If you’ve been wanting to get into herb gardening, you will want to know that herbs are among the easiest plants to grow. Even if you don’t think of yourself as having a green thumb, you can be a successful gardener if you grow the following easy herbs that can be used fresh or dried:

Basil: Basil is a warm-weather annual herb. It is hardy in most zones, but it requires hot, dry conditions to reach peak flavor. It needs full sun, and extremely rich, moist soil. Really the only significant problems with cultivating basil are slugs and cool conditions. As long as basil has sufficient light and warmth, and its soil is allowed to dry out between waterings, it generally demands little in the way of additional care.

Bay: Bay leaves are used in a variety of dishes, particularly Mediterranean cooking. You can crumble up the dried leaves and add them to dishes or use them whole and remove them once the flavor has been absorbed by the food. It’s a very hardy herb and does well in various zones. It requires soil that is rich and not too wet. Yet it does fairly well in most conditions.

Gardening is 1 of the most pleasant pursuits ever. The very thought of being close to nature alone is so pleasurable. In case you wish to double the happiness of gardening, then there are a few tools that you must have. These gardening tools will simplify different jobs and make certain that you like every bit of what you are doing. Here is taking a look at some of the must have tools for a gardener.

Talking of must have tools for gardening, the first thing that you can’t do without is a watering can. Plants require just some amount of water for their growth, but still they need to be watered regularly. You always have the option of using plant hose to water plants. Nevertheless, in cases where you need less water, a watering can best serve the aim.

Gloves are also critical for those indulging in gardening. After all, you are bound to get your hands soiled while engaging in this outdoor activity. Usual gardening sessions without gloves could at last roughen them. So, it is suggested that you use gloves that are made of a strong and sturdy material to protect your hands from various hazards and dangerous chemicals that they might come into contact with.

Are you amazed that your weed are thriving and the vegetables are not. When you use traditional methods of gardening you are helping the weeds flourish. Any time you till, plow or turn your garden soil your are disturbing the natural order of thing. You have thrown the whole eco system out of whack.You have brought the soil with all the nutrients to the top and put the lifeless soil where the root of your vegetables are.This not how mother nature tends her garden. Take a look at the forest some time.

In nature the soil builds a natural environment for plant growth, one that has worked for many thousand of years.The soil that has no structure is on top and when you turn it under and bring the soil that does have structure to the top you have disturbed the natural order of the eco system.This top layer is not good at passing nutrients to the vegetables roots. This is why traditional gardeners always need to fertilize there vegetables gardens. The Food Commission says “today’s farming does not allow the soil to enrich itself”.

There are 7 million more households involved in home vegetable gardening in 2009, compared to last year, says the National Gardening Association. Last year, home gardeners spent $2.5 billion on seeds, plants, fertilizer, supplies and garden tools to grow their own food. Given the investment, on average, a well-maintained home garden yields a $500 return. These findings come from the January 2009 Impact of Home and Community Gardening in American study, which surveyed 2,559 households.

So just who are all these new gardeners? “The demographics of today’s food gardening households include a broad cross-section of the U.S. population. There are few other outdoor activities where virtually every demographic group is so well represented, no matter what their age, education, income, marital status, household size, gender, or regional location,” concludes the NGA report.

The food gardening experience is enjoyed primarily by women (54%), those ages 45+ (68%), college students (43%) and married couples with no children at home (67%). The gardeners are pretty evenly spread across the South, Midwest, West and Northeast. Those making $35,000 – $49,999 in household income are the most common gardening group (24%), although many who make over $75,000 (22%), under $35,000 (21%) and between $50,000 and $74,999 (16%) are also represented.

Even though there is not any kind of large risk or danger involved in gardening, it is still important to be as safe as possible and thus avoid some possible safety issues. When you work in a larger scale garden, it is especially important to be careful while gardening. The plants you grow in your garden and your location will also affect the type of safety practices that you should keep in mind while gardening.

Making Your Garden Safe

Staying safe while gardening is easiest when you are dealing with an indoor garden where all the plants grow in pots. The only real danger that you need to beware of are the chemicals that are present in the herbicides and fertilizers that you use on your plants. There are many more diverse issues to keep in mind in order to enjoy outdoor gardening safely. For example, you will need to beware of certain insects and animals that may be attracted to your garden. In some areas, spiders and snakes can become a problem for a gardener.

Growing a container garden is so easy and practical. A wide variety of vegetables, herbs and fruit can be grown in pots. Herbs are the most popular, followed by vegetables. People don’t choose to grow fruit in containers as frequently as the other edible plants, perhaps because it’s considered to be too difficult.

However, strawberries are an excellent choice for a container garden, and they grow very well in an assortment of different pots. This is a very resilient plant, and is sometimes grown in “grow bags” made just for that purpose, which can be hung up just about anywhere outside.

Another fruit that lends itself well to container gardening is a dwarf fruit tree. A number of small citrus trees develop well in large pots, and if you trim them frequently they can make a gorgeous addition to your interior decor. Quite a few varieties of dwarf berry bushes will also grow quite successfully in containers, including raspberries and blueberries. One drawback is that they typically weigh a lot and can’t be moved around very easily.