Growing Your Own Herbs

May 14, 2008

Recipes are always calling for fresh herbs, and I never have them. I am trying to grow a few of my own this year in a pot with the hope of keeping them once I move into my apartment in July. I’ll update you on my progress occasionally over the summer to let you know how my attempt goes. Ideally I could keep them growing over the winter.

Fresh herbs in the grocery store are just so expensive compared to what you get by growing your own. Why pay $2 for a clump of parsley that will last a week when $2-3 will get you your own plant? My mom is an excellent gardener, so what I did was under her direction.

So what do I need for a basic herb garden?

• a pot
• soil with fertilizer
• packing peanuts
• herbs

What kind of culinary herbs should I plant?

Any kind that you eat. I have basil and parsley right now, and will hopefully add cilantro and thyme. I am also starting some tarragon from seeds (shown in the last picture). They are so cheap and don’t require much investment after planting them, so even if you don’t use something all the time, there is nothing to lose.

How do I grow herbs?

First, find yourself a pot that you want to use; any size is generally fine, but deeper and larger is more desirable if you are adding multiple herbs. Mine is made out of some sort of foamy material. Ceramic is supposedly a little better, but this was the right size and we had it in the garage. Make sure there are at least 2-3 small holes in the bottom of your pot for drainage, then fill it with foam packing peanuts to a depth of an inch or two. This will allow water to drain out without dirt clogging the holes.

Fill your pot with soil to an inch below the top. You may want to add fertilizer if your soil didn’t come premixed with it (mine did).

If your herbs are growing in the biodegradable coverings, where you can just leave them on and they will grow, feel free to just dig a small whole and place the whole thing in it. My mom prefers taking off the covering though, so do whatever you want. I know less about gardening than I do about cooking, so I am not the guy to decide this. Anyway, just stick the plants in the dirt, cover them to the beginning of the stem with dirt, then water. Voila – you are finished.

Just leave them outside where they will get sun, water them if there is no rain (not a problem in Cincinnati right now, it has been raining all week), and you will have delicious, fresh herbs all summer long.

Like I said, I am not a gardener, but these tips should get you started on having a great summer pot of herbs. One more tip, from my mom, don’t plant parsley in the ground – bunnies will eat it down to an inch high stem.

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