Easy to Grow Herbs

An herb garden need not be an elaborate garden. Some herbs do take more love than others but there are many herbs that can add a little zest to your life without demanding a large piece of real estate or round-the-clock care. A great herb garden can be just a small patch of earth or a few pots just outside your back door.

Herbs grow quickly and require few plants to provide you with a year's supply or more. The purchase of a few seed packets in the spring can mean many years' worth of herbs at your fingertips.

Some easy to grow herbs that you should consider when planting:

Anise will mature in 75 days. You can use fresh leaves in salads and it is an excellent garnish with fish. Use the seeds from mature plants in bread, cake, stew, soups and candy. Dried leaves can also be used as a medicinal tea.

Sweet Basil will mature in 85 days. If you pinch the tops off, the 1 to 1 1/2 foot plants will grow into small bushes. When buds appear on the plants, harvest both leaves and buds. If you cut the plants down you'll get a second crop during the current season. Use sweet basil in soups, meat and salads. Tie harvested stems in bunches, dry them in the sun and store them in an airtight container.

Borage matures in 80 days. Its blue flowers will attract bees so be sure to consider allergies of family members before inviting these helpful insects into your garden. Tender borage leaves are used in salads, to flavor lemonade and in pickles. The flower makes a lovely candied confection.

Caraway will mature in 70 days. It is a biennial so you'll want to plant this year for harvest next year. When seed clusters ripen in the second year, just cut the plants down to a foot above ground, dry them for a few days and then thresh the seeds by slapping the dried plants with a small stick. Store them in an airtight jar and use them in breads, cakes, candies, cabbage, soup, salads, sauerkraut, goulash and baked apples.

Chives will continue to come back for you year after year. The leaves can be chopped and added to soft cheese, potatoes, pastas and soup. The bulbs can also be used in place of onions as they provide a delicate onion flavor.

Coriander will mature in 75 days. The odor of growing foliage is unpleasant but as soon as the seed tops are ripe you can cut, dry, thresh and store in airtight containers to use later in bread, cookies, baked apples, stuffing and sausage.

Dill matures in 70 days. It grows from 2 to 2 1/2 feet tall and will require staking. You can use dill for canning pickles, making soups, stews and potato salad.

Fennel will mature in 60 days. The stalks can be eaten like celery and the seeds can be used in bread, cakes, sauces and wine.

Mint is a perennial and grows to about 2 feet high. It can be used in lamb and fish sauces, iced-beverages, fruit cocktail, French dressing for salads.

Sage will mature in 75 days and grow from 1 to 2 feet high. Sage can be used in tea, poultry stuffing, sausage and soft cheese.

Summer Savory matures in 60 days and can be used for flavoring gravies, salads, dressings, stews, scrambled eggs and sausage.

Sweet Marjoram will mature in 70 days. It can be used in gravies, roast lamb, cheese and egg dishes, peas, beans, and tomatoes and vegetable dishes.

Thyme will mature in 85 days. When the plants are in full bloom, cut, dry and powder them by rubbing and then store in airtight glass jars. It can be used in soups, stews, sausage, gravies, stuffings, pork, veal, lamb and chicken.

These are the most common herbs with everyday uses and are also the easiest to grow. Simply sow the seeds in the spring, water every week to ten days and expect a great harvest in the fall.