Herb Vs. Indoor Herb Garden
The more sun the vegetable garden gets, the more productive it will be. A vegetable garden looks best when it is enclosed by berry bushes and dwarf fruit trees. Grapes trained on a tall fence make an excellent background. Paths edged with herb plants and flowers bring color to the vegetable garden, and ornaments like strawberry barrels and sundials, if used judiciously, heighten interest and insure a good year-round effect. Deciduous kinds and most of the needled evergreen types of shrubs need sun. Broadleaved evergreens thrive in the shade. Flowering shrubs are attractive as screens and dividers, although they do require more space than borders composed of hedges. Compost piles and bins and other utility areas should be as near as possible to the kitchen, garage or major garden areas for convenience. If they are unsightly, they should be screened with fences or hedges. Brick, stone, concrete or wood are all good materials for a terrace or deck.
Herb can be traced back into the times of the ancient Egyptians and the ancient Chinese. There are also references in the Bible and medieval documents that show herb was used by most households. Growing herb is something that is very beneficial to gardeners for several different purposes. Herb may be used to flavor food, for potpourri, for tea, for medical purposes or to even control pests in the garden. Herb gardens can be specialized towards one of these specific areas or a mixture of a few different purposes. They can also be grown in a garden with other species of plants or in containers indoors. Herb gardens can be grown in different ways such as an indoor herb garden in the kitchen or a small plot in the garden. A small plot of four feet by six feet is a large enough area to support a small family. Although a popular use for herb is for cooking known as culinary herb, they are also grown for their aromatic foliage and some for the beauty of their flowers. They can be used fresh or dried. Some herb plants are used as garnish for plates or salads while other types of herb plants can be used to perk up the flavor of a dish.
Growing an indoor herb garden is a rewarding and efficient way to grow fresh herb plants. You can micro-manage herb plants very well when they are right on windowsill. When growing herb indoors, there are 7 key areas to control for the best results. Once you manage to control these areas, you can grow otherwise difficult herb indoors, even if they would not thrive in your outdoor conditions. This means a southern exposure ideally with about eight hours of sunlight a day. Some signs that your herb garden is not receiving enough light will be long stems and leaves (referred to as leggy), and fading leaves or simply leaves that fall off for no other reason. If there is no enough light from a window, growth of herb plants can be supplemented with grow lights. These special lights differ from regular light bulbs because they shine with the full spectrum light that plants require. There are complete setups with pots and overhead lighting available or grow lights can be purchased separately and placed according to directions. An easy alternative is to purchase florescent shop lights, and keep the light suspended within 4 inches above the growing herb plants.
