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Herb Gardening For Dummies, 2nd Edition (For Dummies (Home & Garden)) PDF

388 Pages·2010·4.32 MB·English
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Spine: .768’’ Gardening/Herbs Making Everything Easier!™ 2nd Edition Grow, care for, preserve, and use 2nd Edition healthful herbs H Open the book and find: Starting an herb garden outweighs the costs of buying retail (cid:129) How to grow herbs in gardens, e Herb Gardening herbs. Plus, adding homegrown ingredients to your meals containers, and on windowsills r is a healthy and tasty way to improve any dish you make b (cid:129) Culinary herbs, medicinal herbs, at home. This friendly, hands-on guide gives you tips and and herbs for health and beauty advice on how to grow a thriving herb garden that will add G (cid:129) Experts tips on what to grow depth and flavor to home-cooked meals — as well as boost your health. (cid:129) Design basics for herb gardens a (cid:129) Herbs 101 — get the 4-1-1 on the basics of growing herbs and the (cid:129) The lowdown on soil r botany principles that’ll help them thrive d (cid:129) Guidance on how to choose seeds (cid:129) Know before you grow — make a garden plan based on your (cid:129) How to cut and dry herbs e unique growing conditions and herb preferences n (cid:129) Delicious recipes (cid:129) Get down to the nitty-gritty — discover how to plant your seeds indoors, when to move them outdoors, and how to care for and (cid:129) An encyclopedia of herbs i maintain them as they grow n (cid:129) Reap what you sow — find out how to harvest and preserve g your herbs and get yummy recipes to use them in your culinary concoctions Learn to: (cid:129) Choose, plant, and care for herbs Go to Dummies.com ® (cid:129) Prevent pests and disease from invading for videos, step-by-step examples, your containers how-to articles, or to shop! (cid:129) Use homegrown herbs to boost your health, add flavor to meals, and save money Karan Davis Cutler $19.99 US / $23.99 CN / £14.99 UK Suzanne DeJohn is an editor with the National Gardening Association. ISBN 978-0-470-61778-6 Kathleen Fisher The National Gardening Association is the leading garden-based Suzanne DeJohn educational nonprofit organization in the United States, providing Cutler Fisher resources at www. garden.org and www.kidsgardening.org. DeJohn The Editors of the National National Gardening Gardening Association Association Spine: .768’’ Get More and Do More at Dummies.com ® Start with FREE Cheat Sheets Cheat Sheets include (cid:129) Checklists (cid:129) Charts Apps (cid:129) Common Instructions Mobile (cid:129) And Other Good Stuff! To access the Cheat Sheet created specifically for this book, go to www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/herbgardening Get Smart at Dummies.com Dummies.com makes your life easier with 1,000s of answers on everything from removing wallpaper to using the latest version of Windows. Check out our (cid:129) Videos (cid:129) Illustrated Articles There’s a Dummies App for This and That (cid:129) Step-by-Step Instructions Plus, each month you can win valuable prizes by entering our Dummies.com sweepstakes. * With more than 200 million books in print and over 1,600 unique titles, Dummies is a global leader in how-to information. Now Want a weekly dose of Dummies? Sign up for Newsletters on you can get the same great Dummies information in an App. With (cid:129) Digital Photography topics such as Wine, Spanish, Digital Photography, Certification, (cid:129) Microsoft Windows & Office and more, you’ll have instant access to the topics you need to (cid:129) Personal Finance & Investing (cid:129) Health & Wellness know in a format you can trust. (cid:129) Computing, iPods & Cell Phones (cid:129) eBay To get information on all our Dummies apps, visit the following: (cid:129) Internet www.Dummies.com/go/mobile from your computer. (cid:129) Food, Home & Garden www.Dummies.com/go/iphone/apps from your phone. Find out “HOW” at Dummies.com *Sweepstakes not currently available in all countries; visit Dummies.com for official rules. Herb Gardening FOR DUMmIES ‰ 2 ND EDITION by Karan Davis Cutler, Kathleen Fisher, Suzanne DeJohn, & the Editors of the National Gardening Association 01_9780470617786-ffirs.indd i01_9780470617786-ffirs.indd i 10/18/10 11:28 AM10/18/10 11:28 AM Herb Gardening For Dummies®, 2nd Edition Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River St. Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2011 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permit- ted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http:// www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com, Making Everything Easier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/ or its affi liates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CREATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CONTAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OF A COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE INFORMATION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY MAKE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ. For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002. For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. Library of Congress Control Number: 2010938831 ISBN: 978-0-470-61778-6 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 01_9780470617786-ffirs.indd ii01_9780470617786-ffirs.indd ii 10/18/10 11:28 AM10/18/10 11:28 AM About the Authors Karan Davis Cutler: A former magazine editor and newspaper columnist, Karan Davis Cutler is the author of seven other garden books. She publishes regularly in horticultural magazines and is an eight-time winner of the Quill & Trowel Award from the Garden Writers Association of America. Kathleen Fisher: Kathleen Fisher was an editor of The American Gardener, published by the American Horticultural Society, and a longtime newspaper reporter and magazine editor. The author of several books and many articles, she died in May 2005. Suzanne DeJohn: A writer and horticulturist at the National Gardening Association for 14 years, Suzanne now writes, gardens, and runs a pet- friendly B&B in northern Vermont. The National Gardening Association (NGA) is committed to sustaining and renewing the fundamental links between people, plants, and the Earth. Founded in 1972 (as “Gardens for All”) to spearhead the community garden movement, today’s NGA promotes environmental responsibility, advances multidisciplinary learning and scientifi c literacy, and creates partnerships that restore and enhance communities. NGA is best known for its garden-based curricula, educational journals, inter- national initiatives, and several youth garden grant programs. Together these reach more than 300,000 children nationwide each year. NGA’s Web sites, one for home gardeners and another for those who garden with kids, build community and offer a wealth of custom content. For more information about the National Gardening Association, write to 1100 Dorset St., South Burlington, VT 05403, or visit the Web site at www. garden.org or www.kidsgardening.org. Dedication To Kathy Fisher, who was bright, capable, and enormous fun — and who died far too young. And to our mothers and fathers, who encouraged our interests in plants and in words. Authors’ Acknowledgments We’ve depended greatly on the kindness of many (herb-growing) strangers — and friends. For specifi c help, we are indebted to Gwen Barclay, Hank Becker, Kathy Bond Borie, Rosalind Creasy, Barbara Ellis, David Ellis, Donald M. Maynard, Patsy Jamieson, Susan Romanoff, and Holly Shimizu. 01_9780470617786-ffirs.indd iii01_9780470617786-ffirs.indd iii 10/18/10 11:28 AM10/18/10 11:28 AM Publisher’s Acknowledgments We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments at http://dummies.custhelp.com. For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002. Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: Acquisitions, Editorial, and Composition Services Media Development Project Coordinator: Kristie Rees Project Editors: Kelly Ewing, Natalie Harris Layout and Graphics: Claudia Bell, Carl Byers Acquisitions Editor: Stacy Kennedy Proofreader: Laura Bowman Copy Editors: Christine Pingleton, Susan Hobbs Indexer: Dakota Indexing Assistant Editor: David Lutton Illustrator: D.D. Dowden General Reviewer: Cathy Wilkinson Barash Senior Editorial Manager: Jennifer Ehrlich Editorial Supervisor and Reprint Editor: Carmen Krikorian Editorial Assistant: Jennette ElNaggar Art Coordinator: Alicia B. South Cover Photos: © iStockphoto.com / kkgas Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com) Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies Kristin Ferguson-Wagstaffe, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies Ensley Eikenburg, Associate Publisher, Travel Kelly Regan, Editorial Director, Travel Publishing for Technology Dummies Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User Composition Services Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services 01_9780470617786-ffirs.indd iv01_9780470617786-ffirs.indd iv 10/18/10 11:28 AM10/18/10 11:28 AM Contents at a Glance Introduction ................................................................ 1 Part I: Herb Basics ...................................................... 5 Chapter 1: Why Grow Herbs? ...........................................................................................7 Chapter 2: Herbs 101 .......................................................................................................19 Part II: Deciding How and What to Grow ..................... 35 Chapter 3: Getting to Know Your Home Ground .........................................................37 Chapter 4: Designing Your Herb Garden ......................................................................53 Chapter 5: Herb Garden Plans ........................................................................................63 Chapter 6: Herbs in Containers, Indoors and Out .......................................................79 Part III: Getting Down to Earth................................. 103 Cha pter 7: There’s No Place Like Loam: Preparing Your Soil for Planting .............105 Chapter 8: It’s Time to Plant .........................................................................................123 Chapter 9: Everyday Care and Feeding .......................................................................139 Chapter 10: Managing Pests in Your Herb Garden ....................................................157 Part IV: Cut and Dried: Handling the Herbal Bounty ... 175 Chapter 11: Harvesting and Preserving ......................................................................177 Chapter 12: Culinary Concoctions ...............................................................................191 Chapter 13: Herbs for Healing and Soothing ..............................................................209 Chapter 14: Herbs for Beauty .......................................................................................219 Chapter 15: Herbs for Hearth and Home ....................................................................225 Part V: The Part of Tens ........................................... 235 Chapter 16: Ten Gifts to Make from Herbs You Grow ...............................................237 Chapter 17: Ten Lists of Herbs for Different Uses and Garden Situations .............245 Appendix: An Encyclopedia of Herbs ......................... 251 Index ...................................................................... 351 02_9780470617786-ftoc.indd v02_9780470617786-ftoc.indd v 10/18/10 11:28 AM10/18/10 11:28 AM 02_9780470617786-ftoc.indd vi02_9780470617786-ftoc.indd vi 10/18/10 11:28 AM10/18/10 11:28 AM Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................. 1 About This Book ..............................................................................................1 Conventions Used in This Book .....................................................................2 What You’re Not to Read ................................................................................2 Foolish Assumptions .......................................................................................2 How This Book Is Organized ..........................................................................2 Part I: Herb Basics .................................................................................3 Part II: Deciding How and What to Grow ............................................3 Part III: Getting Down to Earth .............................................................3 Part IV: Cut and Dried: Handling the Herbal Bounty .........................3 Part V: The Part of Tens ........................................................................3 Appendix: An Encyclopedia of Herbs ..................................................4 Icons Used in This Book .................................................................................4 Where to Go from Here ...................................................................................4 Part I: Herb Basics ....................................................... 5 Chapter 1: Why Grow Herbs?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 What Makes an Herb an Herb? .......................................................................7 Seeing Why and Where to Grow Herbs .........................................................8 Herbs in your garden .............................................................................9 Herbs in containers ...............................................................................9 Considering Culinary Herbs ...........................................................................9 Upping your nutrition quota ..............................................................10 Finding ways to cook with herbs .......................................................10 Adding fl avor to oils, vinegars, dressings, and marinades .............10 Brewing herbal teas .............................................................................11 Exploring Medicinal Herbs ...........................................................................11 Making history......................................................................................12 Going mainstream ................................................................................12 Food or drug . . . or neither? ...............................................................12 Creating Herbal Body Care Products: Beauty or Bust? ............................13 Using Herbs for Hearth and Home ..............................................................14 Looking at Herb Folklore ..............................................................................14 Sage renders men immortal, and other tall tales .............................14 Virtues of delight .................................................................................15 Read All About It ............................................................................................16 02_9780470617786-ftoc.indd vii02_9780470617786-ftoc.indd vii 10/18/10 11:28 AM10/18/10 11:28 AM viii Herb Gardening For Dummies, 2nd Edition Chapter 2: Herbs 101 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 What’s a Wort? Plant Name ..........................................................................19 Clearing up common name confusion ...............................................20 Getting scientifi c with names .............................................................20 Looking at the Herbal Cycle of Life .............................................................24 Surveying Herb Anatomy ..............................................................................25 The root of the matter .........................................................................25 Stem dandy ...........................................................................................25 Leaf it be ................................................................................................26 Factoring in fl owers .............................................................................27 Caution: Invasive Herbs Ahead ....................................................................29 Plants that will make you rue the day ...............................................29 Location is everything .........................................................................30 Underground travelers ........................................................................31 Avoiding Dangerous Herbs ...........................................................................32 Herbs from the Wild ......................................................................................34 Part II: Deciding How and What to Grow ..................... 35 Chapter 3: Getting to Know Your Home Ground . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 Climate Is Key .................................................................................................37 Factors that infl uence what you can grow .......................................38 Weather matters ..................................................................................39 Using Climate and Zone Maps ......................................................................39 The USDA Hardiness Zone Map .........................................................39 Determining your growing season .....................................................42 The Heat Zone Map..............................................................................42 Native versus Exotic Plants ..........................................................................44 Giving Herbs What They Want .....................................................................45 Making the most of microclimates ....................................................46 Letting the sunshine in ........................................................................46 When the wind blows ..........................................................................48 Water, water everywhere ....................................................................49 Location, Location, Location .......................................................................50 Chapter 4: Designing Your Herb Garden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53 Getting Started ...............................................................................................53 Catering to convenience .....................................................................54 Deliberating one-shot deals ................................................................54 Creating an herbal oasis .....................................................................54 An Herbal Nod to History .............................................................................55 Formal designs — tux optional ..........................................................55 Informal designs — the laid-back look ..............................................55 02_9780470617786-ftoc.indd viii02_9780470617786-ftoc.indd viii 10/18/10 11:28 AM10/18/10 11:28 AM

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