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Growing Your Own Kitchen Herbs

If you love to cook, you will probably want to start you own kitchen herb garden. Most people keep these somewhere near their back door so that they can dash outside for a couple of sprigs while they’re cooking.

So when you are planning your culinary herb garden think about what you love to cook and start with the herbs that are listed in your favorite recipes.

Some good herbs for your kitchen garden are:

• Chives: I love growing and cooking chives because they are so easy. Chives are also among the simplest herbs to maintain. If you do have a recipe that calls for fresh chives, just clip the tops off a few of your sprouts and the herb can continue to grow Chives will certainly wake up the other flavors in your foods.

• Dill: Anyone can raise dill—you don’t even need a green thumb. Your dill plant is a self-sower, so if you’re providing the full-sun and well-drained dirt it likes and you do not want more and more dill plants, lop off the flowers before they go to seed. The whole herb is edible, from the seeds to the stems, including the leaves and flowers. Add a little dried dill seed to your tuna or chicken salad.

• Cayenne Pepper: This hot and spicy plant will grow to about 3 feet high, so be mindful of placement when you plant it. If you live in a climate that has frost during winter, you will want to bring your cayenne pepper herb indoors. You can start with seeds inside and move outside after the last frost. As your plant grows and begins to bear its fruit, keep an eye on it so that you do not let it over-ripen.

• Tarragon: Tarragon has a wonderful flavor and aroma. Adding just a little to your chicken salad or a mayonnaise-based vegetable dip will create a stir among your guests, and even in your own mouth. Do not worry about buying seeds, buy young plants from the nursery, greenhouse or home improvement store and go from there, snipping off leaves as you need to use them. You will also want to keep the herb trimmed back, so if you need to give it a manicure and do not have anything on the menu that calls for tarragon; you can also freeze it for the future.

• Cilantro: If you are not using cilantro already in your burritos, tacos or salsa, you are missing out on the rising star of Tex-Mex. It will do well from seeds and can be grown year-round in temperate regions, which is fabulous for those winter pots of chili. Cilantro can also grow well inside during winter months. As you prepare to try your cilantro in cooking, harvest leaves from the bottom first because they have the best flavor.

• Welch Onions: These little onions are similar to scallions and have a nice, mild taste. I have used them in dinners more for their appearance than any other quality. They grow in clumps, so be sure to leave plenty of room in your pot.

Good luck with your herb gardening. Be sure to let me know how your herb garden grows.

Here is more information on Fresh Herb Gardening. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Herb Gardens.