Herb Gardening
Herb gardening has gained importance over the last years. The wider
acceptance of natural remedies and the healing power of herbs has allowed people
a closer view at the advantages of herbs.
Probably one of the main advantages is that herbs are easily cultivated, they
are inexpensive when compared with the pills that have the same purpose. Science
and natural healing have such a different viewpoints on how health should be
restored that each approach give very different results. Science tries to
pinpoint one ingredient, concentrate it and disappear the ailment's symptoms in
the patient. Natural medicine will provide a herb or several herbs in a mixture
of so many components that they are hard to determine in a scientific way, the
herb will act in the whole body, stimulating the healing by the body itself.
Herb gardening gives a lot of people the opportunity of trying the
alternative by themselves. Early in history, most homes had a special place to
plant and grow medicinal herbs. Most herbs can be used dry and therefore last a
long time stored.
Try to know as much as you can of the herbs that you want to plant. Many will
require little water and poor soils, while others will die if too much sunlight
is directed at them or if the ground has excess humidity. Put all the herbs that
go together in separate bunches and then proceed on planting. Blooming and life
cycles should also be taken into account, some plants will bloom in winter,
others in summer; herbs can live one or several years.
If herbs can be identified by yourself, you can take a long walk in the
country and pick them up, the stems can be transplanted and grown into new
healthy plants with little care.
Experience in herb gardening will show you that a poor soil will work better
in most cases. Set your garden as far away of trees as possible, trees have long
roots and will take away on the nutrients intended for your herb. Also, weed
regularly, weeds can destroy your garden in no time, as herbs will not resist
aggressive vines that will strangle them.
Do not compact the soil, the majority of herbs require good oxygenation at
root level and a tight ground will choke them. Use abundant water but allow it
to drain freely, if the ground is becoming a puddle, then more drainage is
needed. This can be done by hammering long sticks into the ground and then
removing them. The holes will allow the water to seep down bellow the herb
roots.
Herb gardening is fun and rewarding, give love to your plants and they will
respond accordingly.
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