Showing posts with label growing. Show all posts

Saturday, 30 January 2010

Growing Herbs For Profit

Small things can turn out big. In any project, focus, perseverance and organization are the keys to success. Your hobby of planting herbs or creating an herbal garden can turn into a profitable endeavor. A number of herbal shops started small, transforming their own home as a temporary business location. The initial limitations on resources do not mean the venture will not be successful. Creativity, an open mind and determination are what you will need in order for things to fall into place. The chance of having fun while gaining more money is surely a rewarding experience.

The size of your business will determine the amount of profit you will gain. You can choose to have a small-scale or large-scale enterprise. There is an increasing demand of herbs today, so cultivating herbs can truly be a source of income. Profit can come from seeds, dried herbs and using your knowledge of herbs. These are areas you can consider when putting up your own herb business.

Selling seeds is the swiftest way for you to start your business without accumulating many expenses. Medicinal to culinary, there are a lot of herbs to choose from. If there is an herb rarely found in your area, then this is a good way to start and try to provide this product for prospective clients. For medicinal herbs, study the different kinds of herbs that will interest the people in your neighborhood. Spreading the word about your business can be a difficult task. You can ask a few friends to help your business be known to other people. Giving out fliers is another effective way of marketing your products. The best way to begin is by choosing one or two from the herb variations. Ensuring quality and affordability will be the way for you to get more customers.

Dried herb is another way for you to gain more money. There are some techniques and methods you need to familiarize yourself with. One of these is the ability to nurture and dry leaves. It is an advantage when you have an herb garden. Customers are inclined to purchase and use fresh products compared to those preserved ones in grocery stores. An innovative idea would be to sell them both fresh and dried. To start selling your herbs, dry them first then put them in airtight containers which are not transparent. Exposure to sunlight will affect the herb's quality.

Using your knowledge on herbs is also a profitable endeavor. You can start to create seminars or training locations and share your learning on the varieties of herbs and their significance in daily living. A cooking demo can teach them the different culinary functions of herbs. You will make them aware of the enhanced flavor a certain herb can provide and the right recipes to add them. In addition, an informative lecture on the medicinal properties of herbs can also be created. Health stores, community centers and churches are some of the venues you can choose from to start your herbal program.

Plenty of time is allotted when creating business with your herbs. The days spent of tolling in your garden to create quality materials, and the hours used for marketing your product and services are highly regarded. With the methods discussed, it is up to you to choose which option is suitable. In order for you to be successful, there is only one thing you have to put in mind-enjoy what you are doing. Lack of interest in any endeavor will ensure failure, so just have fun while acquiring more income.

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Author: Vicky Josephino is a writer and herb garden enthusiast living just outside of Long Beach, CA. Mostly, she spends her days either buried in my laptop or tinkering the organic garden she has set up a decade ago. She says that in that time she has learned about what works (and what doesn't) as far as herb gardening is concerned. And as it goes, you can find those years of herb knowledge and experience in her free email course. She offers you great tips and techniques for growing your herb garden the right way.

For more tips and advice on growing herbs for both pleasure and profit, check out her articles and free e-course at http://www.herbgardeningguides.com/.

Article Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_1243890_27.html

Saturday, 26 July 2008

Grow Parsley - Use All Year Round

Parsley is one of the most used herbs in the garden but it is not always that easy to grow. I have tried growing it from seed many times but not very successful all the time.

It wasn't until I started looking up what you need to do to become more successful that I realised what I was doing wrong.

So my learning curve now brings in a bountiful of parsley throughout the year, freezing the crop to use i the winter. I now am never without probably one of the most popular herbs.

Parsley grows well in pots or in the ground. It take quite a while to germinate and you can get a good healthy and succulent crop by using a humus rich, moist and well fertilized soil.

Half sun and half shade is the best growing position, before I had always put it in a shaded part of the garden.

There are two main varieties the 'flat leaf' or 'curly leaf'. The flat leaf parsley is my favourite is sometimes also known as Continental parsley which in my opinion has more flavour.

You need to keep parsley well watered, never let it dry out but at the same time don't over water.

Another benefit I didn't know about was that you don't need to plant seeds every year as parsley is self-seeding. Just leave it once it has died down and next season you will have a fresh crop on its way up from the seeds drops naturally form the season before.

To use parsley all year round you need to freeze parsley. Just liquidise the leaves and stalks with a little water and put into an ice-cube tray. When frozen transfer the cubes of parsley into a plastic freezer bag. there yo have it parsley whenever you want it.

Growing and maintaining parsley is very easy, it is still a mystery to me why people buy this from shops when, even in a window box, fresh parsley can be grown in every home.