Growing Herbs In The Kitchen
Growing herbs in the kitchen is a very rewarding process. If you are lucky enough to have a patio or balcony on which a few potted plants can be grown, you can use
that little bit of space to grow make a charming and pretty herb garden. Growing herbs in the kitchen can be a lot of fun and extremely useful if you are a keen cook. While herbs can be quite demanding of conditions in which to grow,
most are easy to grow and tend, so don't worry if you have never grown anything before, it will all go well!
Choosing the herbs
The first thing is to choose the kinds of kitchen herbs you want to grow. If you are growing herbs in the kitchen with a
view to using them in your cooking, salads or for dried herb purposes, consider what type of cooking you
mostly do, and what your requirements will be.
If you want to make a lot of Italian style dishes, there are some basic kitchen herbs such as oregano, basil, mint, parsley and coriander that will give you a selection ready for most recipes. You may be making vinegars and oils -
this may mean growing herbs in the kitchen of a different group, although you can't go wrong with the basic all-rounders as those already mentioned. These herbs are great in almost all styles of cooking.
How to look after your plants?
Most plants need about six hours of sunlight each day. A little less probably
won’t hurt them, but they will need sunshine in order to flourish. Look at the sunshine on your balcony or patio
and see where the sun falls at different times of the day. Even if there isn’t very much space that gets the
required amount of sun, you will probably only need one or two plants of each herb variety - this will give
you enough to get started!
Using terracotta pots that are unglazed is one of the best options. Plastic pots have a tendency to hold in
too much water and drown the plant. Plastic is acceptable for certain herbs that like lots of moisture, but it is
not a good choice for most. If you use terracotta pots, you need to check your herbs’ moisture every day
and probably add a little extra, but you don’t have to worry as much about overwatering. Because most of the herbs
you'll choose to grow come from the Mediterranean lands, they are fairly drought resistant, and need warmth as
much as water. Keep a small watering can handy.
There are some herbs that grow better in pots than others. The great thing is that most of the herbs that do well
in pots are also ones that are most commonly used in cooking. Oregano, Rosemary, Parsley, Cilantro, Chives, Basil, Thyme,
and Sage are just a few that would set you up with a good basic herb garden. But there are many more from which to choose. You could visit a garden nursery and see what will grow well in your area. They will be only too pleased to give you some professional advice.
Check on the size of pot your herbs should have. Depending on the size the plant will grow to, some will need
bigger pots than others. You can either plant seeds in the pots, or buy little seedlings that are already started. Very soon you'll have leaves to cut and use.
When growing herbs in your kitchen, keep an eye on their new growth. Most herbs should not be allowed for bloom unless
the flowers are what you want, such as with Lavender. Remove any stalks as soon as you see flower buds.
Also,
you don’t want your herbs to grow too tall, so keep them trimmed. You need a pair of secateurs for this job.
You can fertilise your seedlings a couple of times a year. A seaweed based fertiliser is very good for most kitchen herbs ... but don't overfertilise - follow the instructions given.
If you have a little sunny space on a patio or balcony, you'll be growing your herbs in the kitchen easily. You can use them for
cooking, home remedies, or decorating your fresh green salads in summer. You can even dry them for
storing.
Growing herbs in the kitchen will add some life to your patio space, and fresh scents that will give you joy on
a warm summer evening. The purple lavender, white flowers of the
chives, and other colors will look beautiful too!
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