Your Own Herb Garden
Fresh herbs at your finger tips are just great for the expert or amateur cook. You can plant a backyard patch with herbs or a small herb garden in one or several pots.
With the various types of herbs available on the market, any herb grower will wonder which ones to grow or begin with. Choose the herbs you usually use, check out what you have in the kitchen. Having one's own herbs growing within hands' reach is not just a matter of savings but the thrill of freshness and taste, as you snip off your own herbs for the stewpot or salad. Most kitchen shelves have basil, mint, sage, dill, rosemary, parsley and chives to mention a few, and these would be a reasonable variety for the amateur herb gardener to begin with.
If planting in the garden, it is important to have a well drained patch. Water logged herbs will rot away and there's no way to recover them. When unsure as to the soil's drainage condition, it would be wise to dig out about fifteen to twenty inches of soil and lay down about four inches of crushed rock or pebbles, then a layer of about four inches of river or non-salty sand and finally good soil or compost. This should make a really great bed for the herbs. For planting in pots it is best to use good compost.
Herbs are one of the easiest to grow from seeds and one can save quite a bit by doing so. Certain herbs like mint are aggressive growers and can take over the whole plot very quickly. These are best planted in well-drained pots and the pots in turn planted in the soil. Often it is best to maintain aggressive herbs in large pots by themselves.
The amateur is often tempted to cut off too much too soon and this can kill off the whole plant. It is best to wait at least four months before low harvesting, slowly increasing the harvest.
When there is more than can be used, it is best to store the herbs dried. Herbs can be dried in a regular home oven, by placing them in a single layer on a cookie sheet in a 170° F oven for two to four hours. They can then be stored in glass bottles or plastic bags in a cool dry place and used for cooking. Do not store dried herbs in paper or cardboard as they tend to absorb the aroma and essential aromatic oils in the herbs. It is important to check for moisture during the first few days of storing. Moisture can allow mold to grow and the herbs will be useless. If there is moisture, re-dry for an hour or less or air dry the herbs for a day or two.
The pleasure of using your own herbs has absolutely no comparison. So go ahead and try your hand at planting an herb garden. It will please the eyes and the palate as well.
