How to Grow a Small Herb Garden
Herbs, long the favorites of serious cooks, are versatile and can be grown by the home gardener, either inside in containers or outside in an herb garden. Choose your herbs based on your preferences. Common easy-to-grow choices include basil, chives, parsley, cilantro, dill, tarragon, sage, thyme and rosemary. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Start small. Pick a small plot of land located in full sun and close to the kitchen entrance.
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Turn over the soil with a shovel, breaking up large clumps and removing any rocks or sticks. Add compost to improve the drainage. Most herbs are not selective about soil quality as long as it drains well. Rake the bed smooth.
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Buy plants from your local nursery in the spring. Set them outside for a few hours a day in mild weather to prepare them for transplanting. Use a trowel to dig a hole in the prepared bed just big enough for each plant's root system. Make a label to identify each herb or use the label that came with the plant from the nursery. Water the bed after planting.
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Start your plants from seed if you prefer. Buy a seed-starting kit and packets of common herbs at your garden center. Start the seeds inside several weeks before the last frost in your area. Follow the directions on the packets and provide plenty of light to produce strong seedlings.
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Pinch the herbs back after they are established to encourage bushy growth.
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Harvest the herbs for kitchen use whenever you need them. Snip the herbs with kitchen scissors. The more you snip, the more the plant grows. Pinch off any flowers that form, so the energy of the plant goes towards producing foliage rather than flowers and seeds.
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Tips & Warnings
Grow herbs in small tubs, in window boxes or on your windowsill. Herb gardening is a rewarding hobby that anyone can try.
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Comments
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I usually use fresh herbs now when I can. It really makes a difference. Terri Jo Lorz
