What’s better than the pride of having fresh, wholesome herbs straight from your herb garden? Yes, you can buy herbs. Instead of buying herbs that most certainly come with an expiration date, an herb garden will add depth of flavor, essential nutrition to our diet and such pride that you successfully grew your very first herb garden.
I would never have known that I would become such an avid gardener. Years ago, you couldn’t put my hands in soil and now I refuse to take it out! As someone who’s a huge proponent of preparing nutritious foods at home, my herb garden has added such spice to my life literally!
Few things to consider when starting your herb garden are:
Where-Location, location, location
Where do you plan to plant your herbs? Will the location be on your balcony, by the kitchen window, in the yard, in pots or will you be constructing a raised bed?
Check out this tutorial on constructing a raised bed for free from recycled materials:
Your location is noteworthy since you may or may not have planting restrictions based on space, environment, climate and lighting.
Lighting is especially pivotal to grow lush, full herbs. My raised garden box gets 6-8 hours of sun. If you live in an apartment you may need to plant a kitchen herb garden.
Which- Starter Herbs
Start your garden with hardier plants. Like thyme, basil, rosemary, parsley and mint. These herbs are every new gardener’s dream. A few pro tips; mint can get invasive if it’s not in a confined space and thyme does really well in pots.
How Many-Audacious Herb Garden Goals
When visiting the local Home Depot or garden center, the experience can easily become overwhelming, confusing and exciting. I’m not suggesting that you can’t accomplish your big, hairy, audacious garden goals. The truth is, there is a learning curve and gardening is a skill that is learned and developed overtime.
For your first herb garden, start with a small manageable garden that can be nurtured well. Caring for a small herb garden will help in making the right decisions and learning at a practical pace. Remember, planting is only the beginning. Plants require lots attention so be cognizant of that truth.
Here are some herbs you may want to have in duplicates:
-Basil
-Rosemary
-Culantro
-Scallions
How To Care For Herbs- Soil and Fertilizer
Needless to say, top soil alone isn’t sufficient. Just as you need sustenance so do your herbs. If your herb garden will reside in a box or pots you’ll need potting soil.
Consider this when choosing soil, “Good soil, whether you’re talking about potting mix (used in containers) or garden soil (used in planting beds), is crucial for  strong roots. Just like a plant’s leaves need the right growing  conditions, roots also need certain things in order to thrive. In an  ideal rooting environment, your growing medium needs a good balance of  three ingredients:
water + nutrients (plant food) + air
= rich growing environment”
This 1 cubic feet Miracle Gro potting soil from Home Depot is under $10. For in the ground planting, use Miracle Gro’s garden soil. 1.5 cubic feet of this soil is under $9. My personal fertilizer of choice is Osmocote. I’ve had a higher success rate with Osmocote than any other fertilizer. This flower and vegetable smart release fertilizer will keep your herbs fed for up to 4 months!
What’s stopping you from starting your herb garden? Share two reasons why an herb garden will be helpful to you and your family.
