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Start Your Seeds Between the Sheets


If you save your garden seeds from year to year and wait expectantly to see if they'll germinate in their peat pots, there's a way to make the process easier, faster, and less expensive.

Start Seeds Between Sheets of Paper Towels

For the last few years, I've started my questionable (older) seeds between sheets of paper toweling, and then transferred them to starter pots once I was sure they
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Herbal Astringent Skin Treatment With Sage

Sage is a natural antibacterial and makes a good oily skin astringent that helps deep clean and tone.Sage Astringent1 Heaping tablespoon fresh sage chopped fine¼ Cup white vinegar¼ Cup boiling waterSteep fresh sage in boiling water until the liquid cools to room temperature. Strain carefully and add vinegar.Apply to clean skin with a cotton ball twice a day. Pay particular attention to the T-zone
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May Wine, May Punch

In order to make traditional May wine, you need to infuse dry white wine, often Rhine wine, with dried woodruff.Recipe for May Wine with WoodruffAdd a half cup of dried woodruff to a bottle of dry white wine, seal, and store in a dark place (like a cupboard), shaking occasionally, for two weeks to a month.A few hours before serving, strain, add six tablespoons of sugar, shake, and chill.When
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Thoughts on Lemon Balm (Melissa)



Flowering lemon balm


Lemon balm is one of my favorite herbs. It has a light, sweet, lemony fragrance that can be used in many ways in your cooking and crafts. It is also easy to grow.


Lemon Balm Potpourri

One of its traditional uses is in potpourri, where it works well with lavender, rosemary, and rose petals. Be sure to use a fixative to prevent the fragrance from dissipating to quickly.
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Sage Tips and Facts

Sage is a very handy herb. When used as a seasoning for game, it evens out the strong 'wild' flavors. It adds depth to sausage and other fatty meats, and minced fresh, enhances the flavor of creamy cheeses. Sage will usually compliment most foods that contain onion as a major ingredient, and Sage is a good companion for ginger, both in the garden and in cooking.In the medicine cabinet, sage tea
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Growing Rosemary


Growing rosemary can be a breeze in warm climates. Since it does well as a houseplant, it can also be grown easily in colder climates if brought indoors in winter. Check out my article on rosemary for more details: Growing Rosemary. There are now also frost tolerant rosemary varieties that are hardy to Zone 5. For some modern, cold hardy cultivars, take a look at my post: Growing Rosemary in
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Laying out Your Herb Garden

Preparing the soil and selecting the plants or seeds is only part of the adventure, now comes the layout. Let's recap for a moment.

You have prepared your soil by amending it and working it to a depth of at least six inches. The site you have selected has at least six hours of sunlight each day, and does not sit in a boggy area or in a spot that's riddled with tree roots. Great start!

Now
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Easter Thoughts

With Easter coming up, I thought I would make some recommendations about how to celebrate this holiday in a way that will help make your family more ecologically aware. Please visit my holiday blog for thoughts on how gardening can educate a new generation about environmental issues: New Ideas for Easter
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Soil Considerations for Your Herb Garden

Although herbs can tolerate poor soil, the addition of organic material and good drainage are important for the growth of healthy plants. Stressed plants are more susceptible to disease and insect attack. The preparation of good soil will go a long way toward guaranteeing a healthy herb patch.Good garden soil contains at least 25% humus. Humus is organic material that can be compost, manure (use
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Herb Locations

Like real estate, important considerations for plants are: location, location, location. Areas that are exposed to high winds, brutal heat, constant heavy shade, abundant shallow tree roots, and standing water are not good choices for most plants, and certainly not for herbs. If you have problem spots that need planting solutions, there are specialty selections that will help you deal with these
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Plant Terms Defined

Before we start discussing plans for an herb garden, let's define some terms. Herbs and vegetables fall into three broad growing categories that will help you understand what type of future you can expect from them.Annual Herbs DefinedPlants that complete their life cycle in a single season are said to be annual. That season often starts in the spring and ends with the first frost, but with a
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What's the Difference Between an Herb and a Vegetable?

Herbs differ from vegetables in that they are primarily used as an accompaniment and not served alone. Vegetables can be eaten alone, cooked or raw. Many herbs can be raised with vegetables, and they can make good pairings to promote a pest free growing environment. Herbs are commonly resistant to pests because they have strong flavors and aromas that many pests avoid.Because they are hardy and
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What's the Difference Between Herbs and Spices?

There is some overlap, but the basic difference between an herb and a spice is that spices are considered tropical or semi-tropical in origin. They can be composed of leaves, bark, roots, dried fruits, seeds, or nuts. Almost all spices are imported, and can come from vines, shrubs, or trees.
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Growing and Harvesting Ginger





Ginger (Zingiber officinale) grows from a spreading, tuberous rhizome. It does well in moist fertile soil in warm winter areas. If you've seen ginger in the grocery store, the root looks like a flattened, beige, segmented bulb. The foliage is tall and dark green in color, springing from upright, rigid stems. Even in areas that experience a hard frost, ginger can be grown in large pots and
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Starting Garlic From Cloves

You can start garlic from the bulbs you buy at your local grocery store. This is true of regular and elephant garlic. Here's how.

Starting Garlic from Cloves

Separate the cloves and let them dry on your counter for a few days, but don't peel the paper off. Prepare potting soil to which you have added sand or another loosening agent. If you are planting garlic directly into the garden and have
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