Over the years of gardening I have gain some garden wisdom, most of it from trial and error, and reading many, many books on gardening. To make your gardening life easier to start here are my top 3 tips for herb gardening success to make your plants grow and prosper beautifully!
I love Gardening, I hope I give you some inspiration to grow beautiful plants that will nourish you body and soul! And of course a Herbal Affair 😉 A little bit about me and my gardening inspirations!
I have been gardening for years….My best fond memories of a garden was going into my father’s garden as a kid and stealing the raw pea pods to eat ! OMG….they were like heaven to me! They never made it to the dinner table! Then there was my grandfather’s garden…..he had a gigantic garden, at least it looked that way to me as a kid….It was always so perfect and it always looked so pretty to me….little did I know all the work that went into that garden!……He had this grape vine….thick skinned Concord grapes that would melt in your mouth! Yes….It was the first thing I did when going to visit him was to run to that grape vine to eat those yummy grapes! Someday I will try to learn to grow those in Florida!
So that is where my gardening journey began…..My chores consisted of weeding the garden before I was allowed to go and play with my friends! I look back and I have a big smile on my face just thinking about these memories! I have gardened from Maine to Florida , each place had its challenges for sure! I have learned through much trial and error, have always tried to organically garden with companion plants and natural fertilizers.
# 1 ~ Your first step in growing is to pick the healthiest plants you can find. Try to find a nursery near you that grow their own plants! Look for healthy plant, bright color, with plenty of foliage. Look closely at the plants to make sure there aren’t any white aphids on them!
# 2 ~ Planting your herbs in the correct spot is vital along with growing plants together that like each other! Herbs have friends too! As I go through the month I will give you that info for each herb! One very important and fun step to having healthy plants is harvesting the herbs for recipes , teas or ointments!! If you don’t do this on a regular basis your herb plants will get leggy and die. By pruning you encourage new growth which will keep your plants healthy and producing for a long time. I try to do this on a weekly basis and will be giving you tips on that as well! Some herbs you will use the seeds which is the end of the life cycle for that plant. The best way to do that is to get seeds of that plant to start new plants once a month!
# 3 ~ The best way to water your herbs is the morning hours. You should water the soil and not the leaves if possible to prevent mildew and disease. Here in Florida it is tough to keep plants in containers from drying out. With morning watering and some tips I will share for larger containers your herbs should be happy and thrive! I have learned the hard way container growing herbs in pots and will share some great tips to make sure they get the moisture they need to be healthy!
Do you have any great memories of gardening when you were a kid? What do you love about gardening? Any questions let me know, I love sharing gardening tips! Please share them!
xoxo Jan
16 Comments
Like your grandfather, mine also gardened when I was young. He used to wake up very early in the morning and spent the day there, doing tasks around the garden(he was long retired by then). I just thought he was nuts, working hard like that, but I loved the produce – the tomatoes, fresh carrots you could just dig up and eat, oranges, naartjies, peaches, apricots, figs etc. Then I grew older and I started to appreciate the amount of work he put into his garden.
I’m now caretaker of the gardens he first started. They have changed over the years, but I still learn a thing or two remembering how he did things (for example, he harvested rainwater before it was an eco-friendly thing to do). I wish he was here sometimes, so i could ask him questions, but then, if he was, I don’t know he could make it into the garden, as he would be 124:-)
I love these gardening stories! My grandmother’s garden was a typical Italian one. I swear her basil plants were 10 feet tall! And the aroma!! So intoxicating!
Awww, where did your grandmother live?
Originally lived in Abruzzi, Italy then came through Ellis Island and lived the rest of her life in East Bridgewater, Mass.
Isn’t is wonderful thinking of all those memories! what are naartjies?
I grew up on a small farm, so growing our own vegetables was a given each year. We had chores of weeding and watering, along with milking goats and feeding the chickens. The best part was the fresh vegetables on our table each day.
I’m visiting from the A to Z Challenge. I enjoyed your blog!
How nice! Thanks for you comment! Nothing like garden fresh veggies!
I had good luck with a stand up garden last year here in Colorado. Everything but Cilantro did well. My son gave me a redwood planter 6 feet by 2 1/2 feet. I love it as I can do everything without kneeling. It is about three feet tall. I planted herbs and tomatoes and no deer or rabbits bothered it as they have done in my garden in past years.
Oh that does sound nice! I will be making something similar to that this year, I believe its called a tower garden, Look for it in May!
I need to come back here! I always plant SOME herbs, but I’m not good at harvesting and using. What’s wrong with me??? I love parsley, but I’m grossed out by those big green caterpillars that I swear have teeth.
Your a hoot! Ya I here ya about the caterpillars! Did you know they turn into beautiful black swallowtail butterflies?
my memories are always of my dad planting veg in even the smallest of gardens, myself, I took cuttings of a rose bush that a gardener was throwing away, I was about 12 at the time, and stuck them down in front of our living room window, they bloomed for me, beautiful pink and white roses for many years. I’ve long since left that particular house, so I don’t know if they are still blooming.
Loved your theme Jan, it could not have come at a better time. Spring has arrived in Portland , Oregon. I’m planning to start my garden from scratch, nothing fancy just a few potted plants in my patio. Looking forward to gardening tips 🙂
Fellow A-Zer
Oh that is so good! Spring in Oregon must be beautiful! I will have some herbs in pots soon posted!
Hola…Firstly, I love your theme! And gardening – well I live in a flat having a small balcony but still successfully managed to grow coriander and holy basil (very common in India). Great tips!
Those big green caterpillars are horn worms. Aren’t they so gross!!!! They say don’t kill the ones with the parasites all over them……..eeeeyoooo!