If the World Has Its Way With the Ancient Maian Calendar, The End of the World in December 2012 Means No More Life, No More Plants, No More Planting, No More Herbs. Oh my!

Well, okay; that’s a stretch. But so are those popular doomsday predictions that get everyone in a tither.

You might believe all the latest hype about December 2012 being the end of things as we know it.

If you do, here’s a video we’ve found that’s both entertaining and informative. It may even be soothing, helping to calm your nerves.

The Maians may have had a point. Or, they just needed new material. Or, they ran out of space for continuing their little stone calendar beyond 2012.

Hollywood and the History Channel sure has helped their cause. In 2010, 2011, or 2012.

Leave a comment and let us know what you think. While you are at, it go ahead and click the +1 button

– Oz

Herb gardening is a good way for non-experts to start a garden, whether in a yard or in pots placed on a sunny windowsill.  Herb gardening is among one of the oldest types of gardening, and has recently become popular in home gardening. 

Herb gardening is easiest when you buy already-established plants.  It is is a wonderful way to enjoy God’s bounty, while improving your overall health and outlook on life. 

Successfully growing herbs depends on properly managing the following:

• Location
• Soil
• Site preparation
• Drainage
• Pest Containment

The first step to successful herb gardening is deciding on the site.  Whether you use herbs for cooking, medicinal use or even aromatic usage, the art of herb gardening is making a comeback among gardeners.  Herb gardening involves designing and maintaining a garden patch specifically for the cultivation of herbs that are popular cooking or medicine components.  Herbs have been used for thousands of years for cooking, for medicine, for cosmetics, for their scent, and as a dye. 

Are you curious about an alternative herbal medicine?  Growing your own herbal medicine plants is as simple. Plants were probably man’s first source of medicine. There may even be alternative herbal medicine that’s right for your affliction. Echinacea, valerian, hypericum, gingko, and garlic are all back on the shelves as medicine. 

However, few with the knowledge of medicine like to plant medicinal herbs. 

• Blue and red elderberry plants have been used for generations by the native people of the Pacific Northwest as both powerful medicine and vitamin-packed food supplements. 
• Some other high value tips with regard to treating rheumatoid arthritis with alternative medicine include getting some herbs from India where there are many yellow spices found, especially turmeric that is known to contain anti-inflammatory compoundswith no side effects to worry about. 
• Curcumin is thought to be a regular medication that can be used to fight inflammations which is what promotes turmeric as being a good means of treating rheumatoid arthritis with alternative medicine. 
• Lastly, you can also consider cayenne (red pepper), cayenne chili pepper, and capsicum to be effective in treating rheumatoid arthritis. As an alternative to pharmaceutical medicine, these help to block signals conveying pain to the brain. Cayenne could be used also if you want to alleviate joint or muscle pain. 
• Raising the echinacea herb in your garden is very important if you are into herbal medicine.  Perhaps the most well known everyday medicinal herb for treating colds and flu-like symptoms, the echinacea plant is prized for it’s healing power when used in herbal medicine. 

For those who do not trust pharmaceutical companies, herbal medicine plants can provide a safe, healthy alternative to treat various aliments and diseases.  Be sure to visit our sister site for more information.

Herb gardening is gaining momentum with the rising popularity of continental and gourmet cooking. Herb gardening is often associated with cooking. However, herbs are also grown for their scent and esthetic quality. 

One important part of herb gardening is drying the herbs for use during the winter months, especially if you plan on cooking with them.  Ask anyone who has used fresh herbs in their cooking and they’ll tell you that store-bought herbs can’t compare in taste or value. 

If you want to grow herbs for cooking purposes then you maywant to consider simply planting cinnamon, basil, and garlic.  Use these in salads or cooking (garlic chives with fried eggs or omelets are superb for awakeup breakfast call); and you will use them more often if they are close and easy to harvest. 

The most often used herbs for cooking are basil, thyme, oregano, parsley, and cilantro. 

• Basil is a long-time favorite culinary herb and it is easy to grow as well. This herb has light green or dark purple leaves and small white flowers, and is used as for many cooking purposes. 
• Oregano is beloved of Greek and Italian cooking and growing herbs like this one is central to your culinary herb garden. 
• TenderSweet Bay. This is an evergreen tree that produces bay leaves often used for cooking. 
• HardyChervil is an herb that has white flowers and is used like parsley in cooking. 
• HardySweet Fennel has delicate umbels of yellow flowers and is traditionally used with fish and many other cooking uses. 

I give the growing requirements and characteristics of these herbs and many more in my e-book. Why not pick up your copy today, along with the bonuses that I’m offering? You won’t be disappointed.

Many of the garden variety herbs are suitable for growing indoors.  Growing herbs indoors is a great way to extend the garden season and extend your enjoyment for freshness and flavor. In fact, many gardeners (me included) successfully grow their herbs indoors all year round. 

Find out what you need to grow your herbs indoors, right here on this Web site.  Even just a few pots indoors can supply you with wonderful flavors and herbal gifts through the rest of the year.  In the fall, pots can easily be dug, rinsed, and moved indoors for the winter.  Tender herbs need to come indoors to avoid a harsh winter. 

If you have limited space, you can grow your herbs indoors in a sunny window.  They can also be grown in a garden with other species of plants or in containers indoors.  Herb gardening requires that you first grow them indoors in shallow trays.  You can grow most herbs either indoors or outdoors as long as they get enough light and don’t get too cold. 

Although a popular use for herbs are for cooking known as culinary herbs, they are also grown for their aromatic foliage and some for the beauty of their flowers. My book details the variedty of heavenly scents that you can enjoy from aromatic herbs as they grow, and as you use them in winter months.

In conclusion, herb gardening is not a difficult hobby to become involved with. The rewards can be very satisfying.

Now that you have gathered the herb crop, you will want them to last for as long as possible. The best way to do this is through a drying out process. In days past, it was custom to merely hang the herbs inside a warm, dry, shady area, waiting till they crumbled easily, then inserting them into different storage containers.

Custom also dictated that the roots were cleaned, split and then distributed into a single layer on a thoroughly clean tray. This method still used diligently by a few herbal healthcare specialists. It is not uncommon to walk into a herb shop and actually buy a “bunch” of herbs. Or, you can buy them online at sites like one of our favorites Mountain Rose Herbs.

However, that’s not to suggest this is the most effective approach. Actually, there are two clear drawbacks to applying this technique. First, it takes a lot of space, sometimes much more space than you are able to devote. The other problem is the time factor of this method. It takes a minimum of a few days, and in some instances weeks for the foliage, stems and flowers to dry out independently. That time doesn’t include the time for the roots to dry, which in some instances may take up to a 30 days or much more to totally dry out correctly.

When drying herbs for medicinal or healing purposes, time is virtually of the essence. The quicker the herbs are dried, the more potency of the oils in the herbs. And that is precisely why most of the commercial herb companies use specific equipment for drying out herbs. In order to accelerate the procedure, many herb gardeners basically place their herbs on a baking sheet or on a portion of clean window screen, then place this in an oven set to 95 degrees.

This method is not only convenient; it is economical as well. Of course, it has a few drawbacks too. The most significant is that in the warmth of summer, not many people really want to use the oven to cook, let alone for us it for drying herbs.

Moreover, if your oven is one of those that do not heat evenly, it may cause some complications. Some of the herbs may actually dry out far too much, while other areas are way too damp.

So, what options do you have? Well, some herbal healthcare specialists purchase a modest produce dryer. These are table-top kitchen appliances with built-in removable trays. They use a heat fan to dry the herbs. You may have already thought by their name, they also dry produce.

Yet, drying is just the beginning.

It is the first task in preserving your herbs for future consumption. When the herbs have dried out, most herbalists reduce them to a powder or to flakes. These are the most convenient forms for use, and how you apply them will certainly establish their final gradation.

Traditionally, herbal healthcare specialists have made their powders utilizing the old-fashioned mortar-and-pstle. And, it is a method that many still employ today. You’ll want to consider it for your preservation, especially if you don’t have many herbs to grind.

If that seems a bit old fashioned, try grinding your herbs in a coffee grinder. However, you might want to purchase one solely for this purpose because you won’t want the flavors intermixing. After all, coffee-flavored lemon balm is just as bad as basil-flavored coffee. If you like, use the same grinder for both, but it seems far easier just to keep two separate grinders for the two separate requirements.

For those gardeners who have large amounts of herbs, go with a large grinder.

Stocking your herbs.

Take a quick look at the bottled commercially-bought herbs and spices that you already have in your kitchen cabinest. Carefully look at the container that they’re in. Is it a clear glass or plastic bottle?

Chances are the container is clear. That way you can actually see the type of spice you’re purchasing. Clear bottles also may cost less than dark amber ones.Great assumptions, right? Logical.

But, you are about to discover a powerful lesson in preserving herbs: a clear container s the worst thing that you should store your herbs in. Here’s why: light, the giver of life for these plants for so long, is also the destroyer of potency and flavor once the herbs are dry. Ironic, but it’s true.

Instead, store your dried herbs in opaque containers–glass or ceramic are best. Fill the container to the top. This limits the amount of oxygen inside. As you use your herbs, and there are less of them in the container, you can prevent oxygen from seeping inside by adding a cotton ball or two to the jar.

Carefully-stored aromatic herbs, like sage, rosemary and thyme, can actually remain potent for a year and more. Expect herbs that don’t carry much of a fragrance, like alfalfa, to last even longer.

Moisture kills.

Moisture is another enemy of your dried herbs. If they should happen to get wet once they’ve been dried, quickly dry them again. This prevents the development and growth of mold.

You’ll also want watch out for insects. Drying takes care of many of the pests, but always keep an eye open for insects. To help avoid this problem, keep the containers tightly closed when you’re not actively using your herbs.

Freezing fresh herbs.

So far, we’ve discussed drying herbs to use later, especially if these herbs are for healing purposes. But if you’re storing culinary herbs, there’s no reason why you just can’t freeze these. This is simple and makes cooking with them come February simple, when that much-needed soup or favorite dish could use some fresh herbs.

This is all you need to do: Cut the stems or the leaves of the herbs. Rinse them. Pat them dry, then freeze them in re-sealable bags. The smaller the bag, the better. You can take out one or two bags from the fridge, and have just enough for your meal.

You can also freeze chopped fresh herbs in ice cube trays with water. After the water and herbs have frozen, transfer them to freezer bags. This is actually a great way to use them for soup.

As a part of keeping your garden management program and to keep your garden growing, you may deliberately not harvest several plants of various species. Instead, you may decide to allow them to seed towards the growth of next year’s garden.

It’s easy enough to collect these seeds. Choose the specific, individual plants which will go to seed. Just before the seeds have matured, place a paper bag, upside down, over each flower. Tie the mouth of the mouth of the bag with string or twine or a twistie.

When the seeds have matured, cut off each seed head with the bag attached. Turn the bag right side up, tap the seeds into the bag and then remove the string and the plant.

See also, our sister site for a ton of data and tips on medicinal herbs that you, too, can grow at home, for natural cures using these herbs, and links to other online authority sites with oodles of information and whose owners invite you to visit freely. Find all that here:  HomeGrownMedicinalHerbs.com

May we also recommend …

If you like to garden, you’ll find no better sense of fulfillment than the experience of planning from scratch , planting, nurturing, and watching your garden grow beautifully toward a rich harvest. What many current successful herbalists won’t admit to you is that they began their hobby by starting with ready-made herb kits. Many will tell you that this is the best approach to starting your herb gardening.

Planting an herb garden is a delightful and rewarding hobby that has been enjoyed for centuries by people all over the world. However, for some individuals, there are many factors which make growing a garden from seed an unrealistic endeavor.

With an herb kit, if you’ve never cultivated an herb or vegetable garden, you could save yourself the confusion, frustrations, and difficulties of setting up a garden. Nothing is better than learning and applying that knowledge at the same time — something that only the herb kit can give you.

And naturally, the solution for those who want their own fresh herbs but can’t plant their own in a patch of land is an herb kit. Herb kits come in all shapes and sizes, from hydroponic kits (which grow herbs using just nutrients and water) to miniature greenhouses that fit on your kitchen counter or windowsill.

The general idea of an herb kit is to allow the gardener to grow their own herbs as quickly and conveniently as possible without hassle, without guesswork. Thanks to the ingenuity of manufacturers and distributors of herb kits, it is possible to find a kit at any price point for almost any type of herb garden one could want.

You’ll find a multitude of kits on the market, many of them from online sources. All herb kits have common features and beneifts.

• First, every kit comes with either seeds or cuttings.
• All of them will come with a set of instructions for cultivating the specific herbs in the kit, an item which is particularly useful to beginning gardeners.
• If you’ll be growing in soil, not hydroponically, the kits supply a growing medium that’s “ready-to-use” so that the gardener won’t have to worry about mixing, aerating or draining.
• If the kit is hydroponic, then all the user needs to do is add nutrients when an indicator lamp lights up.
• Pots or containers are included. With some, the entire kit is a container complete with an attached water tank and grow lamp, such as those manufactured by Aerogarden.
• Also, a kit can be for placement indoors or outdoors, each of which will contain the appropriate plants.
• Herb kits are usually specialized by type to serve a specific purpose.

The most common type are the culinary herb kits that come with herbs like sage, mustard, chives, savory, sweet marjoram, dill, oregano, thyme, basil, cilantro and, or course, parsley.

Kit in a stackable container for indoors and out. HerbKits.com

Herbal tea garden kits are also popular with herbal tea enthusiasts. They contain one or more the following herbal teas: anise, lemon bergamot, angelica, lemon grass, chamomile, peppermint, rosemary, catnip, lemon balm, and marigold.

And for those who’d like to grown their own medicinal herbs, your can find kits that contain cayenne, valerian, peppermint, yarrow, milk thistle, echinacea, fever few, lemon balm and others.

So, if you want fresh grown herbs but don’t have the room, time, desire, or physical ability to start a traditional herb garden from seed, purchasing an herbs in a kit is the answer you’ve been looking for. A quick search online using the keywords “herb kit” will return a variety of companies that sell quality and affordable kits. You’ll be growing the herbs you want in no time at all!

Here are just a few:

Imagine a cascade of colorful flowers, a tasty herb, or strawberry patch on your deck, balcony, or in your home entryway — a beautifully displayed in a garden planter that can be easily rolled indoors or outdoors as the weather changes. That’s what you can get from Stack and Grow Garden Planter from HerbKits.com. It’s a Perfect Gift for the creative gardener or chef! Perfect for an indoor herb garden, it holds up to 20 different herb plants as a perfect living ‘spice rack.’ Great for indoor container gardens. Approx. 2′ in diameter and 2′ tall. HerbKits.com sells medicinal, culinary, tea kits with a variety of species from $29.95. Find these products by clicking here.

Another online supplier TastefulGarden.com sells fragrant herb garden kits in a variety of containers and arrangements. Theirs are live plants, with a special potting soil mix and a nice container to grow in for several months. Herb sets come with the plants only and herb baskets are plants in their basket (with no additional soil mix) and should be planted in the ground or in pots within a few weeks of receipt. Kits run from $26.95.

You can also by a variety of economical herb plants and seeds at Gurney Seed Co., where you can save $20 on Internet Specials. Click on that link, and search for “herbs” to purchase any products that you desire.

Herb kits make it possible easily grow beautiful, fragrant, delicious culinary, aromatic and medicianl herbs. Any one can find a kit at any price point for practically all types of herbs.

Just carry your garden inside!

An indoor window garden will boost your and everyone else’s spirits and help keep the gloomy winter feel outside in the cold where it belongs. Also, with sensibly chosen winter plants — some fragrant, some colorful, others edible and flavorful, you’ll be able to enhance your winter menus. Try this wonderful winter gardening remedy today:

Your kitchen windowsill is the perfect place for starting a seasonal, indoor garden. It will sustain your gardener’s soul and warm your heart with perfect seasonings for tasty, nutritious and wholesome soups, broths and stews. The key is to plant timely, healthful herbs when autumn frosts begin to shut down your outside gardening.

Along with versatile herbs like basil, compact dill and Greek Oregano, you can also consider adding thyme, parsley, and coriander. All of these take readily to windowsill gardening, and they are likely to fill your winters with fragrance and pleasant greenery. Those plants also will add flavor and medicinal value to your soups, and they are among the easiest herbs to cultivate — even for those not blessed with a green thumb. They only require regular watering and a few hours of sunlight to grow.

Indoor gardening is not all that difficult. In fact, it is pretty much the same as outdoor gardening. There are even some advantages to indoor gardening over outdoor gardening. Some of the benefits:  you won’t have to worry as much about bugs and insects bothering your plants; you also won’t have to worry about wind, heavy rain, hail, or frost reeking havoc on your garden vegetation.

Winter flowers complement your herbal gardens. Sure to bring a smile to your face and color to the room, flowering indoor plants in your window garden, when tended with a little bit of sunshine, water and right soil-mixture, are great aids bet for beating winter blues!

Perhaps, some eye candy in the form of fresh flowers that are regarded as winter blooms can be your daily delight. Just snip open a seed packet of nasturtiums, pansies or calendulas , place the seeds in pre-prepared potting soil treated with fertilizer mix and peat moss next to or along with your herb containers.

Some care concerns, such as the basic rules of maintaining plants, are different in indoor gardening than in a regular outdoor setting.  Since plants won’t get the sunlight they do outdoors, lighting is essential. You need to know roughly how much light your selected plants will need. So, it’s best to pick plants that only need medium to low light, such as ferns or Philodendrons, unless you plan to supply artificial lighting. If you buy a plant already growing, wherever you get it probably has better lighting than your house so you will need to “condition” your plant and gradually reduce the light it receives. Once you get the plants to your windosill, make sure to rotate them at least every other day, thereby encouraging upright growth.

How often you water depends on what type of plant you have. Make sure the water can drain out of the bottom of the pot and try to use water that is not much colder or warmer as the temperature of the room. Also, to ensure healthy plants, pay attention to temperature in your house. A 10-15 degree temperature shift won’t hurt any plants, but rapid changes could damage their health.

Ask five different herb gardeners and you’re bound to get at least as many ideas about the best method to harvest these plants. A renown herbalist of centuries past  firmly believed that all medicinal plants should be harvested when the moon was waxing, just prior to it becoming full. Herbs taken at this time possessed their greatest potency. She did concede, however, that herbs would be preserved for an extended period of time if they were harvested during the waning of the moon. Confused?

You have every right to be. Many herbalists have other ideas. Many believe, for instance, that herbs should be gathered only during a full moon. This is the time, they contend, when the sap of the plants and the strength of their oils are the greatest.

While you may consider these ideas “old wives’ tales” they do seem to have some validity. The seasons of harvesting seem to play a part in the potency of herbs. Herbs whose medicinal active ingredients are found in their roots and rhizomes — like, as examples, ginger, ginseng and mandrake — are more potent when harvested early in the spring or in late autumn. At this time, they have actually reserved much of their energy and essence below the ground.

In harvesting these types of herbs, dig widely around the plants, in order not to cut or damage the root system. Wash the roots with cold water and thoroughly dry them.

The essence of a plant becomes concentrated with each succeeding night. The herbs, therefore, are most potent when they’re picked in the early hours of the morning well before the sun’s heat and the light actually dissipate any essential oils in them.

And, it’s best to harvest the herbs on a morning that is clear and dry, just after the dew has evaporated from the leaves. Just about all herbs should be harvesting before they bloom. The active healing substances of these plants also lose their potency after the flowering process, for obvious reasons. They’ve just spent much of their energy on actually blooming and generating seeds.

When you do harvest herbs, be sure to use sharp pruning clippers. You don’t want to tear the stems. If you don’t cut too low on the stem, you’ll discover that some herbs — basil is particularly noted for this — will produce more growth for harvest.

The minerals helps plants increase their natural sugar content so they can fight disease and pests. The product is widely used in growing vegetables, herbs, medicinal herbs, fruit trees, sprouting barley or other seeds, indoor and outdoor houseplants, bonsai trees, orchids and date palms. 

For plants, ReGen 77 Liquid Minerals should be diluted with water at the rate of 1 part to 10 parts water. Spray on and under the leaves, fully covering with a light wetting. Apply early morning or evening to avoiding strong sunlight and faster nutrient uptake. Repeat application every 2-3 wks depending on the plant nutrition and growing needs. A daily application consists of a dilution of 1:30, liquid mineral to water for strong impact. To enhance seed germination, spray-coat the seeds before planting. The liquid can also be used as a soil conditioner at the same ratio of dilution.

A branded product, ReGen 77 Liquid Minerals contain 77 colloidal minerals and fulvic acid. That content regenerates soil for optimum plant health and growth. ReGen 77 products are processed from organic minerals that have been composting for more than 75 million years.

They are derived from humic shale found in the western U.S. The formation of this humic shale deposit happened when there was no pollution, when plants and soils were their richest in nutrients. Its ingredients are organic acids, nitrogen, iron, sulfur, manganese, copper and zinc amino acids, plus 70+ macro and micro-organic plant-derived minerals, commonly known as Fulvic Acid and also known as phyto-minerals.

The nature of these products compares with and exceeds any other growing aids available today, including organic and chemical-based fertilizers. While working better than conventional fertilizers to aid plant health, they also regenerate the growing media by promoting and sustaining health for future generations of plants.

These organic products contain the highest known concentration of plant-derived mineral nutrients and organic acids that contribute to soil and plant health.

The U.S. Department of Interior determined that this deposit is from the Cretaceous Period, 60-127 million years old. The minerals were preserved by a unique set of geological circumstances, possibly from a volcanic eruption, covering the deposit by 20 to 30 feet—enough to protect the deposit; yet, not enough to cause excessive heat and pressure to create coal, oil, or alter the form of the minerals.

A hard bed of clay at the bottom allowed the minerals collect and stop them from leaching. Analysis shows this deposit contains more than 70 minerals. The humus never petrified or fossilized. Thus, it never became rock—just compressed and dried prehistoric “plant compost” that contains large amounts of plant-derived colloidal minerals.

This humic shale can be ground into a fine powder and soaked in filtered spring water until it reaches a specific gravity of 3.0, availing 38 grams of plant-derived colloidal minerals per liter. The liquid extract of this high-grade humic shale contains plant-derived colloidal minerals, minerals in a form that are 100% available to animals, humans and plants.

The organic farming community has used these 100% natural growing aids for the past 15-20 years with impressive results.

You can purchase this product here:  ReGen77 Liquid Minerals. Or, learn more.

If you have limited outdoor space and expect to enjoy the fruit of several herb varieties, you can cultivate all or a portion of your herbs indoors by a sunny window or in an area well lighted by the sun and/or supplemented by artificial light. Air circulation is important, too.

For those blessed with outdoor space, growing herbs indoors is great way to extend the outdoor gardening season. In the fall, pots can easily be prepared, rinsed, and moved indoors for the winter. Tender herbs, like rosemary and hibiscus, need to come indoors to avoid a harsh winter.

It’s possible to grow most herbs either indoors in containers — fancy or plain, or outdoors as long as they get enough light, water and the proper temperature.

Here are six general guidelines to insure a healthy indoor herb garden:

1. Use a high quality potting soil. Be sure to purchase soil that has additional organic matter and has good water retention ability. You may want to incorporate water-absorbing polymers like Water Crystals (www.watercrytals.com) to help retain moisture for your plants. Poor quality soils will result in the herbs growing very slowly or failing to produce large, flavorful leaves.

2. Provide the correct amount of direct sunlight. Most herbs require direct sunlight in order to grow. Basil, oregano, chives, thyme and rosemary, fore example, all thrive with more than six hours of direct sunlight per day. If you cannot provide that amount of direct sunlight consider a grow lamp or specialized natural light bulb to provide the herb garden with additional supplemental light.

3. Add fertilizer sparingly, especially if you started with a good potting soil. Too much nitrogen, for example, may damage the organic structure of the soil. You might want to try a liquid mineral solution that supplements and encourages the microbial activity within soil. One such trace mineral fertilizer contains more than 70 mineral ingredients, bringing heralded phyto-nutrieints to your plant’s growth media. It can be found at www.ReGen77.com.

4. Monitor the ambient temperature. If you live in colder climates remember that the temperature beside windows may be several degrees cooler than the temperature just a few inches from the window. Try to keep containers far enough from the window that the leaves of the herbs will not directly contact the glass or be influenced by the colder air. During summer months, watch for excessive heat in window sills.

5. One of the most important indoor herb gardening tips for healthy plants is moisture control. Most indoor herbs need regular watering, usually once, sometimes twice a week. So, refrain from over watering, as standing water will actually cause roots to rot in the pots. Water just enough to completely dampen the soil, but not leave water standing in the bottom of the pot. Potted plants to dry out quickly, especially if not amended with water crystals. You can use a hydrometer or the old “rule of finger” test. To do that test, stick you fingr about a half-inch into the soil to feal for moisture. If the soil is dry water the plant. Never, however, overwater. A few herb plants do well dry soil, so check the growing recommenations for each plant.

6. Monitor the herbs and cut back any dry or dead leaves. If the herbs flower. the dead blossoms. Doing so will promote faster growth.

Herbs that do particularly well indoors include sweet cicely, lemon verbena, lovage, rosemary, summer savory, tarragon, sweet woodruff. Hardy varieties of basil, parsely, thyme, oregano, mints, lemon balm, marjoram, lemon grass, chives and sage also do well indoors.

All plants require three primary elements to grow effectively; sun light, soil and water. Herb plants are no exception. Sun light is essential to growing any kind of plant, including herbs whether grown inside your home or outdoors.

Various kinds of herbs have different light requirements but, typically, all demand a bright location. You need to place herbs grown in a kitchen area or other room that has south- or west exposure to get the best type of sun light. Many home herb growers supplement this natural light source with grow lights or fluorescent lamps.

All herb plants need a properly drained, not-too-rich soil to develop in. Add two parts of a good potting soil with one part coarse sand or porous pebbles for plants you will cultivate in containers. You will also need about an inch of gravel in the bottom of each container to ensure that the plant and pot drain well.

Herbs grown in pots indoors can also be supplemented with a teaspoon of lime per 5-inch pot to assure that the soil is sweet enough for the herbs.

Misting the plants and moistening the pebbles will keep your herbs within humid conditions. Since they are being grown in containers the herb plants will need to have more water then herbs grown in a garden. However, you need to avoid getting the roots of the herb plants saturated or soggy.

One benefit in growing herbs inside a container is that you enjoy the freedom to relocate them as you please. Annual herbs can spend all of their time indoors. Perennial herbs fare better when they are placed outside during the summer. Although all herbs should be brought indoors prior to the first frost to prevent the loss of foliage. This rule is overlooked for mint, chives, and tarragon. These kinds of herbs will go into a dormant stage, then form firmer and fresher growth after introduced to a light frost.

Some herbs will do better in containers than others. Mint, for example, is an herb that needs to be contained or it will take over an entire garden. Yet, mint is fairly easy to maintain in an indoor herb container. Containers keep your herbs handy and within reach anytime you want them for cooking.

With these tips, you will be able to care for your herbs and ensure healthy, thriving plants. You should also include periodic light feeding and annual re-potting for optimum health. Remember to replant annuals each year and move perennials outdoors when it’s time. Additionally, use your herbs as much as you would like, harvesting them occasionally. Pruning encourages new and healthy plant growth. This rule also applies to herbs. So use them in your recipes, store them, and give them away to friends.