Growing Herbs for Kitchen and Health

For the herb gardener, as for gardeners in general, March in the northern hemisphere brings the start of serious seed-sowing. Spring is coming. In many areas it will still be too cold for outdoor sowing but small trays and pots of seedlings will be growing away on many a kitchen windowsill by the end of the month.

This also is the time of year when the indoor propagator comes into its own, whether unheated or warmed by gentle heat from an electric element built into the base - or in my case an unheated tray sitting comfortably on top of the floor-standing central-heating boiler.

As the month progresses young plants (for example those from last year’s cuttings that have been protected over the winter) can now be planted out, Rosemary, sage and chives are among these. A visit to your local garden centre or plant nursery should give some additional ideas at this time of year. Don’t hesitate to discard any that look dry or have little sign of fresh growth; pick out the healthiest plants.

It is also time to be dividing larger clumps of establish plants including your various varieties of mint, especially if another year is likely to result in overcrowding of these energetic fast growers. Remember that you can check their rather rapacious colonising habits by planting small clumps in large plastic pots and immersing these in the garden soil.

March is also the time for a survey of your pots. Have any of those left outdoors through the winter suffered from frost damage? Even “frost-proof” pots can sometimes fail during a severe cold period. Do any of your older potted herbs need a bit of TLC to get them off to a good start this year? This is the time for Spring cleaning of your containers.

And what about plant stands? If they’re wooden, check for any rot or joint failure that might be weakening them. If they’re metal check for rust. In either case it could at the very least be time to get out a paint brush.

If you’re keen on small-scale garden construction projects, how about building a widow-box so that you can have fresh herbs growing right outside your kitchen window? There’s an excellent book of practical herb garden projects like this mentioned in an earlier post: “Gardening with Herbs“.

March is one of those months in which a little effort now can pay immense dividends later in the year.

- David Murray -

Today’s recommended garden equipment website (UK):   Ferndale Lodge

Tags: Chives, garden construction projects, herb garden, Herb Garden Projects, Herbs in Containers, March, Mint, Propagator, Rosemary, Sage, Spring

On our other Herb Garden site we have started to build a “herbs index“.  It is in its early days.  So far we have concise articles almost ready for twelve of the most commonly grown herbs.  Two are launched onto the site today: basil and parsley.

Maybe I should explain what I mean by a “concise article”.  I mean a lot of information packed into as few words as possible.  Not many will run to more than 350 words, but in those few words we plan to give clear pointers to both growing and usage of the herb in question.  Links will be given to key reference sources for further detail.

I hope this will be helpful to our readers.  Go now and have a look at Basil and Parsley.

Tags: basil, herb garden, Herbs Index, parsley

“Gardening with Herbs” is not merely the title of this blog post but the title of one of my favourite books on herb growing, written by George Carter and illustrated by Marianne Majerus; published by Ryland Peters and Small, 1997, ISBN 1856136140.   I bought my copy around ten years ago, if I remember rightly at Harewood House in Yorkshire.

This is a genuine workbook but also with beautiful photography. Included in its 112 pages there are 20 step-by-step projects, with fold out schematic diagrams which can either be followed precisely or adapted to your own needs.

Six years ago I built a multi-tier, semi-circular plant-pot staging to the design in this book. It has given sterling service.  Last summer I didn’t use it for herbs but for a fuchsia display at the front of the house. This coming season it’s scheduled to return to herb duty, at the back conveniently close to the kitchen door.

Sadly “Gardening with Herbs” seems to be out of print now, but I see that some copies are available through Amazon, and also through several book dealers’ networks. Here are some links to find both new and used copies. When I checked today there were copies available on both sides of the Atlantic, some of them at extremely attractive prices.

• Gardening with Herbs - via Amazon.co.uk
• Gardening with Herbs - via Abebooks.com
• Gardening with Herbs - via Biblio.com

I strongly recommend this book. It comes in the form of a beautifully produced hard-cover spiral-bound manual. Buy it, try one or more of its projects, and you’re unlikely to go wrong.

[While setting up this page I noticed what seems like a similar book, and may be the same, by the same authors published more recently as a paperback in 2006. I have not seen it, but you might like to take a look at Herbs: 20 simple projects for the weekend gardener].

Tags: gardening, growing herbs, herb garden, Herb Garden Projects

An indoor herb garden can be very convenient, especially if it is in the kitchen.  Fresh herbs can be readily to hand for use in cooking, drinks and salads.

Click the book for more details
and to buy it at Amazon.com

Click the flag to find
it at Amazon.co.uk

If you’re not concerned about being decorative you can grow your indoor herbs in the same kinds of container as out of doors - provided, of course, that they’re small enough.  You can stand small terracotta pots on saucers by a kitchen window and have great indoor garden producing a plentiful supply of culinary herbs.

In all probability, though, you’ll want something a little more decorative.  The choice of container is limited by little more than your imagination.

There is, however, one very important factor to bear in mind - drainage.

Whilst there certainly are many plants which thrive in extremely wet conditions, most culinary herbs do not.  For herbs in pots, just as in the garden, the soil needs to be well drained. Whilst it is important not to over-water herbs in containers it is also vital not to let them die of drought.  Watering is essential, but where will surplus water go?

Many decorative ceramics, such as mugs and bowls, do not have drainage holes and yet can serve as attractive herb containers.  The trick is to use an inner container which does allow water to drain though the bottom.  A plastic plant pot small enough to fit inside the outer pot is ideal. Put a layer of gravel (or something similar such as broken crocks) in the bottom of the outer pot.  This will allow the plastic herb pot to stand clear of any water that has drained through its base.

Click the book for more details
and to buy it at Amazon.com

Click the flag to find
it at Amazon.co.uk

Much of the water draining from the herb’s soil will probably escape by evaporation but periodically you should take out the inner pot, which can easily be done without disturbing the herb roots.  If you then empty any remaining water, wash the outer container and rinse the gravel before returning it you will avoid the development of slimy deposits and their unwanted odours.

Another trick is to put a layer of broken charcoal sticks on top of the gravel; this will adsorb most of any ill-smelling gases and reduce the frequency with which cleaning is needed (although it will also make the cleaning process a bit more black and messy).

Some container-growing experts also recommend that the inner pot also should have a thin layer of gravel in the base, topped by a layer of broken charcoal.  I’ve never done it myself. If you have a sensitive nose and a difficulty with odours you might try that, although I suspect that usually the problem is caused by over-watering.  Ensuring that the top inch or so of the compost is dry before rewatering might well deal with the root cause rather than merely masking the symptoms.

Growing herbs indoors is both a useful and fun occupation.  With good drainage provision and a little pot hygiene you will be able to make an indoor herb garden using decorative containers to suit your own taste and imagination.

Tags: drainage, growing herbs, growing herbs indoors, Herbs in Containers, herbs in pots, indoor herb garden

In my part of the world (central England) February is often a dismal month of cold, damp mists and the days still short. However, the herb gardener can brighten up the season with thoughts of what is to come.

If you’ve not already done so in January, plan what you’re going to grow this year and order your herb seeds now. (Click on the above link to find recommended online sources in both England and North America).

Out of doors, when the weather is kind, you can be preparing the soil. If you’re changing the use of an area you may have to do some energetic digging. Removal of weeds, especially those awkward perennials with underground stems and widespread roots, can be time consuming but in the long run the effort will be repaid.

Double digging will improve drainage, and while you’re doing this you can mix in some sharp sand or grit if necessary. Depending on what you are planning to grow you might also wish to add some garden compost or manure to enrich the soil, although many herbs are perfectly happy in poor soils.

Continue also with any construction projects started in January - or start them if they never passed the thinking stage! How about making some window boxes in which to combine herbs for the kitchen and flowers for decoration?

Toward the end of the month, if you live in an area where severe future cold is unlikely, you can start to divide clumps of perennial herbs that have grown too big and need some rejuvenation. In the greenhouse you can be commencing the sowing season, and also rooting some early cuttings.

Tags: February, garden calendar, gardening, growing herbs, herb garden, herb seeds

In the northern hemisphere January is a time of preparation for a new herb gardening year.  Depending on the weather, a certain amount of tidying and general maintenance can be done, but most work will be done indoors.

Some herbs such as parsley, chives and mint may have been potted up in the autumn for growing in an indoor herb garden, possibly on the kitchen windowsill, and hopefully you’ll have a plentiful supply.   Others such as sage, rosemary and thyme can be picked outdoors fresh for the kitchen even in the January cold.

If you’re intending to start a new herb garden in the coming year now is the time to work on the detailed plans.  Start by  measuring out the plot.  Calculate what materials you’ll need, such as timber or other edging for your beds, and chippings for your paths.

Order your herb seeds in January so as to be well prepared for the sowing season.  It won’t be long before you’ll be sowing the first of the annuals in the greenhouse, in a table-top propagator or in a warm place near the kitchen window.

If you are planning an outdoor herb garden in containers such as terracotta pots you might later want to arrange these on a wooden shelf structure.  This can be especially helpful to reduce the floor space used (for example in a patio herb garden) or to raise them to more accessible heights.  January is an ideal time for this kind of small-scale construction work as it can be carried out indoors.

Tags: garden calendar, gardening, growing herbs, herb garden, herb seeds, herbs, January

As we build this new site we want not only to provided useful information about herbs themselves, but also to recommend sources of supply.

We ourselves are based in the UK, but experience from our other sites tells us that the majority of our readers tend to be in the USA.  In order to give good help to as many people as possible we’ll be trying to provide recommendations to online sources of seeds, plants, books and equipment on both sides of the Atlantic.

Our initial recommendations are as follows.

Herb seed suppliers in the UK:

• Thompson & Morgan
• Dobies

Herb seed suppliers in the USA:

• Nature Hills Nursery

We’ll add more as time goes on.  For further details on some of these suppliers see the Site Resources index toward the top of the right hand column of this page.

Tags: herb seeds, herbs