Green Thumb

Last Saturday (5/29/04) was a great day to be at the Farmer’s Market! Not only was the weather wonderful but the turnout for the class “Cooking with Fresh Herbs” was great.

I prepared three dishes at both sessions of the class (11 am and 1 pm), a fresh salsa wih balsamic vinegar, a sauteed vegetables and pasta dish, and a sauteed marinated chicken. All of these dishes used fresh herbs and vegetables from the market and could be prepared in as little as 15 or 20 minutes!

The class participants ranged from experienced cooks and gardeners to apartment dwellers who were just getting started with their first container gardens. All enjoyed the opportunity to sample new dishes.

I will be doing additional cooking classes in June and July so keep watching this space for a schedule and topics.

Happy Gardening (and cooking) !

The other day someone asked me if spraying plants with a dishsoap and water solution was truly “organic” pest control?

I did some checking and discovered that the answer is “yes”.

Dishsoap and water sprayed on a plant to control bugs is organic because the components of dishsoap readily and easily biodegrade into harmless natural substances.

Here are several recipes for organic pest control that you may find helpful:

Dishsoap Spray:

This is especially effective for spider mites and other small bugs: Mix 1 Tablespoon of Dishsoap into one cup of water and spray plants, making sure to spray the undersides of the leaves where bugs often hide.

Garlic Spray:

This works well for larger bugs such as squash bugs and cucumber beetles: Crush several cloves of garlic and steep in 2 cups of warm (not boiling) water. Allow the mixture to cool and spray on plants.

Chili Oil Spray:

This is a good repellant for rodents. Mix two Tablespoons of chili oil with 1 cup of water and spray plants. Be sure to rinse them well before eating as the residue left by the spray is quite spicy!

The best defense against pests is to make sure that your plants are healthy and well fed. Studies have shown that insect pests tend to attack plants that are stressed or unhealthy before attacking healthy plants.

Happy Gardening!

My ex was not a gardener.

We had three acres in the country and while I looked at the yard and saw the potential for huge flower beds and outdoor entertainment space, he saw only a vast expanse of grass to be mown and gravel to be kept weed free.

With all of the beautifying to be done on my own I had to develop a method to keep chores like weeding and watering to a minimum while continuing to expand the existing beds and borders.

The first thing that I learned was to prepare any beds the right way the first time.

The previous owner had planted bermuda grass (which spreads by runners like crab grass) so any new beds had to be carefully dug and every visible scrap of grass removed. This was time consuming and tedious but by doing it in the spring before the grass really began to grow and then edging the beds periodically most of the weeds could be removed before they became a problem.

The second thing I learned was to plant the beds thickly enough that the plants I desired would shade out the plants I designated as weeds. This meant with a new bed (because I had a tight budget) that the perennials I planted were interspersed with thick growing annuals like marigolds and poppies for the first year of the bed.

In the second year I generally didn’t plant any annuals but relied on the mild winters to allow the annuals to reseed themselves. This would cause them to come back a bit thinner than the previous year and give the perennials more room to grow.

Generally by the third year I could ignore the beds except for a spring weeding and regular edging during the summer.

Most importantly I learned to only grow varieties that could withstand a drought of several weeks. This was very important because we had a private well that was rather shallow and we couldn’t water frequently without running the risk of a dry well.

Anything that couldn’t survive the summer on rainfall alone wasn’t replanted the following year.

The result?

I was able to add flower bed after flower bed without going nuts trying to keep up with the maintenance. My yard was beautiful and I got a great deal of pleasure from sitting on the front porch watching the birds and butterflies enjoy my flowers.

The five or six hours a week that I spent on the yard were not spent catching up on maintenance but on making my yard a better habitat for humans and wildlife alike!

I will be doing some traveling in June and so will only be holding classes at the Market on June 12, June 19, and June 26.

I’m looking forward to these classes though:

June 12 Weeding and Watering

These are two of the most important chores in a garden. They make all the difference in the health of your plants yet many people don’t know how or when to water and the most effective methods of weeding.

This class will include identification of common weeds,

Environmentally friendly methods of dealing with weeds,

Good watering techniques

And ways to conserve water.

June 19 Garden Art

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What is Garden Art?

How do I preserve Garden Art?

Using “Found Objects” as Garden Art.

June 26 Building a Water Feature

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Happy Gardening!

I have to say I am really looking forward to teaching this class! It combines two of my favorite things – cooking and gardening!

As with all of my classes I’ll be doing it twice on Saturday, once at 11 am and once at 1 pm.

I’ll be demonstrating methods of using fresh herbs in main dishes and salads, and will have samples for people to taste test.

Tomorrow I will also be at the Farmer’s Market with plants and books and maybe some other goodies to sell!

I’m still working on the June Class Schedule but I will post it as soon as I have it all put together.

Happy Gardening and see you at the Market!

Over the weekend I spoke with a couple of women who are interested in sustainable living. As we discussed several items of interest including composting it occured to me that we are often far to focused on the concrete things that we get from the garden (vegetables, herbs and fruits) and far less aware of the intangible benefits.

Gardening is not just about the end result. It is about the process of moving from a bare piece of earth or empty container to a fruitful tomato or bunch of succulent lettuce.

Weeding is an unpleasant chore but it is an excuse to be outdoors, to dig our fingers into the earth and to connect with a particular spot for a few moments.

All too often we are so busy with our lives that we cannot even imagine being able to sit still for a moment. The garden becomes just one more thing to do that is added to our already overful days.

Many people talk about sustainable living, they dream about living the simple life but it only a dream.Our busy lives do not allow us to easily “step away”. We must learn to do just that if we are going to make this world a better place.

“Step away” from easy consumerism to a garden or collection of pots……..

“Step away” from leisure moments spent looking for entertainement to creating new things to enjoy…….

Most of all “step away” from dreaming and change your life for the better. You may not see a difference overnight but in time you too will learn to see the joy of the process!

I am continuing my series of free classes at the 17th Street Farmer’s Market with a class on Growing Fresh Herbs this Saturday (May 22). As usual the classes will be held at my booth next to the ATM on the Main Street side of the Market.

I will teach the class twice, once at 11 am and then again at 1 pm. There will be a handout with notes from the class as well as this week’s edition of The Organic Gardening Guide.

To sign up for the class ahead of time visit http://www.gardeninggirl.com/Gardening_Classes.html . Registration is not required but it does give me a better idea of how many people to expect.

Next week’s class will be Cooking with Fresh Herbs and is being co-sponsored by 17.5 Cafe.

I hope to see you there!

Happy Gardening!

Nothing says summer quite as much as a house full of flowers. However cutting flowers from your carefully planned borders leaves them looking bare.

The solution?

A dedicated flower bed known as a cutting garden.

All you need is a place in your yard that you can plant and harvest from without feeling like you are leaving a corner looking bare.

Select a space that is not completely visible from the windows or near a part of the yard where you entertain. Prepare the bed asa you would any other and then plant species that will last for a significant period when cut and brought indoors.

Some of these varieties are:

Flower Name====================== Color

Amaranth/Love-lies-bleeding………………wine red or green
Bachelor’s Button…………………………………bright blue
Cockscomb……………………………………….red, hot pink, orange, tan
Foxtail Grass………………………………………………… tan
Globe Amaranth……………………………pink, red, orange, purple, lavendar
Honesty/Money Plant………………………….. white/translucent
Larkspur…………………………………….pink, blue, purple, lavender
Lavender………………………………………………. purple
Sunflower …………………………………….. yellow, gold , orange
Zinnia…………………………………………..pink, red, yellow, orange

A number of these varieties can also be dried as everlasting bouquets.

Happy Gardening!

The ARC’s have now been sent to several different publications and experts including a practioner of holistic medicine, a cooking school owner, and lots of ordinary folks who agreed to read the book and test the recipes.

I’ll be posting their reviews here as they come in, so keep checking.

I’ll also be posting excerpts from the book in the next couple of days.

Happy Gardening!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact Person: Kyndra Ferguson
Company: GardeningGirl.com
Telephone : 804-539-9300
E-mail: kyndra@gardeninggirl.com
www.GardeningGirl.com

Gardening Isn?t Just For Suburbia!

Richmond, VA May 18, 2004

A new book, Cooking From Your Patio – How to Save Money and Improve Your Health with Produce From a Tiny Garden promises to provide city dwellers with a solution to their desire for a healthy lifestyle.

The author, Kyndra Ferguson, shows readers how to grow herbs and vegetables for their enjoyment in a few pots. Organic growing techniques allow patio or balcony gardeners to enjoy their favorite fruits and vegetables without having to worry about chemical residues.

The first half of the book is filled with information on how to get started with container gardening as well as trouble shooting tips and gardening resources.

Gardening tips and money saving techniques include:

plant varieties that grow well in containers
bargain sources for pots
step by step instructions for planting
planning checklists

The second half of the book contains recipes for simple, yet delicious meals cooked with herbs and vegetables grown on your patio.

With the growing interest in a simpler healthier lifestyle, Cooking From Your Patio, promises to fill an information gap.

Buy a copy of the Cooking From Your Patio ebook for instant assistance with your garden! Just $8.95

Email Kyndra Ferguson to order the paperback version for $11.95 (includes shipping).

Kyndra Ferguson is a freelance writer and organic gardener with over 20 years of experience. Cooking From Your Patio is her first book.

For additional information contact:
Contact Person: Kyndra Ferguson
Company: GardeningGirl.com
Telephone : 804-539-9300
E-mail: kyndra@gardeninggirl.com
www.GardeningGirl.com

###

I picked up the Advanced Readers Copies yesterday and am now going through the process of garnering reviews and setting up promotional events.

So far I have at least one magazine that is going to run a review in their June issue, and several individuals who are reading and reviewing the book itself and the recipes.

One of the difficulties with being a small press with a specific audience is finding the right people to read and comment on the book.

The people who have seen it have liked it and I am going to be working on it in many diffierent formats over the next month. ”

I will be posting my press releases and event schedule for all to see.

Last week I went to work on a client’s yard in an older neighborhood in town.

My client is new to gardening and doesn’t really know what style or plants she likes yet, so we went on a walk around the neighborhood, to see what her neighbors were doing and get an idea of what she likes.

As we passed by each yard she would tell me “Oh I like that, what is it?” I would tell her the name of the plant and whether it would do well in her yard.

At one yard we passed there were a couple of plants that I didn’t know and I made a few notes for later identification. Then I noticed the homeowner sitting on her front step.

I walked my client over to her and introduced myself. Like most gardeners she was eager to talk about her flower beds and we spent a lovely half hour together.

It started me thinking about how many times I am in my yard or in a garden center, or at a plant sale and fall into easy conversation with a fellow gardener. We discuss plants that have done well for us, tricks for dealing with weeds, all kinds of things that are of little interest to those who don’t garden.

Like proud parents we brag about our roses or tomatoes or hurry to fill bags with produce to share.

Gardeners tend to be very friendly people, always ready to induct someone into their peculiar club. Studies have shown that people who garden live longer healthier lives, are less prone to diseases like Alzheimer’s and are an important part of their communities. These positive results have been attributed to increased exercise (both mental and physical) but I wonder if it doesn’t have more to do with the gardener’s open heart to new challenges, new life and new friends.

Attracting Birds to Your Backyard and Garden

Birds are an important part of any gardener’s experience. They can be a both a useful source of natural pest control and a bit of a pest themselves. All in all they add color, life and pizzazz to your yard, garden, or balcony.

Birds will often return year after year to the same spot to nest, raise their young and feed. With a little care in choosing your plants, you can provide multiple species of birds with a safe place to live.

The first step to a beautiful bird friendly garden is to identify the most common species in your area. Buy a good birdbook (I personally prefer a Roger Tory Peterson guide) and spend some time watching birds in your yard.

Note the types of birds and their favorite places to feed, nest and play. Note too if there are any animals in the neighborhood that might harm them (cats spring to mind). Draw a small sketch map of your yard and make notations on it. It will be invaluable when planning additional ways to welcome your feathered friends!

Once the sketch map is in hand, check to see what kinds of food and shelter you provide in your yard. Do you have finches and other seed eating birds? Or is your population mainly bug and worm eaters? Do you have bushes that have low branches to provide shelter for ground nesting birds? Trees with solid branches for larger birds to build nests on? What about water? Do you have a birdbath or pond?

In many cases your yard probably already provides a number of atractive places for birds to nest and feed. To be sure to attract the exact species you want consider planting some of the following trees and shrubs:

Bayberry (Myrica heterophylla)
Attracts: Flickers, Carolina Wrens, Bluebirds, Hermit Thrush, Brown Thrashers, Carolina Chickadees, Catbirds, , Mockingbirds, Mottled Ducks, Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, American Robins, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Titmouses, Tree Swallows, Towhees, Yellow-rumped Warbler and many other species,

Blackberry (Rubus spp)
Attracts: Blue Jays, Bluebirds, Brown Thrashers, Cardinals, Catbirds, Flycatchers, Kingbirds, meadowlarks, Mockingbirds, Red-winged Blackbirds, Song Sparrows, summer tanagers, Titmouses, Towhees, Wood Thrushes, Woodpeckers,

Blueberry (Vaccinium spp.)
Attracts : Bluebirds, Catbirds, Flickers, Flycatchers, Jays, Kingbirds, Orioles, Sparrows, Thrashers, Thrushes, Titmouses, Towhees,

Both of these will also provide fruit for you to enjoy!

Crabapple (Malus angustifolia)
Attracts: Blue Jays, Bluebirds, Mockingbirds, Titmouses, Woodpeckers, American Robins, Pine Grosbeaks, Crossbills, Siskins, Cedar Waxwings,

Fir (Abies spp.)
Attracts: Blue Jays, Brown Creepers, Chickadees, Cedar Waxwings, Flycatchers, Finches, Junco, Kinglet, Mourning Dove, Nuthatches, Robin,

Firs are especially important as shelter for species that over winter in your yard.

Flowering DogWood (Cornus spp.)
Attracts: over 80 species including catbird, Robins, Thrashers, Bluebirds, Towhees,

Holly (Ilex spp.)
Attracts: Blue Jays, Bluebirds, Brown Thrashers, Cardinals, Catbirds, Cedar Waxwings, Mockingbirds, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, American Robins, Sapsuckers, Sparrows, Thrushes, Towhees,

Hollies provide food and shelter in the winter.

Pine (Pinus spp.)
Attracts: American Goldfinches, Blue Jays, Chickadees, Cedar Waxwings, Finches, Flickers, Grosbeaks, Junco, Mourning Dove, Nuthatches, Pine Siskin, Sparrows, Titmouses, Thrashers, Towhee, Warblers, Woodpecker,

Plum (Prunus spp.)
Attracts: American Goldfinches, Bluebirds, Blue Jays, Cedar Waxwings, Finches, Flickers, Grosbeaks, Orioles, Robins, Sparrows, Thrush, Thrashers, Towhee, Vireo, Woodpeckers,

Wax myrtle (Myrica cerifera)
Attracts: Bluebirds, Bobwhites, Brown Thrashers, Catbirds, Carolina Chickadees, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, White-eyed Vireos, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Tree Swallows,

These are just a few of the plants that will help you attract and keep birds year after year! There are many more, including a number of flowers that are particularly attractive to hummingbirds. Experiment with various types of plants until you find just the right look and feel for you and your feathered friends!

There are few things as satisfying to the dedicated gardener as introducing the next genereation to the hobby that we love so much. Even very young children can be encouraged to grow a plant or two.

I remember a visit from two of my young cousins one summer. My aunt stated emphatically that they would not eat any vegetables without them being smothered in ketchup. She was at her wits’ end and dinner was a battle.

We took the boys out to the garden ( a 5000 square foot spread) and showed them what was growing. We showed them how the weeds had to be kept back from the plants and let them “help” pull weeds and “dig” for a while. When they were somewhat worn out we began to harvest beans and tomatoes for dinner. As any gardener knows harvesting also includes sampling! The boys saw us eating fresh cherry tomatoes and green beans and tried them for themselves. No fuss, no fighting! Just kids discovering the goodness of the garden.

Here are a few “kid-friendly” vegetables to plant:

Cherry tomatoes: always a favorite, you may have trouble keeping them away from the harvest!

Sunflowers: grow the tallest variety, Gray Stripe is a good one and show the kids how to dry the heads to feed the birds in the winter.

Pumpkins: For truly amazing pumpkins remove all of the female blossoms except one or two, make sure that the saved blossoms are fertilized by transferring pollen from a male blossom with a paintbrush. Give the vine plenty of water and compost and see how large a pumkin you can grow.

Radishes and Carrots: both grow quickly from seed and kids love the harvesting.

Keep a child’s garden small and be sure to use mulching techniques so that gardening is a pleasure not a chore. Once they are enthusiatic you can introduce them to some of the more onerous chores of gardening. Use the time spent in the garden for other things too, we always got a lot of talking, singing, and poetry reciting done during our gardening time!

Heavy clay can be one of the hardest soil types to deal with. It is either water saturated or so dry and hard that you need a pick ax to dig in it!

Luckily there are several things you can do to lighten and improve clay soil:

1. Till or dig the soil and break up any large lumps. You may need to rake it several times to get the desired effect.

2. Find a source for manure. Many horse farms will give it to you for free if you will haul it away. Make sure you get manure that is at least a season old so that you don’t “burn” your plants. Spread at least four inches of manure on your garden space.

3. Spread three layers of newspaper over the manure and cover this with four to six inches of grass clippings. Plant your plants by cutting holes in the paper for the seedlings to grow through. The newspaper/grass combination will keep the clay from baking in the sun.

4. Make liberal use of manure or compost “tea” while watering.

5. After harvest till the newspaper and grass clippings into the soil and plant a “green manure” such as buckwheat. This “green manure” should be allowed to grow all winter and then be tilled into the soil in the spring.

The continued addition of organic matter to the clay will lighten it and add needed nutrients. You should see immediate improvement in your yields and have a lovely loamy garden soil withing 2-3 years.

Happy Gardening!

Now that spring is nearly over it’s time to think about preparing your plants to deal with warm weather.

The first thing to do is to “harden off” the plants by bringing them outdoors for a few hours at a time in order to accustom them to bright sunlight and hotter temperatures.

Secondly, when you plant the seedlings make sure that you give them plenty of water. The first week after transplanting you should water thoroughly every day. After that you should water thoroughly several times a week.

Finally, you should use some kind of mulch in all of you garden beds. Mulch (especially with newspaper underneath) helps to cut down on weeds and prevents the soil under to mulch from baking in the sun and becoming impervious to water.

Plan to use 4-6 inches of mulch (grass clippings, leaves, straw, or wood mulch) on all areas of the garden.

You will find your labor reduced and you will need to water less frequently even in very hot weather.

Happy Gardening!

Attracting Butterflies to Your Garden

by Kyndra Ferguson

Butterflies are some of the most exciting and beautiful visitors to the garden! They add an element of surprise and color that can’t be gotten from any other living thing. Children love them and even pets will sometimes interact with them. How can we attract more of these friendly insects to our yards and patios?

Butterflies need three things in a habitat in order to survive:

Food : Adult butterflies are attracted by large, open blossomed flowers in bright colors. They will also visit some deep blossomed flowers if the flower has a fairly wide mouth so that the butterflies can access the nectar. Favorite colors include purple, yellow, pink and white.

The larval stage (caterpillar) often eats very different food from the adult butterfly. Caterpillars can be destructive but if you want adult butterflies in your garden you will need to provide food for the caterpillars to eat. In many cases the caterpillars eat plants that are generally considered weeds, so encouraging them may actually cut down on your garden work!

Water: Like all living things butterflies need water to survive. They can drink from a shallow bird bath or other dish placed in a sunny spot. They will also drink from puddles and moist places in your yard.

Shelter: Butterflies are fragile and will need a place to take shelter in storms. Provide them with hanging baskets on a porch or leafy plants that they can perch on to protect themselves from high winds.

A butterfly garden should be placed in a sunny part of your yard or patio. It should contain a variety of plants that will attract butterflies. I have found that it is often advisable to let a butterfly garden grow somewhat wild in looks so that the weeds on which the caterpillars feed don?t look out of place among more commonly cultivated plants provided for the adult butterflies. Do not use insecticides on the plants in your butterfly garden and encourage your neighbors to reduce or eliminate their own use of insecticides in order to encourage butterflies to co-exist with you.

Here is a list of common foods for butterflies found in Virginia:

Butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii)
Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Marigold
Primrose
Sedum
Dandelion
Goldenrod,
Aster
Yarrow
Honeysuckle
Viburnum
Lilac
Poppy
Zinnia.

Caterpillar foods for Virginia butterflies:

Monarch butterfly – Common milkweed, swamp milkweed
Zebra swallowtail – Common pawpaw
Spicebush swallowtail – Spicebush
Pipevine swallowtail – Dutchman’s pipevine
Question mark butterfly – American elm
Alfalfa & common sulfur butterflies – Red and white clover
Red admiral – false and stinging nettle
Painted lady butterflies – Thistles, burdock, sunflowers, hollyhock, pearly everlasting
Red spotted purple butterfly – Wild cherry, apple, hawthorn
Viceroy – Willows, apple
Eastern tiger swallowtail – Wild cherry, tulip tree ‘
Great spangle fritillary – Violets
Black swallowtail – Apiaceae family (carrot, parsley, Queen Anne’s lace, fennel)

This new blog software doesn’t have any limit on howlong I can make the posts so I will be posting all of my new articles here in the future. I will also archive them on the main website every couple of weeks so they are available.

I added two articles today. The Three Pot Garden covers the gardening class that was held last week. More information about container gardening is available in my new book Cooking From Your Patio .

The other article Getting Started with Herbs is a taste of what I will cover in the two herb classes which will be held at the end of May.

I’d love to hear what you think about those articles and if you need more information.

Happy Gardening!

Getting Started With Herbs – Four Essential Tips
by
Kyndra Ferguson

Getting Started With Herbs – Four Essential Tips
by
Kyndra Ferguson

Growing herbs for use in the kitchen, medicine cabinet or in home cosmetics can be a pleasure. Many herbs can be used in all three of these categories and a small herb garden can be very productive. Whether you just want fresh basil for cooking or you want to make herbal soap for family and friends here are four essential tips for a successful herb garden.

Plants

While many annual herbs like basil can be started from seed, most perennial herbs should be purchased as plants. Perennial herbs are notoriously hard to sprout and they can grow slowly for their first couple of seasons. Get your garden off to a good start by either purchasing plants or taking cuttings or divisions of established plants from friends who garden.

If you are buying plants you should look for plants that have been organically grown. Herbs tend to be resistant to pests and disease and do not need the assistance of chemicals in order to flourish.
The chart below gives some basic herbs together with their uses.

Herb Type of Plant How to Grow Uses
Basil Annual Start from seed or buy plants Italian and Asian cooking, chopped in salads
Chives Perennial Start from seed or buy plants Chop as a garnish use for mild onion flavoring
Cilantro Annual Start from seed Mexican cooking, salsas, salads and fish
Dill Annual or Bi-Annual Start from seed or buy plants Fish, Chicken, Pickles, salad
Parsley (curled or flat leaf) Bi-Annual Buy Plants Garnish, salads, Fish, Chicken
Rosemary Perennial Root cuttings of buy plants Strong flavor for pork, chicken and fish
Sage Perennial Buy Plants Medium strong flavor, compliments poultry of all kinds

Cultivation

Since the leaf is the most commonly used part of an herb, it is important to do those things that will promote leaf growth. The two most important things you can do are provide a ready source of nitrogen and plenty of water.

You may think that nitrogen is a chemical and that I just said that herbs don’t need chemicals! That is true, but nitrogen is an essential part of the growth process for plants.

In most cases you can provide nitrogen for your herbs by mulching them with grass clippings or by mixing a pile of grass clippings into the soil each spring. As the clippings decompose they will release nitrogen into the soil, providing a ready supply for your herbs.

Water is also very important and you should make sure that your watering is very thorough. When you have watered your garden, poke your finger into the soil. If the dirt is not wet several inches below the surface, you need to keep watering.

Harvest

Herbs should be harvested in the morning, just after the dew has dried. Harvesting in the heat of the day will reduce the flavor and scent since the sun dries out the leaves slightly during the day.

Use a sharp pair of scissors or a knife and never take more than a third of the plant. If you need copious amounts of an herb, (pesto for the family reunion for instance) plan to harvest for several weeks before the event.

Unwashed herbs can be refrigerated in plastic bags and most will keep for two to three weeks.

Regular trimming of your plants will encourage them to grow, so use the methods below to preserve your harvest until you need it.

Preserving

Drying is the easiest method of preserving herbs for future use. You can dry herbs almost anywhere. Simply wash leaves or stems that you have cut and spread them on trays. You can either put them in your oven on low heat for several hours or put the trays in a warm dark place for a few weeks.

Either way you will want to stir the drying herbs occasionally to make sure they dry thoroughly. The drying process is complete when leaves and stems feel crisp to the touch and crumble easily. Herbs preserved this way will last up to one year.

Do not dry herbs in bunches. You will not get adequate air circulation in the middle of the bunch and your herbs will mold.

Herbs can also be frozen for future use. Again wash the herbs but this time chop or cut them into the desired size. You can put them in small bags in the freezer or fill ice cube trays with herbs. Once the herbs have frozen you can store them for several months before using. Be sure that you freeze the herbs in usable amounts. There are few things as frustrating as trying to thaw a large block of frozen parsley!

Finally, you can also preserve many herbs in oil or vinegar. Take several stems of freshly harvested leaves and stems and place them in a pan along with a cup of olive oil or white vinegar. Bring the liquid to a lukewarm temperature, pour it into dark colored jars and screw on the lids. Store the oil or vinegar for two to three months before using. The resulting flavored oil or vinegar may be used in salad dressing, stir fry or anywhere you want a little extra flavor.

Herbal oils and vinegar also make great gifts.

Whatever you do with your herb garden, have fun with it. Mix up unusual flavors and try them out on family and friends. They might not all work but you may also discover a recipe that will become a treasure!

For more about growing and using herbs visit GardeningGirl.com or come to our free gardening classes at the 17th Street Farmers Market in Downtown Richmond!

Once you have decided to plant a patio garden you need to think about the number of pots that you want to tend and the amount of time that you want to devote to your garden.

If you are single or making your first attempt at a garden let me recommend The Three Pot Garden. This garden willbe easy to manage and will provide you with just enough fresh vegetables and herbs without overwhelming you with produce.

You will need one large pot about two feet in diameter and two feet deep, and two smaller pots (12 – 18 inches would be best).

Fill all three pots with 3 inches of gravel and have topsoil and compost available for filling them.

The large pot will hold a tomato plant, two basil plants, a cucumber plant and an oregano plant. Begin planting by putting about 4 inches of compost and 4 inches of topsoil into the pot. Gently free your tomato plant from its pot (or remove the tape from the bottom of a paper pot and set the plant in the pot about six inches from one edge.

Continue filling the pot with alternating layers of topsoil and compost until you are six inches from the top of the pot. Bury the stem of the tomato as you fill the pot. If there are any small branches on the portion of the stem that you are burying gently break or cut them off. The buried portion of the stem will develop roots and make your plant healthier.

Once you have filled the pot to within six inches of the top, gently plant your cucumber plant on the opposite side of the pot from the tomato. Once again leave about six inches between the plant and the side of the pot. If the plant is big enough to have chosen a direction in which to vine, plant it so that the vine will be able to drape out of the pot and onto the ground.

Press the soil down around the plant, and add another two inches of topsoil to the pot.
Plant the oregano on the same side of the pot as the cucumber. Keep the plant three inches from the side of the pot and oriented to trail over the edge.

Plant the basil plants next to each other across the middle of the pot. Keep them four inches from the edge of the pot and twelve inches from the tomato plant.

The spacing for these plants is approximate and will vary slightly depending on the exact size and shape of your pot. The important thing is to allow air circulation between pot and the plants and between the plants.
Water the pot well until water runs out the drain holes. Inspect the plants to make sure that the soil has not washed away from their roots and cover the soil with a couple of inches of mulch.

Fill your second pot with alternating layers of topsoil and compost and scatter lettuce seeds across one half of the pot. Don’t worry about the plants being too close. Tender baby lettuce is delicious and you can eliminate any overcrowding by harvesting the extra plants. Plant your parsley and chives plants in the other half of the pot. water gently but thoroughly and cover with mulch. the lettuce should germinate in seven to ten days and you can begin harvesting two weeks after germination.

Finally fill your third pot with compost and topsoil and plant your peppers and cilantro. You should plant the peppers along one side of the pot and the cilantro in front of them. Remember to leave space between the side of the pot and your plants. Water thoroughly and mulch.

Over the next several days water your plants daily. After the first week you can probably cut back on the water to the tomato and pepper pots but you should continue to water the lettuce daily. Once the lettuce has germinated and grown its first trus leaves you can cut back on the watering of that pot as well.

You can begin to harvest the herbs almost immediately taking care never to cut mor than a third of the plant. In four to six weeks you will have your first tomatoes and peppers and cucumbers to enjoy.

You will find that this Three Pot Garden requires almost no work, beyond watering. If you are getting lots of produce or if the weather is particularly hot you should give the pots a dose of liquid fertilizer or manure tea on a weekly basis.

Otherwise just sit back and enjoy the produce from your Three Pot Garden!