Herb Gardening For Dummies

Overview

A plain-English guide to the world of herb gardening

Starting an herb garden isn't free, but it certainly outweighs the growing costs of buying retail herbs. Plus, adding homegrown ingredients to your meals is a healthy and tasty way to improve upon any dish you whip up at home.

This friendly, hands-on guide is an excellent introduction to the world of herb gardening. It gives you tips and advice to grow a thriving herb garden that will add depth and flavor to home-cooked meals-as well as boost your health.

  • How to choose, plant, and care for herbs
  • Covers ready-made versus homemade soil mixes, starting plants from seeds, and other fundamentals
  • How to prevent insects, pests, and diseases from invading your containers
  • Over 30 herb recipes for everyday uses, including rubs, marinades, beauty products, and more

Whether you're interested in getting step-by-step instructions for starting on your first herb garden or already have one and want to learn new tips and techniques, Herb Gardening For Dummies, 2nd Edition has you covered!

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About The Author

Suzanne DeJohn is an editor with the National Gardening Association.
The National Gardening Association is the leading garden-based educational nonprofit organization in the United States, providing resources at www.garden.org and www.kidsgardening.org.

Sample Chapters

herb gardening for dummies

CHEAT SHEET

You can find lots of reasons to grow herbs in your home garden. Most herb plants are both ornamental and useful; most are fragrant, many taste good, and some are highly nutritious. Plus, herbs are just plain interesting — many have colorful names and equally colorful lore associated with them. Grow your own herbs, and you get the freshest harvest, you can control how they’re cared for and stored, and you can grow unusual varieties.

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Here are some of the more common herbs to be wary of, including a couple that can “worke eternal sleepe.” If you choose to grow these herbs, be sure to carefully label each herb and plant them away from culinary herbs and edible crops. Avoid planting them if you have pets or young children that may be tempted to nibble them.
The term “fragrant herbs” may be redundant, but there are fragrances and there are fragrances. Some gardeners love the scent of rosemary, for example, and others are less enthralled. Here are herbs whose leaves and/or flowers keep you olfactorily ahhhing and ohhhing. Beebalm (Monarda didyma) foliage has a citrusy aroma.
If you plan to harvest herbs for use in cooking or to make herbal remedies, you’ll want to avoid using pesticides. And even if you won’t be ingesting the herbs, it just makes sense to minimize your use of pesticides — even organic ones. The good news is that you can find plenty of ecologically sound ways to control pests without resorting to sprays: Choose pest-resistant herbs that are adapted to your climate.
You can find lots of reasons to grow herbs in your home garden. Most herb plants are both ornamental and useful; most are fragrant, many taste good, and some are highly nutritious. Plus, herbs are just plain interesting — many have colorful names and equally colorful lore associated with them. Grow your own herbs, and you get the freshest harvest, you can control how they’re cared for and stored, and you can grow unusual varieties.
If you’re growing herbs, it’s only proper that your cup of tea be herbal, either herbs alone or tea brewed with herbs. Here are the first ten herbs to put in your tea garden: Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) has a minty/anise flavor. Bee balm (Monarda didyma) makes a citrusy flavored tea. Catnip (Nepeta cataria) creates a relaxing tea that soothes cold symptoms.
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