Posted by | Posted in Gardening tips | Posted on 02-04-2010
It is so nice when you find something that just works, right? Some plants are just like that. What you need to do is create a location for your plant to thrive, focusing on water, sunlight and soil condition.
Here’s a list of herbs that after you start them and get’em going, they will do the rest:
- Borage: The long, wooly and prickly leaves may be tough to eat, but you can certainly feast on these and taste the flavor of cucumber. The borage herb loves dry, dark earth and full sun—the blue or purple star-patterned flowers are cute as can be. You can start from seeds in early summer and by mid-summer you’ll have all the borage you can handle.
- Caraway: Even though the foliage of the caraway can look like that of a carrot in its first growing year, don’t confuse it with a carrot. In the second year, it will display beautiful pink or white umbrella-shaped flower clusters on 1 to 3 feet tall stems. Give your caraway plant full-sunlight and also make sure it has well-drained soil for the best outcome. Sow the seeds outdoors in spring or fall. Since caraway is a self-seeder, you can let the dead blooms fall to the earth and you will not have to resow it for the next growing cycle.
- Dill: This fast-growing herb with thin, fern-like foliage likes well-drained sod and full sun. Don’t let your plant get more than 3 feet tall before you begin using it in your entrees; you can start harvesting once it reaches one foot. Dill is great for bouquets because of its pretty, yellow umbrella-like heads, which can also be used as a seasoning. These will grow great from seed and because this plant grow fast you will not need to start the germination process in advance.
- Fennel: Don’t confuse your mature fennel herb with dill because the two are similar, but dill tastes nothing like the licorice flavored fennel. Your herb will grow from seeds to a full-grown 4-foot-tall herb in only a few weeks. Plant it in full sun in well-drained soil for the best results. The seeds are the delicious part. Don’t let your seeds get brown. Dry the seeds and use in baked goods, soups and stews.
- Lemon Balm: The lemon-scented lemon balm perennial has lovely heart-shaped leaves will do well in well-drained sod with either full sun or slight shade. Don’t bother with growing it from seeds, buy a little herb at the nursery and let it grow for you. You will soon be able to divide your lemon balm and replant it. Don’t feel like you have to plant the new division beside the first one, because lemon balm will grow through self-sowing. If you want to prevent self –sowing, pinch off all the dead flowers.
- Sweet Cicely: Here’s a perennial plant that enjoys light shade, so give it that and loose, rich dirt and it will take off from there. Add in organic compost and mulch to help in sweet cicely’s development. Since sweet cicely is a self-sowing plant you’ll only want to buy the first couple of plants and it will do the rest.
These are not the only good herbs either … there are plenty more to choose from, including Queen Anne’s lace and dandelion.
Good luck with your herb gardening. Be sure to let me know how your herb garden grows.
Here is more information on Home Herb Garden. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Herb Gardens.
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Posted by | Posted in Gardening tips | Posted on 31-03-2010
Organic Chinese herbs are hard to come by these days. People can no longer buy organic Chinese herbs at cheap prices in their favorite stores and market places. With the current economic upheaval around the country, prices of organic Chinese herbs have soared up together with traditional Chinese herbs have sky-rocketed that most people can no longer afford to buy these types of herbs. If you happen to be one of those people who love to use organic Chinese herbs in your cooking, you better find ways to get these things at cheaper prices. To help you find organic Chinese herbs that are within your budget range, here are some things that you could do.
Buy In Bulk
If you have a restaurant and you want to use Chinese herbs for your food, you should buy these herbs in bulk. When customers buy herbs in bulk, they are usually given discounts by the merchants. However, the catch here is that some type of herbs do not last. This means that these herbs should be used within a specific period. So that you won’t end up with a lot of stale and useless herbs in your cupboard, you have to make sure that you are extra careful in buying them in bulk. Before you buy them, do check the shelf life of the herbs. It is important to look at the instructions on how to store the herbs before you buy them. Keep in mind that herbs that are stored properly will last longer.
Plant Your Own Organic Chinese Herbs
The best way to beat the rising cost of Chinese organic herbs is to plant them yourself. No, it is not difficult to grow most types of herbs. Some herbs do not require intensive care and maintenance. If you happen to be living in the country and you have access to a large backyard, you can grow your own organic Chinese herbs. This way, you are sure that you will have all the herbs that you need for your cooking. You can even have your herbs sold to friends, family members and relatives if you want.
On the other hand, if you happen to live in an apartment and you do not have access to the roof garden or the backyard, you can still grow some organic Chinese herbs in pots or using herb garden kits. Since most of the Chinese herbs do not grow too big, you can have them planted in small pots and place them near the window. Your herbs will grow healthy with the right amount of water and sunlight.
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Posted by | Posted in Gardening tips | Posted on 28-03-2010
With the increasing interest in medicinal herbs of all kinds, many Internet sites are springing up to take advantage of consumer demand. You will be able to purchase Chinese herbs safely online, as long as you remember some basic cautions. It is important that you should not discontinue or begin any medication without consulting your doctor or medical advisor. Second, since herbal remedies are usually marketed as "dietary supplements," they are not subject to the regulation and testing that other prescribed and over the counter medications undergo. This means that potency and purity can vary widely among manufacturers, and also that foreign substances may be present, to a greater or lesser degree, in your herbal mixture. If you seem to have any ill effects, you have to stop using it immediately and do not go back to taking it until you have found out that no harmful substances are present and that no adverse interactions are possible with other medications you may be taking.
Finding Online Sources for Chinese Herbs
A quick Internet search for “Chinese herbs” reveals a host of web sites advertising herb garden information to herbal supplements for everything from weight loss to menopause. Many of these formulations are based on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which includes herbal remedies, acupuncture, therapeutic massage, and other subdisciplines and techniques. Some of these herbal formulations have been in use for hundreds of years. Many of the online sites that offer Chinese organic herbs also promote other TCM techniques, such as those mentioned above, along with links to provide further information. Most sites, such as HolisticChineseHerbs.com and DrShen.com also feature secure online ordering, shopping carts, and shipping, for a more convenient online shopping experience.
TCM, Balance, and Health
Traditional Chinese medicine views health as the state occurring when the body is in proper balance. This means that herbal remedies, like other TCM techniques, are approached with a view to restoring balance, rather than treating a particular condition or organ, as is more typical in Western medicine. Because of this, Chinese herbal remedies that can be found online are usually found in combinations that are intended to promote imbalances typically found in people with certain conditions. Thus, each weight loss formulation can not be made up of the same components depending on the reason for the weight gain. Similarly, in the TCM view, headaches could be due to different types of imbalances, so the herbal remedy would change, depending on the imbalance’s reason.
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