How To Plant A Herb Garden
July 30, 2008
What could be more satisfying than growing and nurturing your own herbs, hand picking the aromatic leaves, adding them to home cooking, and then enjoying their flavour at the dinner table. What could be a more satisfying activity than that?
So why not take up herb gardening either as a hobby or a commercial venture. Always in demand, there is a large selection of herbs that can be planted in your garden. You simply need to decide the herbs that are right for your culinary needs or for the market.
If, you go for culinary herbs like basil, chives, parsley, sage, bay trees, thyme and dill, you can’t go much wrong with that choice, as they not only offer great flavour to summer dishes and salads, but are extremely popular as well.
Mint is another aromatic summer favourite, and there is nothing quite like the smell of fresh mint leaves, crushed in a delicious summer mojito cocktail or a refreshing iced-tea. Or, whiz up fresh mint leaves into a delicious mint pesto in a food processor with olive oil, pine nuts and walnuts.
While, experimenting with your herb garden, why limit yourself to a few well-known favourites. As you know, most herbs thrive in well-drained, fertile soil and quite typically, insects are known not to bother herbs; which eliminates the concern for disease.
You can begin planting your spring or summer herb garden by sowing seeds indoors or out, or else buying young plants from a nursery to speed things up. For those growing from seed, seeds should not be planted too deeply, make sure the seeds are barely covered and the top soil moist.
Growing and designing an herb garden near the kitchen is an excellent way to encourage using your home-grown herbs for cooking. Plant your herbs in a location that receives sun and has protection from the wind. Use the correct soil preparation, preferably organic.
For those with a small garden, certain types of herbs can be planted in between other plantings in sunny flowerbeds. For example, Rosemary makes an attractive shrub with blue flowers in the spring, while chives and parsley add attractive foliage when planted between flowers. Low growing coloured sages and spreading thymes are excellent edging plants, however, mint due to its tendency to spread widely, should not be planted in flowerbeds.
You can also grow herbs in containers provided they have adequate drainage. Exceptions are fennel, which needs deep soil, and bay trees, which grow big when mature. They look very attractive and do well when planted in large containers.
Harvesting of your herb garden should begin only when your plants have enough foliage, tempting though it may be to start enjoying your produce. However, waiting patiently ensures your plant continues to grow after it has been picked. The best time to pick you plantings is early in the morning before the sun hits its stride.
Most herbs need to be protected in the winter, while some like rosemary and bay leaves can be used in the winter too. You won’t be sorry you started an herb garden, as it will encourage you to reach new culinary heights, even to become a cordon bleu cook!
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