Grow Your Own Herbs

There are around 100 herbs that are used in cooking for enhancing flavour. Each herb adds its own individual flavour and can turn a dish from mediocre to fabulous. When seasoning your food you want to ensure that you are complimenting your dishes rather than overwhelming the flavour of the food.

It is possible to grow your own herbs no matter where you live, how big or small your garden is, and it’s even possible to grow herbs with no garden at all. Growing herbs indoors is just as easy as growing an herb garden.

The information below with give you an insight to the 5 most popular herbs than we use in cooking, some ideas on how to start herb growing, and some suggestions of dishes they are best used in.

Grow your own basil

There are many different varieties of basil, the most popular type grown in UK homes being sweet basil. Basil is perfect for growing on a window ledge if you do not have access to a garden.

To grow basil all you will need is a moveable potting container. You will need to sow 3 seeds into a container using potting compost to evenly cover. If possible you will need to keep the temperature at a constant - ideally around 15C, never letting it drop below 10C - and the container will need to be in a dark place. After 2 weeks the seedlings will appear, when this happens the container will need to be placed in a sunny place. Basil requires sunshine and plenty of it.

When watering basil bear in mind it is not an herb that likes water on its leaves on stem, so always make sure you water it from the bottom up. The best way to do this is to place your container in a tray and add water to the tray, so that the plant can take this in as and when required.

Water your basil regularly and try to use liquid plant food twice a month to encourage the plant to grow.

The plant will start to produce flowers - as soon as this happens pinch the flowers and remove from the plant. Removal of the flower will encourage more leaves to grow.
 
To use your basil, cut or pinch the leaves as and when required.

The ideal way to store the leaves is in a sealable food bag and placed in the freezer. Basil is used in many Italian dishes, especially pasta dishes as it compliments tomato sauces extremely well. Basil is also a great addition to salads when fresh leaves are tossed in.

Grow your own chives

There are two main types of chives, common chives and Chinese chives. Common chives are the most popular and have a mild onion like taste about them, where as Chinese chives have a stronger garlic taste. Both types of chives are grown in exactly the same way.
 
Chives are great for indoor herb growing, as they are suited to be grown in containers using potting compost. Again a moveable potting container is recommended. Your best bet is to sow your seeds indoors in March time using normal potting compost, making sure that the compost remains moist.

After a month you will need to re-pot the seedlings, leaving around 10cm between each plant. As long as you have planted the seeds in moist compost, caring for chives is easy as they will grow both in direct sunlight and in the shade.

If your soil is looking very dry then give them a little watering. Around late spring purple flowers will appear on the leaves, they should be removed from the plant as they will hinder the growth of the new leaves. The purple flowers may also appear in June or July.
 
To use you chives take a pair of scissors and cut the leaves, starting from the outside and working your way in. Always leave a good 5cm remaining, as chive leaves will grow at a rapid rate and it is possible to harvest your chive leaves between 3-5 times.

Chives should never be cooked as they will loose their flavour - always add the chives to cooked dishes, they are lovely added to a home made potato salad or sprinkled on top of a baked potato.

Grow your own parsley

There are two main types of herb that grown in gardens all over the UK, curled-leaf parsley and flat leaf parsley. Both types’ leaves are grown in the exact same way.
 
Parsley is an excellent herb to grow on the windowsill; all it needs is to be warm and kept in a sunny spot. Once again the ideal container would be one that is easily movable. It is recommended to sow your parsley seeds in March time, approximately 4-5 seeds per pot. Any later than March will also be fine, but bear in mind the plants will develop later and this can extend the harvesting season.

When growing parsley make sure you use a rich soil that will not dry out too often, adding organic matter to the soil can enrich the plant’s growth.

Once the parsley seeds are sowed, place the pot in a sunny place keeping them warm. Make sure the pot compost stays moist and feed it regularly with liquid plant food.

If you wish to grow your plants outside you will need to sow the seeds in a moveable container as above, then once the seedling has reached a height of approximately 8cm you can then transfer to your garden.

If planting outside it is advised you spray your plants with Derris in June and August to prevent any greenfly attacks. If you started growing your plant in March then your leaves will be ready to be harvested starting from July through to July of the next year.

To use the parsley leaves, remove them from the outside and work your way in. Parsley leaves can be easily frozen, as with basil store them in a sealable freezer bag.

It is important to harvest your leaves as they grow, if left on the leaf will lose its flavour and prevent other leaves from growing.

Parsley is great to add to any dish as a garnish. Although this is its most popular use, it can also be added to many sauces, meat, egg or vegetable dishes to enhance the flavour. Parsley is a particularly great herb to add flavour to cured meat.

Grow your own rosemary

There are many varieties of rosemary, but if you have a small garden or are growing herbs in a window box the best type to use is rosemary capri. Prostrate rosemary is also a great type to grow in a window box. When growing rosemary it is recommended that you use cuttings rather than seeds, as the success rate of growing with cuttings tend to be a lot higher.

If you are collecting your own cuttings then choose a plant that looks healthy and has lots of new growth on it. It is recommended you take an 8cm cutting and remove the leaves from the bottom 4cm.

The best time to plant rosemary is in April. If you are planning to grow it in a container the make sure it is a deep container, as rosemary is a deep rooting herb. You will need a mixture of sharp sand or grit and normal potting compost – the ideal ratio being 20% of sand or grit to 80% compost. Only plant one cutting per pot, ideally place the cutting in a hole that you have made in the middle of the pot.

Once planted water the soil well, and take care during dry conditions that you always keep the plant well watered. If you are planning to grow your rosemary in the garden then using a light, sandy soil is preferable but not essential, as rosemary will grow in most soils. Always plant rosemary is a sunny, sheltered place in the garden. As long as the conditions are not wet and windy rosemary plants will survive a severe frost.
 
To use your rosemary simply pick a sprig from your plant and use within a day for the best flavours. If you place them in a sealable bag and refrigerate the sprigs they will retain the majority of flavour. Rosemary is probably most famous for accompanying lamb dishes; you cannot beat a lovely leg of lamb cooked with Rosemary. Rosemary also tastes great with many potato dishes, especially roast potatoes.

Grow your own thyme

When growing thyme at home it is recommended that you try growing either golden-scented thyme, which has a lemon scent, or garden thyme which is more traditional and has been grown for many hundreds of years. If you wish simply to grow thyme for aesthetic reason then garden thyme is great for ground coverage.
 
Thyme is very to grow and can also be very attractive. It is perfect for growing either indoors in a container, in a window box or outside in the garden. To grow in a container or window box, sow the seeds in normal potting compost around March time.

The seeds are very fine so lightly cover them with the compost and place in a warm place, somewhere around 16C is ideal.

Within a week seedlings will appear, and once the plants are at a height of approximately 10cm (and there is no immediate danger of frost) you can then transfer the plants to the garden or replant in new containers outside. When replanting ensure they are at a space of approximately 30cm apart.

From seed to plant thyme requires very little attention, and they only need water in very dry conditions, although be sure never to let the soil get really dry.
 
In the first year it is advised you harvest your thyme plant very lightly to ensure a better crop for the next year. It is best to harvest through June and July. Thyme sprigs can once again be frozen using a sealable freezer bag, this will help to retain there flavour. Thyme is a fragrant herb and adds flavour to any chicken dish; it’s also great added to a tomato sauce for a pasta dish.