With the start of a new year, many of us are busy making resolutions that rarely last longer than the month of January. This year, in addition to the usual promises to save money, eat healthier and get more exercise, don’t forget to make resolutions for your garden. (Simply resolving to get outside and grow more this year will help satisfy those previously mentioned promises!) By investing your time into growing your own herbs and edibles and working hard to keep your garden successful, you’ll end up healthier, more fit and you’ll save some green by going green. Our blog series of three herb gardening resolutions will make keeping your other intentions for 2012 much easier and make sustainability more satisfying!
1. Plan Ahead
While we’re in the grips of winter and it’s too cold to garden outside, make the best use of this time by planning your spring garden! Being prepared is the best weapon in your gardening arsenal and doing a little research now will ensure for a more bountiful garden later. Make sure to determine what purpose your garden has, whether it may be for cooking, to attract wildlife, or to heal yourself from home. Once you’ve narrowed down how your garden will function, you can determine what and where to plant within its borders.
Purpose determines placement! For a culinary herb garden, you may want to plot a spot near your back door to keep fresh herbs just within arm’s reach for your favorite recipe. Where ever you decide to place your garden, whether you have boundless acres or a beautiful balcony, make sure that you get plenty of light, and you have fertile, well-draining soil for planting. You can also start indoor potted herb gardens over the winter to be transplanted into your outdoor space once the weather warms up. This will give you an early crop of your favorite spring herbs or veggies, and it’s a great project to keep you gardening over the winter.
While you’re stuck inside and curled up by the fire this winter, create a gardening journal to organize your thoughts. Jot down ideas, track the amount of sunlight each part of the garden gets, record interesting new plants and creative uses while you’re dreaming of spring, so you don’t forget these inspirations when spring hits.Sketch your plans for your garden and label where you’d like your plants to go. Drawing your garden out before breaking ground really helps, as it is much easier to erase a plant that doesn’t fit, than to dig it back up and transplant.
Just a little forethought really goes a long way, and a good garden depends on a thoughtful gardener. Stay tuned tomorrow for Part 2 of our 2012 Herb Garden Resolutions Series, when we discuss Companion Planting!