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I
love growing herbs.
I love growing herb plants, they are cheap, easy
to grow and beautiful. Herb plants grown well in cheap
plastic plant containers. I got a stack of them out of the trash
dumpster behind my local plant store. A few packets of seeds, some
salvaged containers, some dirt and it is amazing how much will grow.
Basil
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Most herbs are tough wild plants which
thrive when pampered by gardeners.
Having a few of the basic cooking herbs growing in
containers is convenient because they are all a few steps from my
kitchen. If I decide I need an herb in the middle of cooking,
I cut a little fresh without having to drive to the store.
Herbs can be harvested by simply cutting off what you need, I keep a
small pair of sissors just for that.
Cooking with fresh herbs is much better than the dried stuff they call
herbs
that come in little plastic containers from the grocery store. The
flavor of fresh herbs is better but the potency of dried herbs is about
three times that
of fresh, so if you are using fresh herbs in a recipe that called for
dried herbs, keep
this in mind.
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Herbs
and spices
Culinary herbs are different from spices. For the most part, culinary
herbs are fresh or dried leaves. Spices are seeds, roots, fruits,
flowers, and bark. Culinary herbs usually have a mild flavor while
spices tend to have a stronger, pungent flavor.
Annuals, Biennials and Perennials
Annuals bloom one season, put out a lot of seeds and die,
biennial herbs live two seasons, blooming the second season only,
perennial herbs bloom each season once established and can be
propagated by division or cuttings.
Peppermint |
What to grow?
Grow what you like to eat.
If you cook a lot, you probably already have some idea what herbs you'd
like.
I grow some herbs because they are used in cuisines I like to eat.
Cilantro for Mexican
food, basil and rosemary for Italian.
Lavender, rosemary, bay laurel, marjoram, dill,
oregano, sage and thyme are all easy to grow cooking herbs.
This will start you out with herbs you can eat. They are all from the
mild, dry climate of the Mediterranean and grow well togeather. They
need well draining soil, bright sun, and moderate temperatures.
Many of the Mediterranean herbs are very sensitive to soil moisture
conditions. Raised beds are sometimes needed to provide the necessary
drainage.
Oregano, and thyme have tried to take over my garden many times.
Now I put them in pots, and sink them into the ground.
They grow better this way also because I can use soils that drain
better just for them. Some of the best easy-to-grow herbs will take
over the garden if you do not watch them.
Every herb garden needs at least five kinds of
basil.
Basil,
is not really a mediterranean herb and needs more water. Parsley,
chervil, and mint grow best on soils which retain moisture.
Chamomile and mints are always good to have growing for tea. Mints are
another plant that are good to grow in pots because once they get going
they will quickly overwhelm other plants.
Peppermint does not produce seeds and can only be propagated by
cuttings.
Mints, oregano, rosemary, thyme, and tarragon, should be purchased as
plants or propagated by cuttings. If you are planting herb plants from
the garden store, plant them in the same way you would plant any other
plant, dig a hole, put the plant in and water it well. The woodier herb
plants like rosemary, thyme and oregano are better grown from
established plants.
Growing herbs outside
Pick a spot that gets at least 6 hours of direct
sun each day.
Do not plant where water stands or runs during heavy rains.
If you don't have good drainage raised beds will fix it.
Add dead leaves and compost to the soil. If you are starting your
plants from seeds, put some dirt in a bucket, add a few packets of
seeds and scatter them over the soil and water well. The plants will
begin to sprout in about a week.
Dry some of your harvest so you'll have dried herbs
through the winter. You'll never go back to those sad little plastic
containers
from the grocery store.
The shelf life of many herbs is one to two years as long as they are
not exposed to light, heat and air. Leaves keep their flavor best when
they are stored whole and crushed just before use. Seeds for cooking
should be stored whole and ground up as needed.
Keep them well watered, make sure your soil has drainage, make sure to
plant them
in a place they will get sun, but not too much, feed them a little and
they will pay you back many times over.
Never use fertilizer, just good dirt with some mulch from the back yard
and some alfalfa pellets or some cow minure.
Continue to plant seeds every couple of weeks all season long so you
will always have
fresh herbs available.
Most herbs reach their peak for flavor before flowering, that is the
best time
to harvest leaves or seeds for storage.
Growing herbs inside
Growing herbs inside requires good drainage, sunlight and water. Put an
inch of gravel at the bottom of each pot for drainage.
Herbs grow best inside in a location with bright, filtered light. A
south or west windowsill provides a good spot for an herb garden.
Keep plenty of space between your plants to allow for air circulation,
Herbs in smaller containers tend to dry out faster, water more often if
needed.
Fertilizing
Too much fertilizer produces poor tasting herbs. Heavy applications of
fertilizer, will decrease the concentration of essential oils. Don't
fertilizing your herbs in winter. Most plants, especially the
warm-climate ones, are asleep and not growing in winter.
Compost is the best fertiliser around.
Just toss a handful or two of it around the base of the plant.
Mix in lots of organic matter to the soil like mulched leaves to
improve texture and drainage.
Plants do not eat fertilizer, they use photosynthesis to eat light.
It is amazing but that is what they do.
Giving them too much fertilizer is like taking too many vitamins.
By Harvey Robinson
Nothing in this website is intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent
any disease. Growing herbs has not been approved by the Food &
Drug Administration for the treatment of any disease.
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