I want to do the herbs in containers too. Should I get the plants already started and plant them in the pots, or should I get seeds and plant them in the pots? What about those herb growing kits that come with the seeds that are in these little peat moss pellets? Also, if I want organic herbs does that mean I need to buy organic herb seed or organic herb plant, or will it be organic either way as long as I'm not using chemicals? Thanks! Obviously inexperienced over here...
To plant an herb garden is it better to get seeds or the plants already started?
That depends upon whether you are good at seed starting. If you enjoy gardening and like to watch the development, seeds are the way to go. If you are rather in a hurry and not too gardening savvy, you will want to go with the starts. I love to plant, and there is only one way to get started: just do it!
If you do not want many herbs, however, you may just want to buy a start or two; depending upon the herb.
Organic means there were no chemicals used on the seed and that they were harvested and grown naturally. You can buy organic seed; most of the ones in the stores are not. Some are, so read the packet.
I would avoid peat pots and peat in general. It is running out and soil and pots are great anyway. We do not want to deplete the earth too quickly!
Seeds of Change has great organic seeds. You pay a bit more for them, but of course it is environmentally desirable to use them.
http://www.seedsofchange.com/default.asp
Reply:That depends on what you want to grow. Perennial herbs do best from starts, but annual herbs are easily started in the ground. Some perennials would include lavender, rosemary, thyme .. woody types. Annuals would be basil, borage and cilantro. You don't need to buy organic seed, but if you are going to use them for cooking I would suggest that you grow them organically.
Reply:both there are hundreds of herbs .get everything yopu can get hold off
the plants are the best ,but the most expensive and they have a head start.
some thought on organic soil
QUESTION
What is the role of composting in improving soil?
Indicate what it does and how it is effective and why one would want to improve soil in the first place.
ANSWER
make compost heap from all kitchen wastes and any organic material you can find ,organic,paper,eggshells,bones wet branches tec,
a compost heap will have topsoil after 6 months or so a lot depends on you weather and humidity you can speed it up by
adding red earthworms and turning the compost with a fork to avoid killing the worms or by adding lime and always keep it covered with leaves or .sand or plastic to enhance the humidity(check info on worm,or lombriculture)
i got a compost heap that has been going for 5 years ,tons of cuttings from the garden including coconut palm leaves and bits of trees ,does not seem to get bigger and i still havent got around to using it.
make your compost heap on top of a bowel shaped hole so that the centre is wet and it will consume just about everything.and have it in the shade ,under a tree or put a little roof on it
but more practical is mulching directly on your garden plots
MULCH
what you can do imediatly is to cover the ground with mulch which is the same principal as compost but it includes the whole garden surface
the top part of the soil where the topsoil is being produced houses a world or microbiotic life.
Mulch is organic material green or dry that covers the ground,the thicker the better the composting process will turn it in to black topsoil
the humidity is preserved underneath and promotes the devellopment of worms(their exists no better compost than their excrements)and a variety of micro biotic life which together with the mulch produce more topsoil.
the mulch also keeps the ground temperature even and guards against the impact of the rain ,which would other wise brings salt to the surfave if on unprotected land
Mulch also prevents the soil from drying out because of the sun and, lay it open to wind erosian.
FERTILISER
only use manures and animal urine to fertilise,one can plant plants for mulch on the edges of vegetable plots to be chopped down for green mulch
PEST CONTROL
many weeds have natural properties that are good for insect repellents
another priceless pest control is the silky and bantum chickens which dont rake the ground but only run and eat 70% of all walking and jumping insects and they also leave quit a lot of manure behind ,if you have enough of them
guiny fowel and partridge will do almost the same job
snakes kill rats.iguanas eat a variety of pests
HUMIDITY
One should always shape the land inicially and make it bowel shaped (if small)terassed if on a slope with an edge around it so that it becomes receptive as aposed to repellent of the water that falls on it and to prevent erosion.
if on the flats it should be self draining.but with cannals also bringing water flows into the land from higher up.
I have connected cannals to road gutters to bring more water in.
soil management should be a component of a larger concept
which includes ,waterharvesting (to zero run off)and form
as well as pest control and diversity of plants.
so you dont have to wait for compost to be ready ,first shape the garden ,i always start by making all the garden paths the resulting design gives me the individual plots.
then dig the drainage cannals and put in your irrigation systems
then devellop the individual plots one by one ,put in the plants and as you leave ,cover the ground with a mulch ,so that nowhere the bare soil can be seen .
a good book that has a very large section on soil and some of the things mentioned is
the Permaculture designers manual by Bil Mollison cost about 40 dollars.
and is the best all round book you can get.(tagiari publishing, tagariadmin@southcom.com.au)
Permaculture means permanent agriculture
a concept put forward by Bill Mollisson in the 60`s
which is a complete hand book for environmental design.
With practical solutions for energy systems ,infratructure ,housing,
animal shelter ,water systems and sustainable agricultural practises.
With the world and it`s history as it`s source
From the chinampas of Mexico to the teraced gardens of the Andes.
From the dessert whadis to the steppes of Russia.
Covering all climatic conditions temporal, dessert, humid and dry tropics.
with chapters on soil ,Water harvesting and land design,
Earth working ,Spirals in nature,Trees and water ,utilising energy flows,
Strategy for an alternative nation
this book also has many gardening tips,bio-gas,companion planting and ideas for structures ,how to cool down houses in hot climates ,how to warm up houses in cold climates with out using technology Source(s) some other writers that are on the internet are
david Holmgren
Larry Santoyo
Kirk Hanson
Masanobu Fukuaka has written ,
One-Straw Revolution
The Road Back to Nature
The Natural Way of Farming
http://www.context.org/iclib/ic14/fukuok...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/masanobu_fu...
Simon Henderson
and Bill Molisson.
a representitive of the concept in USA is
Dan Hemenway at YankeePerm@aol.com
barkingfrogspc@aol.com
http://barkingfrogspc.tripod.com/frames....
http://csf.colorado.edu/perma/ypc_catalo...
I am a permaculture consultant for the department of Ecology for the regional government of Guerrero in Mexico
i got a yahoo 360 which has some stuff in English as well as this spaces
http://spaces.msn.com/byderule
Reply:Get herb seeds will be economiical and interesting to grow.
Reply:I really do not like the peat pellets, I think they dry out WAY too easily and once they do it's nigh impossible to get them just moist, they're either completely dried out or soggy. Since herbs do NOT like being soggy, I think you wind up creating problems for yourself later on by using peat pots.
Technically you need organic seed to be considered organic but I don't worry about it. The main thing is to not use chemicals once the plant is growing.
Herbs grow fairly easily from seed but I always get the started ones because I just need a few plants, not a few dozen seeds. I have the luck to live near a totally organic nursery though (used to work there) so the plants I buy from them haven't been treated with any chemicals.
Reply:Most herbs work great in containers. A few easy to grow from seed are cilantro, dill, mint. Buy plants and you will hvae a supply of herbs immediately! Rosemary gets so big, it needs to go in the ground. Basil does well in pots and in the ground. Thyme is great in an urn type of planter, in fact planting several different plants in a pot makes a beautiful display.
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