Even if you don’t do any other gardening, growing your own herbs can be an excellent way to add fresh summer flavor to your kitchen!
By Kristen, Contributing Writer
Even when I can’t do a big garden, there’s one item I can’t do without every summer: fresh herbs. I absolutely must keep up with my herb garden, even if everything else fails!
You can buy some fresh herbs at the grocery store, of course, but the selection is typically small and the price high. Farmers markets are another great source for them, and no doubt the quality is higher, but I still prefer to just grow my own herbs.
Why? Well, for a variety of reasons, really.
Herbs Are Usually Easy to Grow
You have to be a serious gardener to enjoy growing challenging plants. I am not a serious gardener. I’m a hobby gardener, and I like easy.
Herbs are just that. They are typically really easy to grow!
Of course, there are a few stinkers that might be a little harder. Cilantro, for instance, can be difficult to get started, and it’s really sensitive to drought. But overall, herbs can really be one of the easiest things to grow!
Herbs Require Very Little Space
Growing your own herbs doesn’t require big garden plots. They can often be tucked into tiny spaces and even stuck into existing landscape!
While tomatoes, peppers, squash, beans, and other popular garden items need room to grow tall or sprawl, herbs don’t. About one square foot per plant is all they need!
If your yard is very small and you think that you could never have a garden, you might be surprised by what you can grow in a small herb garden.
You Can Even Grow Herbs In Containers
If you live in an apartment, you probably don’t even have access to a yard to garden in. With herbs, that’s not a problem!
Many herbs will happily grow in containers on a balcony or even on a sunny window ledge. Thyme is a great plant to consider for a container garden since it doesn’t grow tall.
Herbs Don’t Require Full Sun
Backyard gardeners often have a hard time finding a spot that offers enough sunlight to grow their veggies. Herbs, on the other hand, are content with about 4 hours of sunlight a day.
Of course, many varieties will happily take more, and plants grown with less sunlight may be on the smaller side. But herbs don’t need all of that direct sunlight like larger plants do, and that makes them a more forgiving option to try in your garden.
That Fresh Herb Flavor Can’t Be Beat!
Dried basil and parsley can’t even compare to basil and parsley fresh from the garden. Herbal tea made with fresh mint or chamomile is unlike anything you can buy in a box from the store. Herbs, right from your own garden, have a flavor that simply can’t be matched!
Even just one herb plant can provide so much fresh, intense flavor for your kitchen. I honestly enjoy cooking so much more when I have fresh herbs to use.
With so many fantastic uses, herbs really are an excellent place to start when gardening. Some of mine are popping up already, and I can’t wait to see the rest thriving this summer.
Virginia
Where do you get your seeds for your herbs? Do have someplace you order online? I have never done any type of gardening and will kill my house plants quite regularly! Maybe a small container herb garden is the place to start!
Thanks!
Kristen @ Smithspirations
Hi Virginia!
I order most of my seeds online from a place called Fedco Seeds. They are very inexpensive and carry a huge selection of everything. Since I don’t grow just herbs, I can buy all I need from them. However, I’ve also seen a great selection of herb seeds from places like Walmart and Target, or even big home improvement stores!
Brianna
Having pots of herbs right outside our kitchen is one of the best ways to add instant fresh flavor to recipes! Love! Thanks for the tips.
Kristen @ Smithspirations
It is! We live in a raised ranch home, and every year I think I should put some pots on our deck with herbs so that I can enjoy them from the kitchen window. But then I forget, and I send my kiddos out to get what I need from the garden. 😉
Jill York
I love growing my own herbs so I don’t have to rely on purchasing them elsewhere. Fresh does taste so much better!
Kristen @ Smithspirations
They sure do, Jill! We enjoyed some fresh thyme in our soup for dinner tonight. So delightful!
Jean | DelightfulRepast.com
Kristen, I love growing my own herbs, having fresh herbs on hand all the time without paying the high prices for a little packet of them at the grocery store! But I’ve let my herb garden go and plan to revive it later this month. Thanks for motivating me!
Kristen @ Smithspirations
Ah yes, I know how that happens! In fact, my chives are taking over one of my herb gardens and they desperately need to be brought under control. Thankfully herbs are usually pretty forgiving!
Courtney
Herbs are great! =] and as you say are very prolific. 😉 One word of caution, if one plants Oregano and Spearmint tea in the same garden bed, they will crossbreed since they are of the same family. I have learned this from unfortunate experience. My Oregano really doesn’t taste/smell like Oregano anymore and the Spearmint in some areas has also decreased to a more muted flavor so is pretty much useless. I’ll have to completely empty the garden and start over now. Hope no one has made the same mistake as me!!
Kristen @ A Better Way to Thrive
Such a bummer, Courtney! I haven’t had that happen with my plants, but cross-pollination can do all sorts of interesting things.
Jerri Ann
Any tips on growing mint? Mom always told me mint could be grown by people with black thumbs because it was so hardy, but last year my mint died from the bottom up and it’s beginning to do the same this year. The stems literally turn brown from the bottom up and the leaves dies as the stem turns. I moved it from a pot to the ground, thinking it might be root bound, it gets partial sun, and the only water it gets is when it rains. Thoughts?
Kristen @ A Better Way to Thrive
Hi Jerri Ann! This is an extremely late reply, so you may have already got your answer. It sounds like a black fungus to me. The only reason I guess that is because I’ve had the same strike my plants and I know how destructive it is! It can happen if your plant doesn’t get enough air circulation around it, but there are other causes, too. And it’s really hard to get rid of! There are some treatments you can try, but if it’s really stubborn, you might need to get rid of that plant (burn it, don’t compost it because the fungus will spread) and get a new one.