Kitchen herb garden

A small kitchen herb garden is a pleasure for anyone who likes gardening.  If you live in a flat or small apartment, but would like to have a handy variety of fresh herbs, a kitchen herb garden is the best way to go. Who would say no to a fragrant window box kitchen herb garden with just a little maintenance and care?

Herbs are both tasty and aromatic. A potted kitchen herb garden can offer easy access, beauty and a pleasant smell to your home; you can use lavender, peppermint or chamomile in potpourri to enhance your aroma. Furthermore, an organic herb garden can improve your cooking experience.

Herbs appear in many different forms, some appear as flowers, others as vines, and rosemary. A herb garden itself can be small but with huge rewards. Herbs are generally easy to please and require a well drained, nutrient and rich soil.

How to Plant a Kitchen Herb Garden?

  • To get started, you will need a lot of sunlight (or a strong fluorescent light), a pot or a container, potting soil and herb seeds or seedlings.
  • If you do not have the window space, think outside the windowsill, and make a dish garden. You can recycle a container to use as a window garden.

1. Choosing the right herb

Herbs are divided into two basic categories, which are perennials and annuals. Perennials continue to grow year after year, whereas annuals only last a year. However, you must separate the perennial types from the annuals. This would make maintaining and replanting easier in coming years. Therefore it is important to consider which herbs you are going to use in your cooking. You should also think about the dishes that you cook more often and select herbs which go well with your dishes. The following can help:

Perennials

  • Chives -salads, sauces, fish or vegetables
  • Oregano - pasta sauces, chicken, salad dressings
  • Sage - stuffing, pork, duck, blend into cheeses
  • Rosemary - meat, especially lamb
  • Thyme - fish and poultry, vegetables

Annuals

  • Basil - pesto, sauces, chicken, Mediterranean dishes
  • Parsley - salads, vegetables, breads, soup, pasta

2. Soil

After you've selected a right spot (which is a windowsill), a right pot or container and right herbs, then you can start to sort your soil. It is advisable to buy some potting soil from your local nursery or at your nearest supermarket and mix it with 20 percent perlite (a crushed rock which provides aeration and moisture retention). Before putting your soil, you must put about an inch of gravel or charcoal at the bottom of the pot to ensure sufficient drainage.

3. Planting your seeds

  • Before you plant your seeds, you must soak them in water and place them between wet paper towels for about four hours.
  • Fill up your containers with gravel and potting soil. If you are planting seeds sprinkle them over the soil and cover with another quarter inch of soil. If you are planting seedling, dig a small hole and cover the roots in the soil.
  • If you are using a window box and are planting more than one seedling in the same box, plant them two to three inches from each other. It is helpful to label the different types of herbs and you can either use stickers on the outside of the box, or you can stick flags into the soil next to the herb.
  • When planting seedlings, you can simply water them and leave them on the windowsill. If you are planting seeds, you will need to move them to a warm place (such as the top of the fridge) once you have watered them thoroughly. This will help with the germination process. Whenever the soil dries out, water them again. Once the seeds have started sprouting, you can move them to the windowsill.

4. Watering

Temperature is very high indoors. This means that your herbs will need a different watering schedule than outside garden. You can remedy this problem by closely monitoring their growing habits. Watering deeply every few days is better than a light watering every day.

5. Fertilizing

You can make your own organic insecticide by crushing garlic cloves, mix them in water, and spay them over your plants. Or you can use organic food such as Nitrosol or Seagro.

Once you have established your garden, it is vital to maintain it and give it the best care you can. The easiest way to give your herbs the best care is to take 15 minutes every day to look over your garden and trim it. Seeing how it looks in the early morning and just before sunset is another way to unwind off your problems.

This article is cited from iafrica.com, 2009.

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by Zanele Matshotyana