Five Kitchen Herbs that anyone can grow!

I haven't met anyone who doesn't like herbs !

Herbs are one of the first plants that I ever grew - even going back to my old apartment days. I remember growing them in a wide rectangular plastic planter on my window sill in my very cramped apartment. The fact that I grew something that I can use in my cooking was an added benefit. Initially I grew basil, sage, thyme and Oregano. The sage was with me for years as it is a perennial plant in our planting zone. I love the silver- green foliage and the small purple flowers on a spike. It is very strong tasting and work well lamb dishes. Any way lets look at some of those herbs closely.

Italian Basil (Ocimum basilicum)

If I have to choose one plant to grow it would be basil. Not only that it is a staple ingredient in pastas and sauces, it has several medicinal properties. I use basil in a strong black tea + lemon, ginger and honey for any upset stomach issues and it works every time. In my family it is called the "witches brew."  I only have a dozen or so plants now but I remember several years ago I had an entire small plot near my front yard covered in Italian basil. The fragrance of basil plants that the wind carries is something I can not even begin to describe.

The picture above looks remarkably similar to the picture on the seed packet, right?

This year  I planted some seeds from this Italian brand.

The description is mostly in Italian. I don't understand most of what it says but I am sold as the basil leaves in the picture looks nice and luscious. I bought couple of basil plants from Home depot last year and it all developed downey mildew in the end. (Downey mildew or leaf blight is a disease caused by a fungus called Peronospora belbaharii and is transmitted by contaminated seeds, plants or by wind. It causes black spores to appear on the underside of the leaves.)

I am happy to say I am not disappointed at all as these are a short dwarf variety with leaves almost as big as my hand. Don't believe me? Just look at the below picture. Yes, I am holding one single leaf in my palm :-).

I use my basil in many ways. I dry them for winter and use the leaves fresh in my teas. I sometimes add a couple of basil leaves to a glass of water just like you would add mint leaves. A staple ingredient in pesto and pasta sauces, basil is your best friend.

The below picture is of that extra large leaf I left on top of a cup of black tea. Adding a basil leaf to black tea gives it a bit of spicy-ness that I greatly enjoy.

Basil come in many different varieties. Here are a couple. Both are edible and can be used in salads, vinegars, soups, sauces, stir-fry's etc.

• Purple basil

This is an annual plant and I usually grow it from seeds.

• Lemon Basil

A perennial plant that is an aggressive grower and in that it is very similar to spear mint.

Sage (Salvia officinalis)

This is so so easy to grow and once established it will be winter hardy and drought tolerant. If you go on vacation and left your sage plant outdoors, the chances are it would still be there when you come back. I like it that it is so low maintenance and tolerates cold well. It can be grown from seeds or from rooted cuttings. Growing from seeds will take longer and you will have to protect the plant from frost in the first year until they are well established in your garden. Here in Long Island I usually leave them outside in winter and they grow back early spring.

Chives (Allium schoenoprasam)

I had my chive bush thriving outdoors for years now. I cut it back a bit this year as it was taking over  my tomato plot. I grew this initially from seeds. However I strongly recommend growing them from divisions of a well established plant as the growth and establishment period is significantly improved that way compared to growing from seeds. But then the cost is different too - seed packets will have 1-2 grams of seeds which will give you dozens of chive plants while buying an actual small plant will cost anywhere between $3- $5. This is why I like to give away a lot of my plants to aspiring gardeners :-)

Parsley (Petroselinum crispum)

Last winter was mild with no major snow storm to speak of. Perhaps that is the reason why the Parsley that I planted last year started to bloom this year. Parsley is a biennial plant and it usually blooms and produces seeds in its second year of planting. Unlike chives and sage, parsley needs to be planted every year for optimum leaf production.

Mint (Mentha spicata)

They say you have to be careful where you plant the mint as it has a tendency to take over your garden as it is a very aggressive perennial plant. It spreads by underground runners. It can be used in drinks, for cooking and has medicinal properties; especially any digestive disorders. The plant that I have growing in my driveway is a spear mint plant that I got as a gift from my in law's place.  

Once they start flowering the leaf production goes down drastically. The flowers grow in small violet spikes.

All of these five plants are easy to grow, low cost and can be used in a wide variety of culinary delights. Hope you will try growing some of these.