Essentials for the Home Herb Garden

Herbs have been prized for centuries for their culinary and curative uses. Attractive flowers, tasty leaves and easy care make herbs a wonderful and practical addition to any kitchen garden. Even the smallest of gardens should include a few herbs.

Herbs are among the most enjoyable plants you can grow. Many have decorative foliage and pretty flowers. Their blooms and leaves scent the air with pungent fragrances all season long. Fresh herbs are healthy, culinary additions to your cooking and are also useful for teas, potpourri and numerous crafts.

To have a practical herb garden that is as beautiful as it is useful is easy. Following are a few essential requirements to help you achieve this.

The site and growing conditions

Consider the growing need of the plants. As many herbs originate from the Mediterranean, they thrive in full sun and well-drained, slightly acidic soil. So an herb garden is the perfect solution for that sun-drenched site. Herbs suited to these conditions may include sage, rosemary, thyme and lavender. Others prefer to be shaded for part of the day, such as golden marjoram, oregano, chervil and a variety of mints as they may scorch in full sun.

Herbs can also be successfully grown in pots allowing you to provide the best growing conditions for them. You can separate the sun-loving herbs from those that enjoy shade and moisture by moving them around to their preferred location. If combining different herbs in a single container make sure you choose those that require the same growing conditions.

In the garden situation, if the soil is very heavy you should dig in plenty of organic matter, such as well-rotted manure, compost or leaf mold or consider building a raised garden bed for your herbs. This will greatly improve the drainage.

Before planting herbs in a garden bed, properly prepare the soil. Dig it over, clearing it of all weeds, and mix in plenty of organic matter to improve drainage. As annuals and biennials are sown by seed directly where they will grow, rake the soil to form a fine tilth before sowing. Delay the flowering of biennials such as parsley by continually picking it. This will give it a longer growing season.

Some herbs have a rampant growing nature such as mint and can become unruly if left to their own devices. It is best to plant mint in a pot and then in the ground, then each spring it can be lifted to refresh the compost and be divided into new pots to rejuvenate it if need be.

Routine care

Looking after herbs is quite undemanding. A few routine tasks such as cutting plants back in spring and summer to encourage healthy growth and generally tidying up dormant plants in winter. This routine care depends on what type of herb plant it is; whether an annual, perennial or shrub.

Annuals and biennials, including parsley and dill, set seed and die in the same year. Instead of rushing out and buying new plants you can harvest the seed to sow the following season. For basil and coriander grow in warm ground or undercover.

Picking sprigs and leaves of perennial herbs regularly, will keep the plants in good shape. Periodically you should divide the perennial herbs to rejuvenate them giving them a new lease of life.

Shrubs should also be maintained by regular harvesting and trimming of the flowerheads after flowering. It stimulates new growth and helps keep the bush shapely.

Be careful not to pick too much foliage from any single plant at any one time as the plant may not recover. To prevent this from happening grow a few clumps of the same variety to randomly pick from.

Accessibility

Grow herbs as close as possible to your kitchen. Whether you have a small plot outside near your back door, or a few pots on a balcony, sunny windowsill or patio, keep them close at hand for convenience. When cooking the evening meal, there is nothing worse than having to grab the torch and wander down the back yard on a cold, dark winter's night to pick fresh herbs.

Growing complementary herbs

Grow herbs that taste good to you and that complement the types of foods you enjoy to eat. Some herbs naturally go hand in hand with certain foods. For example, basil with tomatoes, rosemary with lamb, coriander with curries and dill with salmon.

Usage

Consider the quantity of herbs you use. Some herbs you will use a lot more than others. For instance, parsley and chives can be used as garnishes as well as flavoring in most dishes. With this in mind, allow a little more space to grow the more widely used herbs.

Any excess of herbs can be dried, frozen in ice-cubes or used to infuse vinegars and oils to use in cooking and salad dressings.

Harvesting essentials

Pick the herbs fresh as you need them, this way they will retain their potency and flavor. Use scissors or secateurs to make clean cuts, so as not to damage the plants.

When collecting seed from plants such as parsley, dill, coriander and fennel, place and fasten a paper bag over the flowerheads as the seeds start to ripen. This will make catching the seeds much easier and will save you dollars as you will be able to propagate your own plants instead of buying them.

By providing your herbs with the right growing conditions and aftercare you will be rewarded with an abundance of fragrant, delicious herbs.