How to grow your herbs without killing them
Whether you live in a small apartment or that has access to an external external area, cultivating your ingredients is easier than you think. Here’s how to start.
Beat the fresh and homemade herbs in your kitchen – to add “only that little something more” – is one of the domestic joys of life. In addition, save money and it is much easier than you might think.
Even if you suffer from “shame of plants” – a common condition for those who have lost many foliage friends under their watch – you Candies Create herbs and keep in life. Whether it’s a window sill, a balcony or in a garden bed, you can cultivate a supply of fresh herbs all year round, even in the winter months.
The first step is to decide how to use your herbs. What inspires you? Asian -style cuisine lends itself to a garden lover of the water of different types of mint. Italian cuisine promotes resistant Mediterranean herbs, including oregano and thyme. Or maybe you would like a tea garden, crushing the lemon balm leaves to make a welcoming beer. Whatever you choose, planting a herbal garden will enrich your experience in the kitchen.
Becomes creative
When selecting a container, think out of the pot. Many containers can be re -proposed for growth: only holes in the black plastic lining and throw a mix of good quality rewarding. An old case of milk, a several level trolley, an old bookcase (go vertical!) Or the suspended pots can all make large compact gardens.
The main thing to consider is drainage: whatever acting maintains herbs, it must offer somewhere to make water flow and a tray to capture water on the bottom, including suspended pots and window sills.
What herbs grow when?
Herbs fall into different growth cycles: perennial have a growth season throughout the year (slowed down in winter), annual have a growth season e Biennium have two seasons of growth.
The perennials forgive, easy farmers who include oregano, thyme AND rosemary; They often form the backbone of a herbal garden. Annual and biennials, including coriander, parsley AND basilUsually they are planted in spring but they can easily bolts (flower) during the hottest months and be planted in autumn.
The easiest herbs to grow
The easiest grass to grow is spring onion (Garlic pipe). Just cut the stem of the spring onion – yes, those that move away in the vegie drawer at this moment – about 10 centimeters above its root and plant directly in a good blending mixture. Add a little chives (Allium Schoenoprasum) AND garlic chives (Tuberous garlic) And you have a onion party.
Ticks are experiencing a moment and there is a wide range beyond the Municipality mint (Spicy mentha), which can be used as a sprig in a drink, chopped leaves through a salad or as a mint sauce. Take into consideration the addition watercress (Nasturium officinalis) for a pepper football with salads, or lemon balm (Melissa Officinalis) ,, Chocolate mint, green mint AND Native River Mint For fresh tea.
A special mention goes to Vietnamese as (Smell of Petrorhagia), which is not in the mint family but grows in similar conditions.
Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) is often the cornerstone of a herbal garden. I love the prostrate variety because its final growth habit means that it can hang beyond the edge of a pot and seem effortlessly. Oregano (Oreganum vulgare), thyme (Thymus vulgaris) and sage (Salvia officinalis) are also easy growers and can also be grouped together for that rustic atmosphere of the Mediterranean.
The annuals include basil (Ocimum Basilicum) and Coriander (Coriandrum Sativum), while a common biennial is the flat leaf parsley (AsclepiaS SSP. Napolitanum) – Aka “The Bolters”. They bloom at hot temperatures, but autumn can be an excellent moment to plant these herbs since the freshest climate gives them the opportunity to grab before blooming.
If you have space, plant trees or shrubs in large pots so you can use the leaves: a dessert bay leaf tree (Win noble) for Mediterranean dishes, a curry tree (Murraya Hanigii) for that authentic flavor in Indian food e makrut lime (Hystrix of citrus) for notes of light citrus fruits in Southeast Asia’s cuisine.
How to plant your herbal garden
For the Allium and ticks, if they group three or four plants together, choose a plastic pot of about 30 cm in diameter. Alternatively, it is possible to plant each sample individually in a 10 centimeter pot.
Mint spreads quickly and easily, so the general rule is to plant it somewhere contained, preferably in a shaded point. Mint loves the “wet feet”, then add a pair of handcuffs of coconut peat to a mixture of good quality reinforcement to increase the water retention capacity of the substrate.
The Mediterranean herbs thrive in full sun and like a porous terracotta pot (add a horticultural sand from a quarter -to -party to a mix of good quality rash to improve drainage).
After planted, water the herbs with a diluted alga liquid, available from plants and bunings shops.
For the annuals at cold temperatures, you could prepare herbs “puffer jackets”, where the bubbles are positioned around the seedlings, creating a hot microclimate.
How to keep your herbs alive
Herbs need six to eight hours of sunlight per day, the right amount of water and regular nutrition with algae solution or a slow release fertilizer, which can be sprinkled in the pot.
Most of the herbs originate in the Mediterranean, so the less it is more when it comes to irrigation: a good immersion about once a week is sufficient (if the ground is dry of about three centimeters under the top, give it a drink). If your herbal garden is at home, try putting plants out every few weeks for a little fresh air. Give them a coating periodically and if they become too poor, replace them.
How to use them
Once established, the herbs love to be eaten, so the more you make them cut, the more they grow, the more wooded it becomes the plant.
You can use herbs to add depths at the beginning of a plate (such as fried bay leaves with onion, celery and carrot) or to add brightness at the end (like the fresh parsley mixed with lemon zest to do Lap).
To make a Tisano (herbal tea), crush or cut fresh leaves such as lemon balm, mint or lemongrass when their flavor is stronger and put about six leaves in a teapot. Add the boiling water, let the leaves start again for a few minutes, then – ahh, it is a good cup.
The best recipes of the main Australian chefs directly to your mailbox.
