Grow Your Own Herbs
Posted on May 17, 2010 by
Growing your own herbs is not only easy, but it’s a very healthy, very green way to spice up your cooking, all while being delicious! You don’t have to have a lot of room, or even direct sunlight to grow herbs right on your patio or even on your kitchen counter.
I love to use fresh herbs in my cooking. You can always buy them at the store, but growing them yourself keeps them right on hand and they aren’t hard to grow at all. All you need is a big pot, some nice organic potting soil or compost and the herbs of your choice.
I’ve had success growing parsley, basil, dill, thyme, rosemary, sage and mint in pots, both indoors and out. I actually recommend planting mint in pots as it can be very invasive. I’ve also had success growing herbs in indirect sunlight. Herbs are relatively easy to grow and very forgiving as long as they have ample water.
Fill your pot about half full with potting soil and/or compost. Place your herbs in the pot where you want them on top of the soil and then cover the roots with more soil to fill up the rest of the pot. Water thoroughly and continue to water once a week or so when the soil is dry to the touch. Give your herbs a nice dose of organic fertilizer or compost tea every few months and now you have fresh, lovely herbs to utilize while cooking right at your fingertips. How easy is that?
So what herbs do you like to grow? What works for you? What have you had trouble with in the past? I love to hear what others are growing for their own culinary use too!
I have a big pot with parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme (HA!) I also like basil, oregano, and chives. I move them indoors during the winter, so I can enjoy my herbs year-round.
I’m glad to hear they don’t require a lot of sunlight. I don’t have an outdoor living space and the inside of my apartment gets only indirect sun, so I can give this a shot!
I have Sage, Rosemary, Cilantro, Mint, and Tarragon . I also planted Basil, Thyme, and Oregano but am not having much luck with those. Even my catnip isn’t growing this year. No idea what’s going on. Oh and green onions. I just buy a bundle at the store and plant them and cut the green parts as needed mostly for garnish.
I have two big pots on my patio. One has peppermint and chocolate mint. The other has chive and an evergreen seedling that will one day be replanting and then cut down to use as our Christmas tree when it outgrows the replanting spot.
I grow rosemary, Italian basil, and flat-leaf parsley. Last year I also grew mint (that stuff grows like crazy!), cinnamon basil, and oregano. It’s very easy and needs hardly any maintenance.
We cut down out front hedge and planted oregano, sage, thyme and lavender in it’s place. It looked a little weird for a few years, but now that it’s filled in, it looks really nice. And I love being able to use the herbs.
I grow all kinds of herbs (comfrey, plantain, bergamot, oregano, peppermint, spearmint, lemon balm, anise hyssop, chamomile, thyme, chives, rosemary, lemon thyme, basil). Each year I add a few and learn how to use them in food and medicinally. This year I got a tea tree oil plant and a lemon scented geranium. I’m also starting a few different kinds of chives from seed.
I love having herbs in the garden. I use comfrey and plantain all the time on cuts/scrapes/stings and I love drinking tea made from all the herbs. Chamomile with mint is my fave at the moment with Anise Hyssop coming in a close second.
Allie: My lavender also looked a little weird for a few years, but is looking great this year.
I have tried growing basil three times and they never make it. I’ve tried indoors and out, I wish I knew what I was doing wrong!
I grow basil, thyme, sage, chives, and cilantro! Fresh cilantro is so tasty!