Herb Gardening Books Review
January 18, 2010 by admin
Filed under Gardening Tips, Herb
Gardening and cooking are related in many ways. Both start with basic ingredients and produce something fragrant, aesthetically appealing, and very fulfilling. Growing an herb garden is the perfect way to combine a love for gardening and cooking. Cultivating herbs and spices yourself, and then incorporating them into your cuisine forms a delightful duo. The books we review here will provide you will all the instruction you need for growing a first-rate, useful herb garden.
1. Your Backyard Herb Garden: A Gardener’s Guide to Growing Over 50 Herbs Plus How to Use Them in Cooking, Crafts, Companion Planting and More, by Miranda Smith: That title is a mouthful, and you’ll love the mouthfuls of delicious food you prepare with herbs from your own garden. Smith writes with an enthusiastic, engaging style that will have you excited about the possibilities. Her detailed explanations make growing healthy, productive herbs easy and fun. Helpful sections on soil preparation, fertilizing, irrigating, and preparing harvested herbs for use are worth the price of the book. Bonus material covers employing herbs outside the kitchen, in potpourri, cosmetics, crafts and more.
2. The Herb Gardener: A Guide for All Seasons, by Susan McClure: Practical and inspiring, this guide offers clear instructions illustrated with generously provided color photographs and drawings. Solid basics about herb cultivation are covered before McClure turns to a discussion of maintaining outdoor and indoor herb gardens that will keep you in fresh herbs all the year round. Herb garden designs that feature beauty and accessibility are included. The section on dividing your plants offers you the opportunity to share your hobby with family and friends, giving them a memorable gift they’ll appreciate with each herb-enhanced meal!
3. The Complete Book of Herbs: A Practical Guide to Growing and Using Herbs, by Lesley Bremness: This full-color best seller is a gold mine of practical advice, beginning with clear explanation of how to plan a design a productive herb garden. All the details of planting, nurturing, and harvesting your lovely little crops are at your fingertips. Helpful extras include a guide to herb identification, gift ideas to spread the bounty of your efforts, medicinal uses, and fantastic recipes that deliver fresh flavor in each meal.
4. Little Herb Gardens: Simple Secrets for Glorious Gardens–Indoors and Out by Georgeanne Brennan: Herb gardens are as easy to grow as they are delightful to use, and this enjoyable book will detail how to cultivate and fully enjoy your herb garden. This book is unique in that Brennan offers an extensive guide to container gardening, in addition to sound instruction on creating luscious outdoor herb gardens. This best selling guide offers detailed profiles on 30 different herbs, offering instruction on how to grow them, and tips for using them to create culinary masterpieces.
Culinary Herb Garden
January 12, 2010 by admin
Filed under Gardening Tips, Herb, Indoor
Cooking from scratch may not always be a possibility, but many cuisine-conscious cooks who know their way around the kitchen love to relax at home by producing something truly unique, with their signature stamped all over it, when time allows. To do this, a high-quality, taste-delivering culinary herb garden is a tremendous asset. Let’s begin by looking at the essential herbs you might want to consider for your garden.
Here’s a list that will add zest to any recipe:
1. Bay: Start with one plant, indoors or outdoors as weather permits. Grow it in a large pot, 8 inches or more, so the progress of its roots will not be impeded. With a bit of experimenting, you’ll find many uses for Bay that will enhance your culinary efforts.
2. Sweet Fennel: Start with two plants and divide it when ready. Prune/harvest the leaves often, and it will keep producing faithfully. This tasty herb has been used to rave reviews for centuries, and will add just the right touch of sweet and savory spice to soups, sauces, and baked meats.
3. Dill: Start one or two plants each month, so you’ll have a regular supply of this useful herb throughout the year. If you love to can your fresh vegetables, grow plenty of dill, to add tang to cucumbers, tomatoes, and beans. Added to creamy sauces and soups in the quantity you choose, it creates something special out of ordinary main ingredients.
4. Sweet Basil: . Add some fresh pasta, an Italian sausage or two, and enjoy! Any savory dish will taste better with the addition of this popular herb. Five to seven plants are a good start.
5. Oregano: Start with 2 to 4 plants, because you’ll always find something new to add this herb to. Soups, casseroles featuring tomato bases, baked meats, and crock-pot stews will all sparkle with a tasty touch of this versatile herb.
Round out your culinary herb garden with thyme, winter savory, rosemary, and mint, and you’ll never lack a way to spice up a mundane meal and make it something memorable. As you gain experience you’ll want to add the herbs that grab your fancy. Each time you enjoy a flavorsome meal in one of your favorite restaurants, let your server know you’d love to compliment the chef. When he or she appears, offer robust praise, and then, under your breath, ask what herbs created such a culinary delight. The secrets you coax from them will translate into wonderful taste experiences at home. Herbs deliver a sensuous ambience to any meal that nothing else can add. Developing a first-rate culinary herb garden will take time, patience, and experimentation, but most great cooks find this investment in great recipes to be very rewarding, relaxing, and creatively fun.
When you grow more than you can use, trade herbs with your other gardening friends, or simply give away your over-abundance to those who will appreciate it. Drying, freezing, and storing your herbs is another great idea, so you’ll have them available even in winter, even when not growing an indoor herb garden. Most herbs dry very well on the stem, but tarragon, parsley, and basil also freeze very nicely. With a little planning, you’ll enjoy the best herb flavors throughout the year!
Indoor herb gardening products :
Indoor Herb Garden
January 11, 2010 by admin
Filed under Gardening Tips, Herb, Indoor
Fresh herbs year round, what a fantastic concept! Even in winter, when your local grocer has very little that looks invitingly fresh, you can be harvesting your own fresh herbs at home, for a perfectly seasoned sauce or an herb blend that turns a mediocre recipe into a masterpiece. Developing your own indoor herb garden is actually quite easy. Choose the herb seeds you want, and plant them in potting soil and 4” to 6” pots. Or, select plants already started at your local nursery, and create a home environment that will allow them to thrive. From there, make sure your indoor herb garden excels in these areas:
1. Light: You’ll need at least 6 hours of natural daylight per day, with the more the merrier. If this is impossible, purchase an artificial grow light and use it 12 to 16 hours per day.
2. Temperature: Herbs grow well where temps are consistently between 60 and 80 degrees F. They’re not too choosy, but consistency is important.
3. Water: Especially in winter, when heat sources like the furnace are drying out the air, you’ll need to keep the soil moist, per the seed provider’s specifications. A bit of research, followed by careful observation, will let you how much watering each herb likes best. Avoid over watering and letting the herbs go too long without a drink. Many green thumb herb gardeners recommend flushing your herb plants monthly, by watering them thoroughly, letting the excess water drain, then repeating the process. After that, do not water for at least one week, then resume your normal schedule. This is especially important when you are using ready-mix fertilizers that can cause a build-up in the soil of harmful substances like sodium.
4. Soil: Straight potting soil will work well for most herbs. If you are bringing them in from an outdoor garden, the pot them in the soil they’re accustomed to in your yard. If your preferred herb likes a drier setting, mix up one part potting soil, one part sand, and one part peat moss.
5. Fertilizer: Fresh compost is always welcomed by potted plants. Be cautious with ready-mix fertilizers. Start slow to avoid burning out the roots of a plant. Follow directions and you should be okay.
6. Keep pests at bay: It is most likely that pests will not bother your indoor herb garden. But give each plant a regular inspection when watering. At the first sign of pests, remove any affected leaves and spray the rest with a soapy water solution.
7. Pruning: When speaking of herbs, pruning is another name for harvesting the great-tasting leaves and stems, which you can add to your next adventure in cuisine artistry. Herbs thrive on being pruned, so prune with confidence – and reap the benefits via your tastebuds!
With time, your own experience will grow into expertise, as your herbs grow into succulent, tasty, means of making every dish come alive with wonderful aroma and flavor. You’ll watch with mouth-watering anticipation as your herbs grow healthy, robust leaves, thinking of all the culinary delights that their presence will produce. Here is a partial list of the herbs which will prosper in an indoor herb garden: Chives, thyme, French tarragon, oregano, basil, sage, sweet marjoram, lavender, chamomile, rosemary, and angelica. Life’s homegrown pleasures are the best!
Indoor herb gardening products :
