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Growing Herbs

Growing herbs - there's a list of live links to the individual herbs at the bottom of this page.

Well, if you're like me, you often set off with good intentions, which fall by the wayside - prey to other interests or responsibilites that take priority in your life.

For this reason, I'm going to describe an 'ideal world' scenario for growing herbs, but you need to take into account your own limits and ‘cut yourself some slack’.

As an example, let's take container gardening which is perfect for herbs growing - each can have its own little 'microclimate' BUT...

OK - you set up your lovely container, with 6 varieties of kitchen herbs. You have a few busy days and the weather turns hot and sunny... You haven't had time to water your plants - you're left with a shrivelled mess - too damaged even to put in jars and claim you've dried them!

Or say you're very good at watering your plants on a daily basis, but you go on holiday and the neighbours are away or forget or whatever and you come back to the same scene - shrivelled container of herb plants.

When I have the space, I prefer growing herbs in my garden - in the soil - that way, they stand the best chance of getting their share of water.

If I grow herbs in pots, then they're indoors - best place is near the kitchen so that you see them and it's not too big a job to remember to water them. I keep a plastic bottle handy topped up with water, that way, it's not too cold for the plants and it doesn't spill all over the place.

If I go on holiday, then I put them in a bath of water with my other pot plants - hopefully, they'll survive until I get home.

There's a link at the bottom of this page about growing herbs indoors.

You have to balance practicality with your ideal world.

In an ideal world you might see yourself as the earth mother - all things to all people - as near to self sufficient as you can be - but that's not practical in our modern society.

Earth Mother may have to go out to work - may have constant demands on her time - family, friends, social commitments - all these things cut into your time.

If gardening is your hobby, then it's very likely your herb section will get the attention it needs.

If it's not, then your herb garden could suffer from neglect and that's a terrible waste of money if your plants die.

Gardening is one of my hobbies - but I have many interests and currently, my garden is too small to make growing herbs worthwhile. I have made it virtually maintenance free but grow a few culinary herbs indoors.

In recent years I've found, that my houseplants don't do as well as they used to - I think it's to do with central heating and so I have just a few plants that are not very demanding.

I'm not telling you not to bother growing herbs - that would be a bit like turkeys voting for Thanksgiving and Christmas - but I am saying, choose the best method of providing herbs for your own use, giving thought to your commitments.

It may be that you will opt to buy dried herbs - don't be put off by the snobs that claim dried herbs are inferior - they're not - but follow my guidelines on buying and storing.

You may decide to buy an occasional plant from the supermarket - a bought basil plant will provide exactly the same leaves to make the pesto sauce recipe here as one you've grown from seed yourself.

Nothing can replace herbs as a condiment - they are an essential part of enhancing the flavour of your food - you can't have parsley sauce without the parsley - you can't make pesto without basil - mint adds a delicate flavouring to new potatoes and peas - mint sauce without mint? None of this is possible.

Herbs also have wide and varied medicinal and cosmetic uses - use this Herb Guide to find the best way for YOU - not your neighbour who has a gardener, your mother in law who doesn't work or your friend who doesn't care either way.

Growing herbs is not the only way to get them is what I'm trying to say - you will find other ways

The first link here is for what I would class as a ‘basic herb garden’ for culinary use and after that comes an alphabetical list of the herb growing guides at this site.

Growing Herbs For Profit
Growing herbs for profit is possible from your backyard - here's the 'How To' what to look for, what to avoid and what to consider.

Aerogrow Indoor Garden
The ultimate in growing herbs indoors has to be the Aerogrow. In addition to a wide variety of herbs, you can grow vegetables and salads.

Indoor Herb Gardens
Growing herbs indoors - where to site them and what to grow.

Basic Herb Garden
The seven essential culinary herbs for a basic herb garden. Basil, chives, mint, parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. With an illustration for a herbwheel.

Kitchen Windowsill Herb Garden
Tips and advice on growing a herb garden for your kitchen windowsill.

Container Herb Gardens
A video illustrating how easy it is to build a herb garden.

Evergreen Herbs
A few herbs that will keep your herb garden interesting during the winter.

Rosemary Christmas Tree
Instructions on how to make a Rosemary Christmas Tree - makes a great centerpiece for your table and smells divine.

Window Herb Garden
A few ideas as to which herbs to grow when space is limited or if you just want to grow a few indoors.