Growing Your Own Herbs

If you're not the type of person that wants to spend their time managing an elaborate fruit or vegetable garden, you might consider planting and maintaining an herb garden. While the product might not seem as significant, you'll still enjoy the constant availability of fresh, delicious herbs to flavor your meals with.

First you'll want to choose the herbs that you'll plant. You might have a hard time doing this because of the huge scope of herbs available. But the best way to choose is to do what I did; just look at what you have in your kitchen. By planting your own collection of these herbs, you can save money on buying them from the grocery store while having the added benefit of freshness. Some of the herbs you might start with include rosemary, sage, basil, dill, mint, chives, and parsley among others.

When choosing an area to put your herb garden, you should remember that the soil should have extremely good drainage. If the dirt gets watered and stays completely saturated, you have no chance of ever growing a healthy plant. One of the best ways to fix the drainage problem is to dig a foot deep in the soil, and put a layer of crushed rocks down before replacing all the soil. This will allow all that water to escape, thus saving your plants.

When you are ready to begin planting herbs, you might be tempted to buy the more expensive plants from the store. However, with herbs it is much easier to grow them from seed than it is with other plants. Therefore you can save a bundle of money by sticking with seed packets. Some herbs grow at a dangerously fast rate. For example, if you plant a mint plant in an open space then it will take over your entire garden in a matter of days. The best way to prevent this problem is to plant the more aggressive plants in pots (with holes in the bottom to allow drainage, of course).

When it comes time to harvest the herbs you have labored so hard over, it can be fatal to your plant to take off too much. If your plant isn't well established, it isn't healthy to take any leaves at all, even if it looks like its not using them. You should wait until your plant has been well established for at least several months before taking off any leaves. This wait will definitely be worth it, because by growing unabated your plant will produce healthily for years to come.

Once you've harvested your delicious home grown herbs, you'll want to use them in cooking. Why else would you have grown them? Well first the process begins with drying them out. This is easily achieved by placing them on a cookie sheet and baking them 170 degrees Fahrenheit for 2 to 4 hours. After they're sufficiently dried to be used in cooking, you can consult the nearest cookbook for instructions on using them to effectively flavor a dish.

If you want to store your herbs for later usage, you should keep them in a plastic or glass container. Paper or cardboard will not work, because it will absorb the taste of the herbs. During the first few days of storage, you should regularly check the container and see if any moisture has accumulated. If it has, you must remove all the herbs and re-dry them. If moisture is left from the first drying process, it will encourage mildew while you store your herbs. Nobody likes mildew.

If you enjoy herbs or gardening, or both, then you should probably consider setting up an herb garden. It might require a little bit of work at first to set it up for optimal drainage, and pick what herbs you want to grow. But after the initial hassle, it's just a matter of harvesting and drying all your favorite herbs.

Source: http://www.thecontentcorner.com/Article/Growing-Your-Own-Herbs/69594

How to Make Compost

Compost is a simple, but valuable item that is extremely easy to make. If you have a garden or flowerbeds you can easily make compost to naturally fertilize your plants. There are typically three different types of compost piles. You have what is called a pile, which is exactly what it sounds like. It's when you gather your composting materials and pile them up on the ground. You can also build a small cage out of wood or some type of fencing. The best way to compost is to purchase a composting bin. You can recycle many of your household waste items into your compost pile. Almost all organic matter is suitable for a compost pile; you need both brown and green products for your pile. The brown items which will include tea bags, coffee grinds, manure and almost any other brown organic items are rich in carbon. Green materials which include everything from grass clippings to banana peels are rich in nitrogen. You want your compost heap to have a good equilibrium of carbon and nitrogen. Whatever you do, don't put any protein materials like meat into the compost heap. The protein will rot and cause an awful smell. You can put garden clippings, grass clippings, leaves, kitchen waste, wood ash, pine needles, and even egg shells into the compost pile. Once you have a good pile going you have to ensure that water is introduced and that the sun will raise the temperature of the pile. Composting is a natural process of breaking down organic matter into a rich substance that plants thrive on. Micro-organisms, fungi, bacteria, insects, and worms will eat up the discarded waste and turn it into an excellent organic fertilizer for your garden or flower beds. This is the same process that happens every year when leaves fall to the ground and slowly decompose. All you are doing is speeding up the process. Compost works best when the temperature of the pile is above 100 degrees and below 140 degrees Fahrenheit. At this temperature many seeds and bad items for the compost pile will die in less than a quarter of an hour. If you chop up the items using a lawn mower it makes for much faster composting. If you just pile up all the organic matter and leave it could take up to a year to have good compost, but if you manage it carefully you can have compost in as little as a month. By managing the compost you have to ensure that the temperature is hot and there is a good level of nitrogen and carbon. If you feel the pile and it is warmer than the temperature outside then it's doing its job, if not then you must add more nitrogen materials such as grass clippings or manure. You also must ensure that the pile stays moist; it needs water to properly decay. The pile should always have a little moisture, about as much as a wrung out towel. Not only is this excellent fertilizer for your garden, but it also helps cut down on wastes at the community land fill. And with more and more waste services refusing to take grass clippings, leaves, and tree limbs this is an excellent way to discard of those materials. Composting is not only good for your garden, it's good for the community and can be a fun process. It's neat to watch nature at work and see how we have found ways to speed up the natural process. Happy composting!

Source: http://www.thecontentcorner.com/Article/How-to-Make-Compost/68216

Ideas for your Toronto Balcony

One of the most popular trends of the new millennium is on towards outdoor living. What this means is that more and more people are seeking to use their land as well as their houses as living spaces, moving living areas out onto decks and patios and even lawns. By doing his, people can enjoy nice weather outdoors and still have the comforts they expect inside.

Contrary to popular opinion outside of our borders, Canadians are certainly not exempt from the draw of outside living. In fact, one might say that we appreciate really great weather even more than our neighbours to the south, since we know what BAD weather is really like. So it's not surprising that all across Canada people are creating their own outdoor living rooms, from the rural areas right to the big cities such as Toronto.

Of course, when you are talking about the majority of Toronto residents in the downtown area particularly, outdoor living spaces are going to be centred around the balconies of apartment and condominium complexes. In this article, we are going to take a look at some ideas to incorporate into your outdoor living on your Toronto balcony.

Start with your furniture. The best place to begin when it comes to setting up a living area outdoors is with your furniture choices. Most balconies are covered, so you won't have to worry about the effects of rain, but wind can still do some weathering on susceptible furniture. Take a look at pieces made form hardy materials, but which are still comfortable to sit or lie down on. You might want to include a couple of different pieces for sitting or lying down on; chairs, hammocks, even swings are all great options. And don't forget a nice table, of a size that can suit your snacking or even outdoor dinner ideas!

Decorative touches. Once you have your furniture picked out, you can start thinking about those little touches that will give your balcony a flavour that is uniquely you. Your touches should include decor that flows well with your furniture choices.

Plants and flowers. Including plants and flower will add to the atmosphere, complementing the outdoor location of your home outside of home. Plastic arrangements are wonderful when done properly, and of course don't require the labour needed for the real thing.

So don't let living in Canada, or living in a high-rise building, stop you from creating your own room outdoors. Outdoor living spaces are easy, trendy, and they convey a true sense of freedom.

Source: http://www.thecontentcorner.com/Article/Ideas-for-your-Toronto-Balcony/66821

The Truth Behind Why Many Gardens Fail

With spring on the way and people getting ready to garden, some for the first time; this might be a good time to review some of the mistakes that most of us have made at one time or another.

* Not preparing your soil properly. If your soil is barren, you can add peat moss, perlite, vermiculite,humus, clean straw, compost, or composted-manure. A good mix is 2/3 soil with 1/3 amendments added. You are feeding the soil, not the plant.

* Not planting in an area that receives at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight daily.

* Over planting. Fewer seeds spaced evenly are usually enough. The majority of your seeds will sprout, so why waste them, your time and your money by going back later and than thinning them out?

* Not watering properly. Consistent and frequent watering it is best. Initial watering can be light, but as the growing season wears on, deeper soaking is encouraged. One inch of water per week is the standard. Soaker hoses or drip irrigation systems are ideal for this chore. Water deeply, not daily. Improper watering is the number one cause of garden failure.

* Planting too deep. If using transplants the hole should be approximately the size of the root ball. The root-ball should stick out of the ground a fraction of an inch. If the root ball is bound up, open it so the roots will spread out. Do not bury seeds too deeply and remember to read the instructions on the seed packet.

* Planting vegetables that are not suitable for your growing zone. Check to see what your growing zone is.

* Using unhealthy transplants in the hope that they will recover. They might, but you are making a long-shot bet.

* Not weeding. Start out by weeding before the weeds get ahead of you. They will be competing with the vegetables for food water, nourishment and light, early weeding will make life a lot easier for you and your vegetables.

* Over fertilizing. More fertilizer is not better. Too much fertilizer can lead to excessive foliage growth with spindly stems and less produce. 1 in. of compost should be enough to grow annual vegetables for a season. Fertilize sparingly and only as necessary.

* Creating too large a garden. When gardening gets to be a chore, it becomes too easy to let upkeep slide.

Remember, too much food is wasteful unless you have a lot of hungry neighbors. Grow only what you need.

Source: http://www.therealarticles.com/Article/The-Truth-Behind-Why-Many-Gardens-Fail/148972