Gardening 101

While visiting your doctor is a good thing, it is very wise to have your own little herb garden. It is even better when you can use your own herbs to ward off illnesses. Here are five very common herbs that you can use as antibiotics.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon may reduce the risk of heart disease, improve sensitivity to insulin, protects against cancer, has antioxidant properties, lowers blood sugar levels and also has anti- inflammatory properties.

Garlic

Garlic can eliminate a common cold, reduce cholesterol levels, improve bone health, lower blood pressure, detox body of heavy metals and protect against dementia.

Aloe Vera

Aloe Vera is good for healing canker sores, boosting immune system, aiding with digestion, eliminating inflammations, reducing dental plaque and lowering blood sugar.

Thyme

Thyme can help with the dandruff elimination, bone health, improving vision, reduce bad breath, aiding with better sleep and improve health of body cells.

Oregano

 

Oregano helps in protecting against cancer, treating toothache, belly bloating, remedying a sore throat, eliminating intestine parasites and improving heart health.

Using natural herbs is always a good option for health issues. But always make sure to consult your doctor as well.

Flower Patch Cottage reader, Beverly, asked how to take care of indoor miniature roses and keep them alive. Here is our answer…

Miniature roses strive best outdoors, but are regularly used indoors on windowsills, where they will bloom if given the right care. However, it is advised to eventually relocate your minis to the outdoors or even your porch, as they are categorized as temporary houseplants.

Water

Give  water to your mini- roses before they go completely dry. Remember to throw away any excess water if you are using a catchment under your planter, and thoroughly water about an inch deep if the soil ever goes completely dry.

Humidity

Miniature roses love a humid environment. Your home may be too dry, as most times, the average home is. It helps a lot if you make it a routine to mist your plants. Also, placing your planter in a container with water is good. But make sure to put pebbles in the container and let the planter sit on them. The water in the container should always be lower than the pebbles, as you do not want the water to touch the roots. That would cause them to rot.

Temperature

Mini roses prefer heat. If it gets too cold, they might stop blooming for a while. Here is a good article that explains the best temperature conditions for your mini- roses based on where they are from, and if they are potted or planted in your garden.

Sunlight

Experts advise that you give your indoor miniature roses at least 5 hours of sunlight daily. Setting up grow lights for your indoor minis would help to make that less of a challenge.

Giving your indoor plants some fertilizer can help them to strive and keep them alive. If you see signs of your miniature roses struggling, it may be wise to transplant them outdoors before it’s too late.

 

Happy Gardening!

 

Among the easiest vegetables and fruits to grow are strawberries, carrots, cucumber, beet root, lettuce and other salad greens. But if you would like to also grow some daily staple foods, tomatoes, pumpkins and potatoes are easy crops too.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes do not only take on varying shapes and sizes. They also vary in the length of time they take to reach maturity and produce ripe crop. Some take as  little as 49 days, while some take as much as 100 days. Tomatoes are really easy to grow. But they strive better in warm, sunny weather than in cool weather.

Potatoes

Various types of potatoes take different time frames to mature. And there are many different types of potatoes, so be make sure to you get information about the type you want to grow. However, they are easy to care for and will produce a very large yield. Soggy soil is not suitable for growing potatoes, as they grow better in well- drained soil.

Pumpkins

There are hundreds of varieties of pumpkins to choose from for growing in your garden. They are very low maintenance and prefer sunny weather. Smaller pumpkins mature quickly, while larger pumpkins take more time to mature.

 

Happy Gardening!

The sage plant is a member of the mint family. It is an evergreen subshrub with wood stems and is also a perennial.

The leaves are commonly used to treat ulcers, sprains, sore throats and other ailments. It it considered to be a very useful medicinal herb and has shown anti- bacterial, anti- viral and anti- fungal properties.

Here are some tips on growing sage in your kitchen garden.

It is easier to grow from cuttings or layering than by growing seeds.

Sage plants thrive in sunshine. So if you are growing the plant inside, place at a location where it can get some amount of sunlight.

This plant is very tolerant to drought and does not require a lot of water to keep healthy.

Sage grows best in sandy and well drained soil.

Fertilizing will help it to grow faster, but will lessen the flavour. So do not add too much fertilizer.

Want to help your indoor plants strive this winter? Use these helpful tips to help your indoor plants survive the winter blues.

Move plants closer to windows so they will get more light.

Keep your plants dust- free, so they can absorb enough light.

If you have frosty windows, do not keep plants near those windows.

Do not keep plants near cold drafts or heat sources.

If the air in the room is dry, then your plants will need watering. But if the air is humidified, plants will need less water.

Be on the look out for pests and get rid of them.