Herb Window Garden
Fresh herbs make most meals taste better. However, the cost of fresh herbs means many people only have this culinary delight on special occasions. You can make fresh herbs a part of your daily meal plan by simply growing them yourself.
You don’t need a large space in your yard or garden to grow herbs. In fact, the best place to grow herbs is your windowsill. A window herb garden makes it easier to harvest the herbs when you need them. Also having them in the kitchen makes it easier to care for them.
Unfortunately, space on your windowsill is probably limited. Therefore, it’s important to choose the herbs you grow carefully. Your first choices should be the herbs you use most often. Then, you should choose herbs that are commonly used in recipes.
Basil
Basil is an annual herb. The type of basil most used is the Genovese variety. However, you may want to try some of the other types of basil, such as the lemon basil to add a new flavor to your favorite dishes.
Chives
Chives are perennials. This herb is best known as a topping for baked potatoes, however, they have many uses in cooking. You can choose the basic chives or a specialty variety such as garlic chives or lemon chives.
Parsley
Parsley is a biennial herb and is one of the most common herbs used in cooking, both in the food and as a garnish. It is available in two basic types – flat leaf and curly leaf. The plant grows new leaves after being harvested, which means one plant can supply parsley for several months.
Thyme
Thyme is a perennial. It is commonly used as a cooking ingredient. French thyme is a popular variety. However, thyme comes in several flavors, including lemon thyme. These varieties produce amazing new flavors into your favorite dishes.
Rosemary
Rosemary is a perennial. The best type of rosemary for your window herb garden is the compact variety. This plant needs to be monitored because if the soil dries out the plant will die.
Oregano
Oregano is a perennial. This herb is popular in many types of cuisine. The plant will grow new leaves after you harvest them. One plant can provide oregano to your kitchen for up to two years.
Mints
Mints can be annuals, biennials or perennials. You can choose from peppermint, spearmint or any number of other varieties. Mint can be used in cooking food and making tea. Mint needs to be in its own container because it will take over a window planter.
These seven herbs will give you a good start to a successful window garden. You can plant one of each variety or plant several types of each herb. A window garden will give you the chance to use fresh herbs in cooking and know where those herbs came from. You’ll know that they were grown naturally. You can use organic fertilizer to make them even healthier. And don’t worry if you find that you have too many herbs. Most herbs freeze well or you can dry them and store them for later.
