How To grow Herbs

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How To grow Herbs

Growing Herbs:

Herbs and their countless uses in the kitchen have increased their popularity in recent years, owing in part to their expensive nature in the supermarkets, especially when fresh, and the cheapness and fun of growing your own organically in the kitchen garden. Due to their frequent use and need to be harvested often in all weathers, their placement in the garden should be appropriately considered. They should ideally be in a sunny position near to the kitchen where they can be accessed readily and without hindrance.

They will thrive if grown in the border amongst flowers and shrubs, as well as in the patio-pots, window boxes, raised beds or even on the windowsill of the kitchen. Compost should be free draining and fertile, but not necessarily overly rich in nutrients. There are numerous ways also of creating a very attractive and pleasing border filled solely with herbs. Before planting, consider the leaf shapes of the contrasting herbs to give the plot the most aesthetically pleasing plan. Take care to plant the taller herbs, such as angelica, dill, fennel and rosemary at the back while placing smaller herbs such as chives, marjoram parsley and thyme near the front. This will also be of benefit when people pass by the low herbs often brushing them releasing their scents. The choice of herbs is very much up to the individual gardener; however, even the most basic should include chives, mint, thyme, sage and parsley. Many gardeners choose to segment their herb borders with numerous patio slabs interspaced amongst them for ease of access.

In borders, many plants will add attractive and interesting foliage arrangements to the garden. Fennel’s bronze and purple foliage is particularly pleasing, whilst parsley and chives make interesting edging materials. All herbs will also tolerate being grown in tubs on the patio and this is a particularly good method for gardens with small or restricted space. In these tubs, herbs should remain regularly watered. This will have huge improvements also, in that invasive root plants such as mint are not allowed to invade the borders of the wider garden. Pots containing chives, parsley, bush, basil and marjoram can be bought inside for the winter to harvest indoor from then on.

Indoors many gardeners opt to grow their plants on the windowsill in the kitchen; however, this is often the most unsuccessful place to choose for this method of growing. A far better choice of site is one with plenty of light, often near a large south facing window or patio-door, in a room with far less fluctuation in humidity and heat. Indoor plants should be grown in John Innes compost No.2 which is richer than the soil they need outside. They will never be the same quality of those grown outside, but that is not to be expected in all truth, due to the reduced heat and light that is available at this time of the year. For information on how to propagate these plants using cuttings and seedlings, please also refer to the “How to Take Cuttings” article on the site in order to improve your chances of successfully propagating additional herb collections.

Kindly written by Kevin Thorns