Gardening Tips

Herbs from Seed

Growing herbs from seed can be pleasing experience if preparations are carried out carefully. Some people prefer to start the seeds indoors where one can control the environtment and keep their friends, the birds, from eating the seed before they germinate.  If they are going to grow a plant in a container, they plant the seed in the pot in which it will grow. if seed are to be grown outside, in the garden, they start them in flats of some sort.

The most important thing to remember when starting any seeds is to keep the seedling bed constantly moist. This means moist to the touch on the soil`s surface, but not really soppy wet. If the tiny seedlings are allowed to become dry, they will wilt and never recover. Watering should be done with a mister of sometype until the plants reach about two inches in height. If they are moisted by pouring water on them, they will be dislodged, and your careful distribution of the seeds will be totally wrecked.

After the seedlings are up there is another problem with watering by pouring; that is the stream of water will wash the seedlings to their sides and they will generally end up lying flat on the soil.

The soil mix for seedling should be very fine. The mixture should include equal parts potting soil, coarse sand and peat moss. Prepare the mix by first sifting the soil through a 1/4 inch mesh screen. Usually they prefer to buy package potting soil for starting seeds due to the fact that it is sterilized and is usually fine in the mixture.

Gardening with Aloe

Aloe is not a Herb, but it belongs on the kitchen windowfill with herbs or other plants that prove useful to the cook. Some people should not be allowed in the kitchen for any reason, but sometimes we want a cup of coffee so we end up piddling around in the cooking area. As a result, we pick up hot pots or cooking dishes that give nice burns. Ah, that`s where our little Aloe plant makes the scene. You simply break off a little, one-half inch, piece of the stalk and rub the syrupy substance from the plant on the burned area. It`s almost well by the time it is applied. That`s the way i feel about aloe, but it is not that fast-acting. It does, however, help to take away the burning pain and aids in the further healing of the burn abd that`s jolly well good for a little plant like aloe.

Aloe is a succulent that is native to South Africa and a member of the lilly family. The varieties described here is Aloe Vera. There are lots of other aloe, some grow to tree-height, and others only a few inches tall. Vera grows to about ten inches, with soft fleshy stalks that are flat and somewhat similar to an onion plant.

The color of the foliage is gray-green, with a slight veriegation. It has little prickly-looking stickers on the side of the stalk, but they are absolutely harmless. The plant likes a soil mixture containing one-half sand, one-fourth soil, and one-fourth peat moss. Add to a quart of this mixture, one teaspoon of bone meal, one tablespoon lime, two teaspoons of small gravel or crushed charcoal. Give it a nice sunny windowsill and keep it moist from March to September.

In other months give just enough moisture to keep stalks from shriveling, which means a light watering weekly. The plant likes temperatures that range from forty-five to seventy-five degrees.

A guy had ab aloe plant for two years and have had many occasions to use its substance for burns. It has been pinched-on, neglected, and shoved aside for more attractive plants, but it sticks with him, with no troubles. A dear nursery friendd “Grandma Smith”, gave him his firts plant abd told him of its virtues. Immediately, he wanted another one, but she told him to watchs that one for a while, take care of it, and it would make new plants for him.

Not knowing exactly how it would reproduce, he waited for only a short while and new plants out when they were about two inches tall, gave them their own little pots and now he has several- just in case he get a really bad burn.

Aloe can also be reproduced by seeds that germinate in about one moth. The little sprouts that appear at the base of the plant are actually attached to the mother plant and seldom have their own root systems. They should be treated as any other cutting until they have taken root and start growing. Wait until the plant is about three month old before you start pinching it for burn.

Indoor gardening with Tarragon

Tarragon is one of the more difficult plants to grow indoors but it can be done if care is taken not to over water the plant, and if three or four hours of direct sun are available. The botanical name of Tarragon is Artemisia Dracunculus, and one should check to make sure they are getting this variety. Another tarragon is offered for sale, known sometimes as Russian Tarragon, which is inferior to the flavor of Artemisia Dracunculus.

The superior variety is most often referred to as French Tarragon. This variety can not be started from seed due to the fact that the plant does not make seeds. Propagation is by cuttings or division of the plants.

The plant will spread quite freely in the garden after it is well-established, so it should not be difficult to find the seeding plants available. They develop large root systems and indoors, it might be necessary to move the plant to a larger container two or three times a year. One way to know when it is time to re-pot is to check the drainage hole for signs of root growth.

If you see roots making their away through the hole, move the plant to larger deeper container. The container must have good drainage since over-watering means sure death for plant. Use a potting mix containing equal parts soil, sand, and peat moss, with one-half cup of small gravel added to the mixture.

Tarragon is hardly plant and will take the winter where temperatures seldom fall below ten degrees. It is mature at one or two feet but can be maintained at ten inches for container growing. It has smooth, shiny leaves that are slim, about two inches long and pointed.

The stems are slender and twisting with sparse leaves along each side. The growth habit is bush-like but the leaves and side growth make it a graceful and very pretty plant. It is used extensively for making Tarragon vinegar and is important ingredient for many French dishes.

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If you desire, you can check basic garden understanding as well.