Flavouring your food with fresh herbs from your kitchen garden can beat using prepackaged dry herbs hands down. Also, there is something very simple, satisfying and organic about snipping off just what you need from your garden instead of having to fork out a few bucks per bunch at the market.
know to grow your very own herb garden.
1. Preparing and Potting your Herb Garden
herb garden are among the easiest plants to grow. Most herbs love the sun, so all you need to get started is a nice, sunny place in your house for them to call home. Growing them at home ensures that they are organic and do not contain all the pesticides and herbicides used in commercially grown herbs.
2. Caring For Your Herb Garden
Light: Most herbs grow best in a bright sunlit location. Regularly rotate the orientation of your pots with respect to the source of sunlight so that the herbs don’t bend in one direction. If you find your herbs have long stems but few leaves, then they are probably not getting enough light.
Water: Water each herb according to its individual needs. To make this easier, plant herbs with similar watering requirements together. Test the soil before you water your herbs to prevent overwatering. To do this, insert one finger up to the knuckle into the soil to test for dryness. Water your herbs depending on how dry the soil is.
3. Harvesting your Herbs
The best part about using fresh herbs is that a little goes a long way. Depending on how mature your plants were when they were planted, you can usually start harvesting herbs right away. Use sharp clean scissors to snip the fragrant leaves off the plants. Remember to snip the leaves around the base first, so the plant will continue to grow and fill out. Also, some plants such as parsley grow new leaves from the center, which means you will need to remove the old plants entirely.
Herbs You can Easily Grow at Home
Each herb has a different aroma and taste. Choose ones you use the most often in your cooking. Also, learn about the growth habits of the plants before you buy them. Here are a few popular herbs you can grow in your garden to enjoy their fresh-from-the-earth taste at your dinner table.
