Sep 29th, 2009
A Kitchen Herb Garden Is Easy and Enjoyable
The flavor of fresh picked herbs simply can’t be beat. sinking your teeth into your food and having your taste buds tingling with flavor is an experience to be delight in. Of course, dried herbs can be more convenient at times, but they lack the essential oils of fresh herbs that make flavors come alive. If you want to keep your taste buds happy, why not grow a kitchen herb garden. Even if you don’t have a green thumb and don’t have a vegetable garden, herbs are effortless to cultivate inside and all you need to get going are some pots, soil, plant food and a bit of moisture, natural light and nurturing.
When designing a kitchen herb garden, you must realize that there are essentially two types of herbs – annual and perennial. Both annuals and perennials are perfect for indoor herb gardening and a flavorful supplement to any recipe.
Annual herbs including cilantro, basil, chamomile, savory, chervil and dill will last a season and then they’re done, however cultivating them inside will most likely extend that timetable somewhat. Perennials that are perfect for a kitchen herb garden consist of chives, lavender, mint, rosemary, sage, tarragon and thyme. These sorts of herbs create new growth every season and the more you pinch off to use for cooking, the bigger and better these plants might get.
Since perennials and annuals have distinct growing patterns, it may be prudent to use different containers for each variety. This way, when an annual herb finally dies or has to be replaced, you will not be disturbing the health and development of a perennial that could thrive for several more years.
For the novice, it’s a smart move to use seedlings rather than growing your herbs from seed. A lot of individuals find it a little difficult to start from scratch and become discouraged. Although as soon as they grow to be seedlings or young plants, they are really effortless to keep up. You can mix and match several herbs in just one big pot or use smaller single pots and raise the herbs separately. It is entirely up to your own preferences, however you need to remember that annuals have to grow with other annuals and perennials need to be planted separately.
The style of pot is of no importance provided that there is a means of drainage underneath to prevent the soil from becoming sodden. The location of the pots, on the other hand, does make a difference, and you should have a window ledge or some other area to locate your kitchen herb garden where it will receive lots of natural light. If you are able to supply the sunshine and some attention, you could quickly be enjoying the taste of fresh herbs and making your taste buds sing.
