| |
| |
|
Landscaping & Gardening Information |
|
|
|
How to Grow Basil
Today there are sprays, scented candles, plug-ins, and even discs that promise to freshen your air by putting a variety of aromas into your home. However, when you know how to grow basil, you can have enough variety of fragrance to package your own potpourri! The most commonly grown basil is the annual, ocimum basilicum that carries a minty fragrance that smells like? well, it smells like sweet basil. In addition to having a wonderful fragrance, sweet basil is an essential ingredient in soups, stews, pesto sauce, and just about any tomato dish. Knowing how to grow basil is a must for every herb gardener. You can grow herbs both indoors and outdoors Basil comes in over 160 varieties that, in addition to the sweet basil fragrance, offer other aromas like those of lemon, licorice, and cinnamon and foliage colors that range from emerald green to royal purple. Learn how to grow basil and you provide a treat for you eyes as well as an aromatic treat for you nose. Generally, when just learning how to grow basil, you'll want to start your plants from seeds. Until basil stems are nearly mature, they are quite fragile and easily broken and bruised so transplanting young basil cultivars can be an exercise in futility. Luckily, basil is one of the cultivars that can be seeded directly into your garden and in fact, if you reseed your basil plot every three weeks, you'll have fresh basil all summer long. Basil is a low-maintenance plant. Although it prefers full sun, it will grow in partial shade. Once seedlings are established, basil is also drought tolerant and will actually provide better flavor if you don't fertilize it! One tip you should know about how to grow basil and preserve its full flavor for culinary use is to pinch off flower spikes as they form. Part of the fun of knowing how to grow basil is the many different ways to preserve it after harvest. You can harvest your basil anytime by snipping off its leaves as you need them and they turn many ordinary dishes into delicacies when used fresh. Basil can also be dried by snipping some stems and hanging them in bunches together. Air-drying basil in this way is a great way to add its aroma to your kitchen! When your basil bunches are completely dry, you can crumble the leaves and store them in glass bottles. Basil can also be preserved by freezing. Freeze small quantities of fresh basil in plastic bags or chop the leaves and freeze them in water in an ice cube tray. Basil is an easy-growing herb that is full of possibilities for home décor, fragrance and culinary use. In addition, it's as well suited for container growing as it is for direct seeding into your garden. Learning how to grow basil is a sweetly satisfying part of gardening, no matter what variety you choose to grow! About The Author Hans is gardener and owner of Gardening-Guides.com and Patio-Furniture-Ideas.com.
MORE RESOURCES:
Landscaping-Gardening - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Flowers Wilting? Tips for Making Your Flowers Last Longer We all know one disadvantage of flowers is that they don't last very long. While they are here they bring happiness and warmth to any dull decorating space. Durable Wooden Swing - Decorate Your Outdoors with One There is nothing better to do on a hot, lazy afternoon than to lounge in your favorite outdoor swing while reading, napping or just watching the world pass by. And when evening approaches and the breeze gets cooler, an outdoor swing is also the perfect place to sit and unwind after a hard day while you watch the fireflies light up the ever darkening sky. Decorate Your Outdoor Spaces on a Budget! Many times when the weather becomes sultry, the only place we want to be is in our favorite chair on the porch, sipping ice-cold lemonade! So, if we are to spend our summer months languishing with Mother Nature, why not treat our "outdoor room" to a little freshening up, and make our time outdoors more enjoyable! Here are some great, easy ideas you can use to add your own personal style to a much used "summer home"!Treat your outdoor space just like an indoor room when you think about decorating it. Mother Nature has got the ceiling covered in most cases, but you should think about floors, furniture, accessories, color, and, yes, walls, just like any other project! Choose a theme, even if it's just color!Use existing fencing, tall plants, trellising, etc. Garden for Birds #3 Well, another week is passing us by.I want to thank everyone who writes me back. Flowers and Butterflies, the Perfect Combination! Spring is coming fast and with it the colors of the world come to life. The spring season is not just a time for the gardens to bloom, but a season for the butterfly to come to life as well. Iris Flowers Remind Me Of Mom! Iris flowers always bring memories of mom to mind. Let me share with you three reasons why. Professional Lawn Watering Techniques - Wireless Sensors for Lawns in Drought Areas The technnology secrets will help home owners maintain lawns in drought areas using a fraction of the normal water use. Professional Landscapers know that by burying wirless sensors on a rod in several places on a golf course to measure the exact amount of water getting to the roots. Creativity with Ponds Here's where your creative instincts kick in. This is where you make your pond your own. Koi Pond Aeration To achieve Koi pond aeration, there are some things you can do. One, you can go to your local hobby store or pet supply store and purchase one of those small air pumps, hook some tubing to it, along with an air diffuser or sometimes called an air stone, and place it in your pond. Maintaining Oxygen Levels in Fish and KOI Ponds Severe environmental stressors are the most frequent causes of sudden fish death in garden ponds or other fish habitats, and the lack of oxygen in the water is the number 1 stressor of all.Two major factors contributing to fish-pond oxygen loss concern blooming algae. Growing Orchids as House Plants One of the long standing myths that I still hear is that orchid house plants are difficult and finicky to grow. Well, plain and simple, the answer is No. How to Install a Liner Pond Liner ponds are ideal for the experienced water gardener because they allow for very forgiving installations, which consequently promotes greater creativity. However, for the very same reasons, liner ponds also take require some pre-planning. Thyme: The Herb of Courage Garden thyme, fresh or dried, alone or combined with parsley and bay leaves to make a bouquet garni, adds a distinctive aromatic flavouring to meats, poultry, stews, sauces, and stuffing. Thymus vulgaris, commonly known as cooking thyme, English thyme, French thyme, or winter thyme is just one of the 350 species of the genus Thymus. Potting Benches: Beautiful and Practical Do you love spending time outdoors in your garden creating beautiful floral arrangements that can be enjoyed by all? Do you spend more time gathering up your supplies than you actually do planting flowers? If so, you should consider enhancing your garden with a potting bench.Potting benches do more than just add another gorgeous piece of furniture to your outdoor space; they are also very practical and can be extremely convenient when creating floral masterpieces in the garden. A Little Known Secret to Successful Outdoor Gardening Pruning.. Introduction to Aquaponics Hydroponics and aquaponics are very similar in every way except hydroponics requires the addition of fertilizer and there's no fish in the nutrient solution.In aquaponics, plants and fish live a symbiotic life with the fish feeding the plants, and the plants cleaning and filtering the fish's environment. How to Decorate your Outdoor Space without Breaking the Bank Noted English clergyman Sydney Smith (1771-1845) is quoted as saying, "Economy in the estimation of common minds means the absence of all taste and comfort." But finding thrifty ways to decorate your outdoor living space doesn't mean you have to sacrifice either of those things. Garden Hot Tubs Imagine starting your morning with a saunter out the back door to enjoy a cup of coffee in your garden hot tub, or relaxing just before bed with a lazy soak in your backyard hot tub under the stars. More and more homeowners are taking the plunge (pardon the pun!) and installing a hot tub in their backyard or garden. Introduction to Botany Botanists are individuals who conduct extensive study on plant biology - from the simple to the most complex plant organisms; studying all aspect of an individual plant or an entire ecology. Many botanists are involved in a broad range of activities including academic, both teaching and researching (Including field and laboratory studies). A Look at Planting Flower Bulbs Flowers are a favorite of many backyard gardeners. Thanks to their ease of planting and relatively low cost, flower bulbs are a popular choice for flower gardens.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |