Starting An Herb Garden

Herb gardnening doesn't have to be a big outdoor production. In fact, you don't need a garden or yard to grow your own herbs at all. Many varieties are easily grown in containers. Depending on the plant, these can be grown indoors or outside on a deck or patio.

Before large-scale grocery stores and supermarkets, most houses has their own "kitchen gardens" where people grew their own fresh herbs for cooking. It's not hard and using healthy, organic methods make it easy for you to produce the best for yourself and your family!

Getting dwarf varieties of different herbs is a way of getting plants already adapted to being a bit smaller.  Think about what can be grown in a cascading style and try to hang some plants up to use space more efficiently.

An annual refers to a plant which completes its lifecycle in one year. This means that it grows, flowers and dies once each growing season. Once these plants start to produce seeds, they are on their way to dying. Occasionally, these plants can re-seed themselves, but most often you will have to re-start these plants each season from seed or by getting herb starts.

A perennial refers to plants which will live and keep growing for more than two seasons. These will die back somewhat in winter but then begin growing again from the same root stock in the spring. Sometimes a plant will act like an annual in a colder climate but become a perennial if grown in a very mild one.

Investment In Resources - How much space do you realistically have to work with and how much time and effort do you wish to put into this project? Starting plants from seed takes more time than starting with herb starts, but getting baby plants is more expensive. How much time will you have to take care of your herbs once you get them going?

Pick Your Space - Think about where you really want to put this herb garden. Window boxes, patios and decks are the most popular spots for container gardening. However, if you've got south-facing windows or well-lit bathroom space, those can be good spots for plants too. Beware of locations that are very breezy as plants in pots get dried out by winds much more than plant in the ground.

Preferences For Growing - Make a list of the herbs you most often use when you cook.

What Can You Actually Grow - What you like to eat and what you can grow well might be a bit different. You'll need to do research into what plants will actually flourish in the temperatures and environment you can create. You may not be able to grow some of your favorites due to climate or space required.

Here are just some of the herbs that people enjoy growing in containers:

• Basil - A delicious annual that also comes in many varieties. Grow several plants if you wish to make homemade pesto.

• Borage - Not only an edible (try it in your tea), but a great companion plant for strawberries and a favorite of bees.

• Chamomile - This tiny flower makes a cute container addition and also can be used for homemade teas.

• Chives - The thin stakes topped by purple blossoms are very fun for children to grow.

• Mint - As this gets invasive when planted in the ground, many gardeners prefer to grow this in a pot. There are tons of varieties with subtle taste and smell differences. Especially fun to grow for tea lovers.

• Oregano - A must-have for those who love to cook Italian food.

• Rosemary - Easy to grow and one of the most commonly used cooking herbs.

• Sage - Purple and varigated types are great for cooking.

• Shisho - This herb is like a cross between mint and basil and is most often used in cooking sushi.

• Thyme - This herb has very tiny leaves but they are extremely fragrant.

When a plant is said to be "bolting" it means it has started going to seed. This is the end phase of a plant's lifecycle when it flowers and makes seeds, then dies. Most often, the taste of the herbs will not be as good once a plant has started bolting as it's now putting all the energy into the seed production and not the leaves or flowers.

Here are some tips and tricks to deal with bolting.

Harvesting - Some herbs need to have their leaves harvested regularly or they will start to bolt. Sometime pinching off flowers as they start to form can keep a plant in the growth phase, but this doesn't work for all herbs.

Not enough water - If a plant dries out too much, it can cause it to bolt in an attempt to make seeds before it dies. Make sure potted plants are given adequate water, or even extra water if it you get a heat wave.

Too much sun - As a companion to the above, some herbs prefer partial sun intstead of full sun, and too much light can cause them to bolt too. Choosing an appropriate location is the best way of dealing with this.