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Fresh herbs have the ability to elevate even the most mundane meal into something worthy of a 5 star restaurant. Serving macaroni and cheese out of a box? A few sprigs of fresh parsley will make it look gourmet and we all know that green complements orange in the loveliest way. While buying herbs at a grocery store can be convenient, it tends to be expensive and chances are you won’t be able to use all of them before they go bad. Here are some tips to help you grow a healthy herb garden right in the comfort of your own home—which means fresh flavor at your fingertips all day, every day.
Pick Your Plants
Before getting your hands dirty, you’re going to want to decide which herbs best suit your purposes. If you can’t stand the taste of rosemary, it would be waste of time and effort to grow it. Same goes for herbs you love—if you see yourself using basil with every meal, you should grow a few plants to ensure a high yield. A few options that tend to thrive indoors are basil, chives, chervil, mint, oregano, and parsley. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it should be enough to get you started.
Spotlight on Sunshine
Now that you’ve decided what you want to grow, you need to find them a home. The majority of herbs (especially those used for culinary purposes) need at least 5 or 6 hours of non-stop sunshine to grow. If you have a sunroom, you’re in luck, but for the rest of us a sunny spot near a window will do nicely. If you aren’t sure about location, try experimenting a bit. Thriving plants mean they’re getting enough sunshine—scraggly ones mean that they might need to be relocated.
Pot Considerations
You’ve found a sunny spot and are ready to get started. Awesome! Now you need a pot to plant in. The first thing to look for is a container that is at least six inches and has drainage holes, otherwise your herbs will be overcrowded and oversaturated with water. Make sure that you have a receptacle for the water to drain into; otherwise you’re going to have a very wet countertop. If you’re looking to house several plants in one container, make sure it’s large enough so that all of the roots have room to spread out. You need more space than you think—give your aromatic little friends the chance to really grow.
Soil Selection
Sunlight? Check. Pot? Double check. Now it’s time to really get things going. Pick up some potting soil (premium is best) but don’t get too excited about fertilizer—you don’t really need it. Check the instructions on your seed packet or on the plastic tab that came with the plants so that you can get an idea as to how deep to dig. The depth required is going to vary depending on the herb you’re planting as is the amount of breathing space they’ll need.
H2Grow
Now that you’ve planted your garden, you get to sit back and wait for the fruits of your labour to appear. Water often (but not too often)—make sure that the soil is damp but not soaked. Be careful not to lean too far in the other direction and let the soil get too dry. Thirsty herbs tend to turn an unappetizing shade of brown and they can be tricky to resuscitate. Every so often, check the receptacle under your pots to ensure that they’re draining properly. Sitting in old water will rot the roots which is something best avoided.
Harvest Time
With light, water, and a little luck, your herbs should be growing nicely. Before you start planning dinners around your fresh dill, make sure that you let the plants to hit 8 or so inches—any sooner and they won’t be ready. Try not to get too heavy handed with the scissors and snip no more than ¼ of the plant, giving it the chance to regenerate. Now, get cooking!
