Plant Edible Herbs Articles & Resources

Planting a mere handful of herbs will fill this need nicely. And, because of this, you don't need a lot of garden to provide an array of dinner helper. Plant these edibles at the kitchen door and the herbs will be that much handier--and fresher.

Herbs are agreeably easy to grow. Most of them care little about the conditions of your soil, and a good many bear up well under a bit of shade. Many seasoned cooks grow their herbs in containers, as much to keep them in close proximity to the kitchen as for any other horticultural or aesthetic

reason. About the only added care potted herbs need is some attention to their moisture level because herbs in pots, like all plants, dry out faster than those in the ground. And if the containers are placed in full sun at the height of summer, they just might bake before you get them in the kitchen.

Even if access is your chief objective in placing your herbs, the edibles do dress up the area--especially sites such as steps, decks, and hard surfaces that might otherwise be bare. Marcia Adams has another reason to grow her herbs in containers: When the growing season ends, it's easy enough to grab whole pots and bring them inside for the winter. Then she has fresh ingredients for her culinary creations all year-round, quite the trick in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She's been able to keep the same rosemary and sage plants for several years now.

Herbal enthusiasm led Melody and Pete Petersen to tear out the swimming pool in their La Jolla, California, backyard and install a Mediterranean-style garden heavy on, of course, herbs. Here is just a partial list: chamomile, lemon balm, tarragon, rosemary, germander, basil, bay, chives, sage, parsley, dill, thyme, cilantro, and mint. A serious cook, Melody also grows five kinds of lavender--a perennial in her neck of the woods. Melody plants several nonculinary herbs in her flower beds too, which she dries on her kitchen rafters and uses in everlasting arrangements. Whew!

Attractive but highly functional herb gardens can be constructed simply: Throw four railroad ties on the ground and fill the raised bed with amended soil. Keeping the planting list limited to the most widely used and adaptable herbs will cut down on the amount of dedicated real estate and no-fun maintenance. Paired 10x6-foot beds (pictured on this page and the next) provide more than enough fresh ingredients for a family of four, with plenty left over to share with neighbors and coworkers.

Annual herbs are especially accommodating: The more you snip from them, the more the plant produces. Frequent harvesting also prevents herbs from flowering, or bolting. Cilantro (great in salsa) bolts far too readily, so plant some every few weeks. And when harvesting parsley, cut the outside stalks to prevent flowers and the onset of that "less flavorful" (read: icky) taste.