Pretty Garden Tips

Beginning with seeds can be a little tedious, but I love giving my annuals a jump on the growing season by starting them from either the seeds I collected the previous summer or from seeds I order online.

If you’re interested in starting your garden from seeds keep in mind that some herbs work better than others when you cultivate them at home from seeds.

First, soak your seeds for at least three hours before planting them so that they will have an added advantage. Another way to do this is to allow your herb plants to pre-sprout by soaking them, placing them on a moistened paper towel and then putting your seeds into a freezer bag and sealing it up. If you go this route, be sure to keep the sealed bag away from heat and check back often to see if the seeds have started germinating yet. Once your seeds have started to sprout, you are ready to plant them in some rich, moist earth.

Do your homework before you plant your seeds or begin the sprouting process, because some seeds must be scarred before planting (as in the citronella herb) or need to be heated before they can sprout (as in the chili pepper herb).

It is important to control your seeds’ growing environment once the germinating process begins. The germinating process can be as short as five days, such as some varieties of basil, catnip, chives and parsley, or as long as 36 days or more, as in hyssop.

Your seed containers should contain a special seed-starting sod mix that comes with both vermiculite and sphagnum moss for best results.

Although there are a number of many great herb plants that you can cultivate from seeds, here are some of the best:

• Caraway: If you’ve got some caraway in your kitchen spice rack, simply sprinkle some of them into a pot, cover with earth and water—how easy could that be? Germination will not take long, and before you know it, you’ll be planting it in your favorite flower bed or container. Caraway is a popular plant for both German and Indian dishes.

• Lavender: For the fastest and best results, try the Lady kind of Lavender or it can take forever to grow your lavender herb—and why waste time waiting for seeds to germinate when you could already be enjoying this most sublime plant.

• Nasturtium: These wonderful and edible herb plants are so simple to grow from seeds that you’ll wonder why you did not do it sooner. If you decide to try these out, begin by soaking the seeds for at least 8 hours and then plant them in rich, well-drained dirt. You can even cultivate the mature plant indoors, and for extra color you can use as a bonus in your salad greens.

• Shepherd’s Purse: Even though a lot of folks think shepherd’s purse is a weed, this edible herb has a mild peppery smell and the taste is a fabulous addition to any salad. As an added bonus, the fresh leaves are awesome for a heavy dose of your daily vitamins. To grow shepherd’s purse, simply sprinkle the seeds on top of the soil, water it and watch it grow.

And those herb plants are just a few. Some other good herb plants include anise, hyssop, basil, German chamomile, fennel, lemon balm and sorrel.

Good luck with your herb gardening. Be sure to let me know how your herb garden grows.

Here is more information on Mini Herb Garden. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Herb Gardens.

Tags: gardening, growing herbs indoors from seeds, herbs, indoor garden, mini herb garden, seeds

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