If Youre Not The Type Of Person That Wants To Spend Their Time Managingan Elaborate Fruit Or Vegetable Garden, You Might Consider Planting Andmaintaining An Herb Garden. While The Product Might Not Seem Assignificant, Youll Still Enjoy The Constant Availability Of Fresh,delicious Herbs To Flavor Your Meals With.First Youll Want To Choose The Herbs That Youll Plant. You Might Have Ahard Time Doing This Because Of The Huge Scope Of Herbs Available. But Thebest Way To Choose Is To Do What I Did; Just Look At What You Have In Yourkitchen. By Planting Your Own Collection Of These Herbs, You Can Savemoney On Buying Them From The Grocery Store While Having The Added Benefitof 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 Thatthe Soil Should Have Extremely Good Drainage. If The Dirt Gets Watered Andstays Completely Saturated, You Have No Chance Of Ever Growing A Healthyplant. One Of The Best Ways To Fix The Drainage Problem Is To Dig A Footdeep In The Soil, And Put A Layer Of Crushed Rocks Down Before Replacingall The Soil. This Will Allow All That Water To Escape, Thus Saving Yourplants.When You Are Ready To Begin Planting Herbs, You Might Be Tempted To Buythe More Expensive Plants From The Store. However, With Herbs It Is Mucheasier To Grow Them From Seed Than It Is With Other Plants. Therefore Youcan Save A Bundle Of Money By Sticking With Seed Packets. Some Herbs Growat A Dangerously Fast Rate. For Example, If You Plant A Mint Plant In Anopen 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 Aggressiveplants 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, Itcan Be Fatal To Your Plant To Take Off Too Much. If Your Plant Isnt Wellestablished, It Isnt Healthy To Take Any Leaves At All, Even If It Lookslike Its Not Using Them. You Should Wait Until Your Plant Has Been Wellestablished For At Least Several Months Before Taking Off Any Leaves. Thiswait Will Definitely Be Worth It, Because By Growing Unabated Your Plantwill Produce Healthily For Years To Come.Once Youve Harvested Your Delicious Home Grown Herbs, Youll Want To Usethem In Cooking. Why Else Would You Have Grown Them? Well First Theprocess Begins With Drying Them Out. This Is Easily Achieved By Placingthem On A Cookie Sheet And Baking Them 170 Degrees Fahrenheit For 2 To 4hours. After Theyre Sufficiently Dried To Be Used In Cooking, You Canconsult The Nearest Cookbook For Instructions On Using Them To Effectivelyflavor A Dish.If You Want To Store Your Herbs For Later Usage, You Should Keep Them In Aplastic Or Glass Container. Paper Or Cardboard Will Not Work, Because Itwill Absorb The Taste Of The Herbs. During The First Few Days Of Storage,you Should Regularly Check The Container And See If Any Moisture Hasaccumulated. If It Has, You Must Remove All The Herbs And Re-dry Them. Ifmoisture Is Left From The First Drying Process, It Will Encourage Mildewwhile You Store Your Herbs. Nobody Likes Mildew.So If You Enjoy Herbs Or Gardening, Or Both, Then You Should Probablyconsider Setting Up An Herb Garden. It Might Require A Little Bit Of Workat First To Set It Up For Optimal Drainage, And Pick What Herbs You Wantto Grow. But After The Initial Hassle, Its Just A Matter Of Harvestingand Drying All Your Favorite Herbs.PPPPP(Word Count 655)
