About Herbs
An herb is any plant used whole or in part as an ingredient for health, flavor, or fragrance. Herbs can be used to make teas; perk up cooked foods such as meats, vegetables, sauces, and soups; or to add flavor to vinegars, butters, dips, or mustards. Many herbs are grown for their fragrance and are used in potpourris, sachets, and nosegays; or to scent bath water, candles, oils, or perfumes.
More than 25% of our modern drugs contain plant extracts as active ingredients, and researchers continue to isolate valuable new medicines from plants and confirm the benefits of those used in traditional folk medicine.
Herbs as a group are relatively easy to grow. Begin your herb garden with the herbs you enjoy using the most. For example, choose basil, oregano, and fennel for Italian cooking; lavender and lemon verbena for making potpourri; or chamomile, peppermint, and blue balsam mint if you plan to make your own teas.
The optimum growing conditions vary with each individual herb species. Some of the herbs familiar to North Americans, such as lavender, rosemary, thyme, bay laurel, marjoram, dill, and oregano are native to the Mediterranean region. These herbs grow best in soils with excellent drainage, bright sun, and moderate temperatures.
Growing Your Own Vegetables
There are many reasons to grow your own vegetables, but the main reason is that it is just so satisfying. It’s ‘dirt therapy’! If that’s not enough, think about this:
You can control what goes into your food. These days, there is a lot of controversy about what chemicals are used in large scale farming. When you grow your own, YOU are in charge!
- Varieties. There a so many varieties of vegetables that you will never see in the grocery store. Types of tomatoes, eggplants, lettuce, etc. you can only find in seed or vegetable seedlings. It’s so much fun to try different ones each year.
- Freshness. There is nothing like going out to pick a vegetable to put on your plate that evening. It tastes better!
Saving money. If you start from seeds, it costs very little to grow your own veggies. - It connects us to our food sources. Meaning, it’s good to know what it takes to grow food, instead of just buying it. It’s useful for children to learn, but also as adults, we probably forget about the labor it takes to grow and harvest food. Conditions are generally not great for the people who harvest produce for a living.
- It makes us more conscious of waste. When you’ve babied those little green beans for weeks on end, you certainly don’t want them rotting in the back of your fridge!
It Doesn’t Have to be a Lot of Work
If you invest in good soil and amendments, water regularly, prevent weeds smartly, and check for the occasional bug or animal nibbling, you should be able to have a vegetable garden without taking too much time. Prepare for the insect and animal nibbling ahead. It makes it much easier. If you don’t have room for an in-the-ground garden, there are many types of great containers you can grow in on your patio or deck.
Planting Tips for Herbs
When growing herbs follow these basic guidelines:
- Plant herbs in average garden soil with organic matter added to improve texture and drainage.
- Choose a site that receives at least 6 hours of direct sun each day.
- Avoid ground where water stands or runs during heavy rains.
- Compensate for poor drainage with raised beds amended with compost.
- Apply balanced fertilizers sparingly to leafy, fast-growing herbs. Heavy applications of fertilizer, especially those containing large amounts of nitrogen, will decrease the concentration of essential oils in the lush green growth.
- Plan your herb garden by grouping herbs according to light, irrigation, and soil requirements. Most herbs enjoy full sun, but a few tolerate shade. Herbs can be classified as either annual, biennial, or perennial. Be aware of the growth habits of the plants before you purchase them. Some herbs, such as borage, anise, caraway, chervil, coriander, cumin, dill, and fennel, should be direct-seeded, because they grow easily from seed or do not transplant well. Other herbs, such as mints, oregano, rosemary, thyme, and tarragon, should be purchased as plants and transplanted or propagated by cuttings to ensure production of the desired plant (do not come true from seeds).