what do you use on your plants to keep them chemical free but to encourage growth?
i’m talking about mainly herbs & vegetables
chives/oregano/basil etc
onions/carrots/radish/lettuce/tomatoes etc

i have potted all the seeds indoors and they are about 3" average just now and wont be planting outside for a few weeks yet but wondered what you use to encourage growth

thank you

Yesterday I dug a 2 foot by 8 foot patch in my backyard that I plan to use for a small veggie/herb garden. The soil is in reasonably good condition and looks to be sandy and clayey. I plan to add some organic material from my compost heap when it produces some more hummus.

Other than that, is there anything else I need to do with the soil to ready it for planting? I don’t plan to plant anything fancy, just some basil, rosemary, mint, oregano, tomatoes, strawberries, blackberries and a few other things. I’m just concerned because I’ve never gardened before.

The spot I’ve picked gets lots of sun 10-plus hours a day. I plan to start small and add on if my first fruits are successful. Any tips on knowing when the soil is ready to plant?
Someone has said my garden isn’t big enough. I can make the garden as large as I like. I just have to get the mattock out of the shed and start pounding away. Unfortunately, that doesn’t answer my question as to what to do with the soil.

I noticed many teeny white to whitish-green mites on the undersides of my sage, basil, catnip, and cilantro plants today. The plants are about a month old (from seed) so they are only about 1 inch and have only 1 or 2 sets of true leaves. Can I use Schulz Houseplant and Garden insect spray, or would that be too harsh? What are your experiences with mites on young plants?

Is it worth buying dried parsley, basil, oregano, etc. for good health or are they just for flavour?

I have an herb garden in my yard. It was newly planted this year so I am new at this. Can I harvest the herbs now before they freeze? If I do, Do I freeze them or do I dry them and freeze them or do I dry them and place them in a jar?
I have parsley, rosemary, thyme, mint, sage, basil, lavender etc.

Thank you so much!

I am moving to a town near Frankfurt, Germany into an apartment with a large terrace and I wanted to know what grows well in that area, and when.

I know a little about the climate, but I don’t know enough about gardening to put the two together. Is there a US region that is similar in vegetable-growing seasons?

My ideal vegetables would be: cherry tomatoes, onions, squash or butternut squash, zucchini, cucumbers, maybe lettuce or other common salad greens. I’d also like to try some herbs (which I hear are easy): basil, rosemary, parsley, mint.

If you know what the growing season is like (or have a link to a related website) or know a US region that is similar in climate (temperature, humidity, wind and rain) then I can go from there.

Thank you!

(Also, any terrace-gardening tips would be greatly appreciated!)