Herb Gardening Can be Delicious!

Home-grown tomatoes in the summer...  You just can't buy that flavor in a store.  I enjoy a tomato and mayonnaise sandwich as much as anyone else, but I also love to pair those tomatoes with fresh basil from my garden.  If you  buy fresh herbs at the grocery store, you know how expensive that can get. So, growing your own can save money too!   


Herbs like full sun, and can be grown in containers, in landscape beds, or in the veggie garden.  Rosemary, thyme, lavender,  dill, fennel, and savory are indigenous to the Mediterranean and prefer dry, lean soil in full sun.  Basil, tarragon, parsley, and allium like more water and richer soil.  Keep in mind the different water requirements when deciding where to plant your herbs.  Also, you should know that the proper time to plant annual herbs in our area is in the spring after April 15.  One exception is cilantro.  Cilantro is a cool season herb and should be planted by seed on Valentine's Day or later.  


Some commonly grown annual herbs (that have to be re-planted each year) include: cilantro, basil, parsley, dill, and stevia.  Chives, fennel, lavender, Rosemary 'Arp', oregano, mint, sage, and thyme are perennial.  However, we had such a mild winter this year that basil reseeded itself in my garden. 


They are all nearly insect and disease free. The only problem with insects I've ever had was with parsley.  Caterpillars ate every leaf on the plant.  However, those caterpillars turn into  beautiful black swallowtail butterflies, so I am o.k. with that.  


If you are thinking about growing herbs, but you aren't sure how to use them, I recommend going to a website such as allrecipes.com.  You can type an ingredient such as "fresh basil" into the search box, and it will pull up all the recipes that contain that ingredient.  Hopefully, you will consider adding them to your garden and your plate next spring.