The Herb Garden
The Herb Garden should be an important part of any overall garden plan. Herbs have many uses but the two main uses I like are for culinary use and medicinal purposes. The Herb Garden should be located in an area that is easily accessible to the kitchen. Herbs are often planted together in what we call the Herb Garden. Herb gardens can be very attractive and the focal point in any yard. They are composed of many paths and often of round shapes. The many paths can create interesting designs and are necessary for access to the many varieties that people like to grow. I consider the Herb Garden very important for everyone to develop. I think the future of living a healthy life style is in the natural preventive supplements and cures that are available to us from plants that we can grow and harvest in our own back yard. I keep harping on the topic that nature provided us with these gifts and all we need to do is research and find them. It was a time that people only relied on a local Medicine doctor to provide them with cures. Now we look at it as voodoo medicine. I think we need to combine these two worlds of medicine to achieve the maximum benefits to live a healthy life. There are plants we can produce in our garden that can improve our health. The problem is that not enough research has been put into this aspect of healthy living. The big money and the big profits are in drug companies and Agricultural marketing of ready made foods and the huge health industry that relies on cures. The more we can take control of the health of our bodies the better we will understand what we need to do. I am convinced medically focusing on prevention rather than relying on cures is a better path to follow. This has been proven to me in my dealings with plants. I no longer use toxic sprays on a weekly basis but in stead build up the immune system of my plants and use beneficial insect to help control insect and disease problems. Studies have been conducted where crops grown in healthy organic soils resist insects and diseases and avoid the need to follow a spray program. I realize big bucks for research is where the money is but we also need to put it where our health is. Building an Herb Garden and researching what benefits different herbal plants can provide you with is a great investment.
The Herb Garden needs to be located in an area that is well drained. Many Herb Gardens have rock boulders added allowing organic soil to be brought in and mounded developing micro climates for special needs of certain herbs. On page 193 of my book there is an interesting picture of an Herb Garden. This shows what a charming addition this would be to any garden,
In selecting herbs to put in your Herb Garden a great deal of research should be done. There are many good books on this subject although I feel a lot more research still needs to be done. One of my favorite herbs is Aloe Vera and I eat a piece of it each day and have over 33 uses for it. Unfortunately this herb is not hardy and needs to be grown on your kitchen widow sill. In my book ’12 Steps To Natural Gardening’ on page 331 I recommend for reading ‘Growing 101 Herbs That Heal’. This would be a good book to get started with. There are lots of books on culinary uses. We handle Gilberties large selection of organically grown herbs. This is an old company that I have known and grown up with for years. Our friendship mirrows a similar path of growth as we grew up and were educated in the chemical world and moved on our own to the organic world. I love the large variety of herbs that they sell with the very descriptive and informative labeling. We also grow some of our own herbs. Gilbertie has a website which you may want to check out. wwwgilbertiesherbs.com http
Care of the Herb Garden is important. They should be planted in a loose well drained organic soil, Most herbs require sun but some will take shade. Check the cultural requirements of each Herb you grow. It is a good idea to create as many mini climates within your garden and try to match your plants requirements to the location within the garden. A good source of water is necessary and I prefer watering them by hand. There is usually such a large mixture of plants and each requiring a different amount of water as well as mounded and depression areas within the garden that I prefer watering to be a judgment call. You can usually tell if a plant is too wet or too dry and provide water accordingly. Weeds are in direct competition with your herbs and need to be controlled from early on. Corn Gluten can be applied as a pre-emergent weed control and mulches should be applied to reduce weeding and for water conservation. I like to feed them regularly with a mixture of organic fertilizers. Follow the same recommendations that I have for the vegetable garden on page 157 in my book. Herbs should be gathered frequently to keep them full and bushy. Use them fresh as much as possible but if they get to leggy harvest and dry them for future use. Herbs can be grown in containers and make ideal patio plants. In the fall when your annual herbs die, remove them and add them to your compost pile. Add a thin layer of lobster mix or your own compost and replenish your mulch to a two inch depth. After the first heavy freeze cut your plants back. Feed them in early spring with Plant-tone.
I had a customer who came to me in tears. She said the traditional Doctors were killing her husband. She wanted to know if I new of any homeopathic Doctors. She wanted to know how to build an herb garden and she had researched the benefits of herbs that would help her husband’s condition. She wanted to take things into her own hand. In the fall she called me and said how much these herbs had helped him. She called me specifically to find how I ate Aloe Vera, what size did I eat and how frequently. I told her I ate a small 1 to 2 inch piece each day. A former employee of mine developed a hole in her stomach. She went to countless doctors but was not able to cure it. I told her to try eating Aloe Vera on a daily basis and it was the only thing that solved her problem. I had to go for radiation and suffered no side effects and my friend who had the same treatment suffered with radiation burn. My wife on our way to Germany gauged her finger which required stitches. She had no time to have it stitched so she took Aloe leaves with her and applied it topically 4 times a day. It healed quickly and left no scars. I have a whole chapter filled with my Aloe Vera stories. Take some time to read them they are on page 283. I have always told my friends the cure to all problems is running and Aloe Vera. My running friends agreed with the running part but always teased me about the Aloe Vera part. One of the runners who teased me suffered terrible pain in a bout with shingles. He was under Doctors care and taking whatever the Doctor prescribed. I told him to try applying Aloe Vera topically and he laughed. In desperation he finally did and said it was the only thing that relieved the pain. He still likes to tease me about Aloe Vera but doesn’t laugh at me anymore. He says Al you are right Aloe Vera does work.
In closing I would like to say. Your yard can be a very interesting place to live in. There are so many things that can be part of it. Gardening is therapeutic. It is full of challenges, successes and failures. There are so many components that can become part of it. In these last segments I have been dealing with plants that are used for food or medicinal purposes. I will continue with my series of putting your garden together and discuss other subjects with you. Working in your garden keeps you thinking, planning and achieving. It is my desire to broaden your horizons. You realize as you work in your garden that everything is connected, plants, man, sun, wind, rain and the earth. It is here that inspiration will arise. Check out naturalgardennews.com. We will be funneling much of our information there. Pass this email on to anyone you think might be interested or could benefit from it. Time wise we are still in the planning phase but soon we will be in the planting phase. Keep an open mind for new ideas.
