Jan 2nd, 2010
Growing an Herb Garden
If you love to garden and cook, you should consider growing an herb garden to enhance both. Growing fresh herbs can heighten the flavor in any meal. For some reason, many people never consider an herb garden, thinking it is too difficult. Herb gardens do not require special soil, they only require sunlight and water, this is the easiest garden to grow. You could plant the variety of herbs you like most and have wonderful fresh flavors to enjoy all year long. Herbs can be grown in containers on a window sill, they are great for people living in apartments or homes without yard space.
Growing an herb garden can be started with seedlings, indoors in early spring. When the weather warms up your plants will be ready to put in the ground outside. Start the herb seeds in 4 inch containers in a sunny location or in a greenhouse, if you have one. You can use a variety of containers such as flats or trays instead of the individual pots. If you plan to use old containers thoroughly clean them with one part bleach to nine parts water this will protect your herbs from any disease organisms.
If you choose a larger container, then several herbs of the same kind or different herbs could be grown together. For the best flavor from fresh herbs, flower heads need to be removed. When choosing herbs, there are annuals, which grow only one year, and perrinials, which return each year. Some of the favorite choices include basil, oregano, and parsley. If you want to grow a herb garden outside, you could choose larger plants that include lavender and rosemary, among others. Then, for perennials, you might think of herbs such as chives, mint, sage, etc. Along with pinching off flower heads, if herb plants get leggy, the stems would also need to be clipped back.
When testing the soil for growing an herb garden, you may encounter soil that is either too sandy or heavy with clay. In this situation a raised garden bed would be ideal and one can be made or purchased, and rich, healthy soil added. The most important aspect would be to provide drain holes so the soil does not become water logged. These raised boxes can be made or purchased in a variety of sizes, creating the opportunity for one to be placed almost anywhere such as near the kitchen window, etc. As long as the herb garden is getting adequate sunlight, the plants will do well. The raised garden boxes could also be used for flowers or vegetables.
The bottom line is that creating an herb garden is easy, fun, and rewarding. For all the different types of herbs you could grow, such as rosemary, mint, lavender, marjoram, tarragon, thyme, sage, basil, and chives, among others, when added to recipes, the taste will be greatly heightened. Dried herbs simply do not provide the same deep flavors you get from fresh grown herbs.