Fresh herbs will spice up any recipe and your own kitchen herb garden container will put them within arms reach. And by raising your won herbs you also have control over any pesticides on the plants.
Herbs are also a great alternative to salt and may also have crafting uses. Herbal soaps are one of my winter projects I like to create.
Decide which herbs you will use the most and buy either seeds or seedling plants. There are certain herbs I seem to be able to grow from seeds and other I struggle with. (Hint: In the fall you can find great prices on perennial herbs.)
Some popular cooking herbs are basil, dill, oregano, rosemary, cilantro, chives, parsley, sage and thyme. Rosemary is one of my favorite herbs for both seasoning and crafting but this is an herb I seem to need to grow from a plant.
To grow an outdoor herbal kitchen container garden you will need one to three containers. I prefer clay pots but ceramic and even plastic are fine. I also like handcrafted pots. Its just adds color and interest to your garden areas.
Choose a container that is big enough to hold all the herbs that you are planting. I find I like one larger container like an 18-inch container and two smaller containers.
Make sure your container is deep enough that you can go several days without watering. If your planting container doesn’t have holes in it, drill a couple of holes in the bottom to aid in proper drainage.
Place about an inch of pea gravel or broken pot shards in the bottom of the container for drainage. Fill the container with potting soil up to ½ from the top of the container and position your herbs. Make sure you give the plants room to grow and do not overcrowd them. Most seed packets or plants that are bought will give you spacing instructions. I fins 6 to 8 inches work well for most herbs.
Once you have your herbs in place pat the soil down and water the herbs. Take tender care of them for the first few weeks until the herbs are settled and start to grow. Often during this time I will cover the container with plastic at night to add more warmth and control the climate around the plants.
Enjoy your new kitchen herb container garden.
Herb Tips:
1. Pinch the leaves back to encourage new growth.
2. Do not let the herbs flower because it takes away from the flavor of the herbs.
3. If you containers are large you can place them on a roller or moveable stand to bring them indoors during the fall if you have cold nights.
For a chance to win a Kitchen Herb Garden check out the Gardeners Rake herb contest.
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