Many of us love cooking with fresh herbs, but the standard fare in the produce department of the local grocers just won’t do. You want that just picked off the vine flavor, and the best way to get it is by planting your very own kitchen herb garden at home that you can access whenever you need to. An herb garden can consist of a plot of ground just past the backdoor, or it can be a line of pots on your windowsill. It will be up to you, your preference and the amount of space you have as to where and how your kitchen herb garden will evolve.

Choosing the Best Site
If you decide to plant your kitchen herb garden outdoors, you will want to find a spot that gets at least five hours of sun each day, since most herb plants crave the light. It is also important to place your plants in good soil that has plenty of drainage and is slightly alkaline. If you need more drainage, mound your crops up a bit to allow for water to run off easier. If your soil is too acidic, you can add lime to balance the pH for your plants. It is also a good idea to place an outdoor garden within convenient access of the kitchen, so that you can easily run outdoors and snip off a few leaves when you want them.

Choosing the Best Plants
Most kitchen herb gardens will consist of a variety of culinary herbs, like oregano, basil, lemon balm, parsley and dill. Some of these herbs will be perennials, meaning that you can plant once and enjoy them for many seasons. Others will grow as annuals in colder climates, so you can choose to either bring the plants indoors in the winter, or simply replant your kitchen herb garden each spring. It is important to research the growing habits of each individual herb that you include, to ensure that you give them the best environment and care possible.

While some herbs will grow well from seed, others will be much harder to begin this way. For example, rosemary is a difficult crop to start from seed, but can be quite successful when started from cuttings. You can also purchase rosemary plants from the neighborhood nursery and plant them directly into your kitchen herb garden. If you are starting your herbs indoors, they are generally started with seeds and require plenty of light and water to begin the growing process.

Your own kitchen herb garden will be a fun hobby that you can enjoy for the summer, and provide you with many delectable seasonings all year long. Herbs are generally easy to grow, fun to harvest and delicious to eat!

Tags: Choosing Plants, Culinary Herbs, Kitchen Herb Gardens

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