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Create a Mini Herb Garden in the Kitchen |
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Adding herbs to your cooking can bring wonderful tastes to a dish. Herbs are easy to grow and a small herb garden can be easily set up in the kitchen by a sunny window sill.
It may seem difficult at first but finding and choosing the herbs for the garden is easy and fun. You can start with the more common ones such chives, coriander, basil, mint and lemongrass. They do not require a lot of space but need to get a few hours of sun every day. |
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The herbs can be grown in clay pots, plastic window boxes or even containers of a suitable size and shape. Just be sure to make drainage holes on the bases of the containers. You can start with a few types of seeds in one container but once they have grown, it is preferable to plant only one type of herb per container.
Fill each pot with regular potting soil which can be bought from the nurseries. Following the instructions on the seed packet, place the seeds into the soil to the depth specified and spray with water.
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You can also start with cuttings or young plants. Plant these early in the morning or late in the afternoon to keep them from withering under the hot sun. To ensure that they have enough room to grow, space them apart when planting.
Make sure that the plants have enough light but keep them away from places where there are extremes in temperature. If there is insufficient light, you may want to rotate the plants to a sunnier spot regularly or set up a florescent light to shine on them for a few hours each day.
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Most herbs tend to prefer soil that is slightly alkaline. Keep the soil damp but it should not be soaked as too much water can cause the roots to rot. Thus good drainage is important.
Cutting the plants regularly will help to promote growth so once the herbs are growing well, go ahead and use them in your cooking. Just a small pinch of the right herb in a dish can make a world of difference to the taste. With some care and maintenance, you can enjoy having a little herb garden in your kitchen. |
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