesticides and herbicides that we have turned away from doing it the natural way.

Custom Search

If you're ready to turn back the hands of time and start puttering around your herb garden the natural way you have come to the right place. If you are interested in learning more about organic gardening, you can instantly download a book that I have found that is very helpful. Just Click Here! for your copy.

In this site you will find great resources for

organic fertilizers and pest control , and online resources for books.

Another excellent gardening resource is Clean Air Gardening at www.cleanairgardeningcom. They even have a, cool little tool for testing your soil ph yourself without having to wait and send it off to your extension service.

Beginner Herb Gardening...the organic way

You should also know the basic nature of herbs. For basic information check out our section on herbs.

The big secret to successful herb gardening, or any gardening for that matter, is rich, fertile soil. The best and cheapest way to obtain it is to invest in a compost bin that will turn your yard and kitchen waste into pure black gold for your garden.

Good compost puts vital nutrients from decomposed animal and vegetable matter in the form of humus. Without humus your soil is considered sand or clay and is not likely to grow healthy plants. Good humus soil also encourages earthworm activity which is very beneficial to your soil.

Once you have your compost, you can add other organic material to your soil once you determine from your soil sample if more nitrogen, phosphorus, or potassium is needed.

If more nitrogen is needed, you can obtain it from manure and blood meal. Nitrogen helps leaf production so it's good for your leafy vegetables such as spinach, lettuce, and kale.

Phosphorous may be needed and comes from bone meal and phosphate rock. It makes sense to add it to root crops like onions, beets, and carrots.

Potassium comes from hardwood ash and is especially good for flowers and fruit. A few vegetables like tomatoes, squash benefit from potassium too.

Another way to help herbs do well is to use companion planting. Some plants grow well together and some plants can actually kill other plants.

For example, black walnut trees have alllelopathic properties that make plants around them grow poorly. Black walnuts have a compound called juglone. This is the stuff that makes your hands black when you pick up ripe walnut husks.

Rain dissolves juglone from the leaves and washes it down into the root area of the tree. This ends up killing or stunting many kinds of plants.Rhododendrons, blackberries, tomatoes, alfalfa, and apple trees are some of the main plants that are affected according to the Encyclopedia of Herb Gardening.

Some plants such as onions, corn, raspberries, grapes, forsythia and Kentucky bluegrass seem to tolerate juglane.

For an excellent article on organic pest control go to the National Gardening Association website.

If you have a passion, maybe you are an expert at organic herb gardening, and want to know how to make money by sharing it on your own web site (with little knowledge of computers), then clik on the link below.