Harvest from your Herb Garden
How to Store Harvest from Your Herb Garden
Having planted the herbs and watched them grow and flourish, in order to use the herbs you will need to harvest the herbs from your herb garden. They are extremely useful in so many ways but, using herbs from a home herb garden requires a little bit of work first.
Timing is very important. Wind and heat can decrease the amount of the essential oils of the herbs. Choose a calm and dry morning during midsummer for harvest from herb garden as fewer oils are produced by the herb on extremely wet days. Harvest from the herb garden just after the dew has dried from the leaves and just before the flowers open is the best method. Harvesting the herb does not mean removing the entire plant, just taking a certain amount. There is no need to use all the herb that you are harvesting at once because it can be preserved to use later. Never take more then one third of the plant’s foliage at any one time as the plant does need a plenty of foliage to recover and grow on. Always inspect the plant for insects and damaged leaves before harvesting.
There are three main ways for preserving herbs for later use; drying, freezing, or storing them in a medium like salt or vinegar. Dry herbs by tying into bundles of up to twelve stems and remove any bare foliage at the base of the them then hang the bundles in a cool place away from sunlight. Dry individual leaves by placing them on a rack or a screen. They must be turned fairly often so that they dry properly. It is not really a good idea to use appliances like dehydrators, ovens or microwaves to dry herbs although many people do use them because the results are less satisfactory. Herbs can be frozen and this is an easy way to preserve them. Just chop into ¼ inch pieces, place them on a wax paper lined tray or baking sheet that fits the freezing compartment. Once the herbs are frozen, place them in bags and store them in the freezer until needed. The third way to preserve herbs is by covering herbs such as chopped mint, basil or tarragon with vinegar and they will be preserved for several months.
Of course, the best way is to use herbs is fresh right out of the garden. Remember though to clean fresh herbs before use by putting them in a bowl filled with cool water in which has been dissolved some salt – about two tablespoonfuls. This soaking will remove any insects without damaging the leaves. After removing the herbs from the water pat dry with a soft cloth or use a salad spinner.
Different types of herbs are used for many different uses. Every different type of herb has its own best instructions on how to use, harvest, and preserve. Do make some research into the specific type of herb you are using in order to be sure to use it correctly.
Growing Italian Herbs
Herbs for an Italian Garden
Italy provides many famous and tasty herbs just as it does some of the best cuisines in the world.Growing Italian herbs provides terrific possibilities for improving all your culinary efforts.
Parsley is not an easy herb to grow but it is worth the effort as it is useful not only in Italian dishes but other types of cuisine as well. Before there were breath fresheners, it was found that eating fresh raw parsley following a flavorful meal eradicated bad breath left behind. This led to the practice of serving parsley on a small dish after the meal and lives on by using parsley as a garnish for strongly flavored food.
Oregano can be used for decoration as well as for its flavor. Oregano should not be harvested until it is fully mature and has flowered with pretty little purple flowers because until then it has not developed full flavor.
Fennel seeds are used to enhance the flavor of Italian sausage. Unlike oregano, fennel looses its flavor as it matures and therefore requires harvesting early. Fennel should be divided and replanted every few years to retain its flavor as it is a perennial plant.
Basil is a well know Italian herb and besides being useful in many Italian recipes it is useful in the garden to other plants. Planting basil next to peppers and tomatoes will actually improve their flavor. Basil will also repel flies and mosquitoes.
Rosemary, like basil, is beneficial to the garden. Rosemary grows into a large shrub that spouts pretty little blue flowers; it is an Italian herb that helps the garden by attracting bees. Although it can be considered to be a tough evergreen perennial, rosemary must be protected from frost.
Undoubtedly the most widely used herb in Italian cuisine is garlic. Every Italian herb garden would fail to be complete if it did not grow this versatile herb. Garlic cloves can be planted and will thrive with very little attention; and can be harvested and stored for later use by freezing or pickling or to store in the refrigerator.
Sage is another versatile herb that can be used in many Italian dishes from meats to salads. It is recommended not to let sage plants to get too woody as new shoots contain the most flavor. Keep the plants trimmed to encourage the growth of new shoots. For the best results sage should be harvested after it blooms.
As there are so many more herbs that can be included in an Italian herb garden, it is not always possible to provide the right growing conditions for all of them together. Think about each plant’s needs and consider whether or not they can be satisfied. While Italian herbs add flavor to food, they can also be displayed for color and their aroma. Italian herbs planted amongst other plants, will enhance the garden with the sweet scents that would be reminiscent of a stroll through an Italian garden.
Organic Herbs in the Garden
Herb Plants for the Garden
This article is intended as a herb garden guide, an introduction to understanding the different types of herb plants and what they are used for. The most striking thing about herbs is they do not need fertiliser so if you are keen on organic gardening then think organic herb gardens. There are many, many different types of herb and if you are interested in a specific type it would be best to research that one more deeply to understand its needs and proper use. They come as annual herbs, perennial herbs, and biennial herbs just like other types of plants.
Annual herbs must be renewed every year and need to be planted from a seed or a small seedling. Some annual herbs will not survive a frost, such as basil, cilantro, and summer savory. Perennial herbs will return year after year provided they are protected from hard frost, but some like mint, sage and winter savory can survive colder temperatures. Biennial herbs are plants that form leaves in their first growing season and flowers and seed in the second season; then they die. Biennial herbs such as parsley, angelica, or caraway should be sown in late spring directly into the garden. Prepare a fine textured soil and wet it slightly. The seeds should be placed in shallow rows with the soil lightly firmed on top. Fine seeds can be planted in a sand mixture which will allow them to spread more evenly. You may cover the bed with some form of mulch to keep the soil moist during germination.
Herbs can be grouped into the categories for which they are used. Culinary herbs are the most useful in a kitchen garden having a huge range of different uses in cooking. Because of their strong flavors, herbs such as chives, thyme, basil, sage, savory, and marjoram are used to add flavor to different types of food. Parsley is extremely popular, used mostly as a garnish. Aromatic herbs have pleasant smelling flowers or foliage. Oils from aromatic herbs like lovage, mint, and rosemary are used in perfumes, toilet water, or other various scents. The foliage of aromatic herb plants can be used in the home to scent linens or clothing, also they can be dried and made into potpourri. This allows them to retain their aroma for a long period of time. Lavender and lemon verbena are very good to use as potpourri.
Some herbs are used for medicinal purposes. For centuries herbs have been used to cure the body and of course were the basis of witches spells. Present medical knowledge does recognize that some herbs are beneficial to health, while others are overrated or even dangerous. Herbs used for medicinal purposes must used with care. Some are harmless but others can be dangerous if eaten.
Not all herbs are used for their flavor, power to heal or fragrance; but instead for their beauty. Many ornamental herbs have brightly colored flowers and foliage. Many have whitish or various light colored flowers, while valerian has crimson blossoms. Borage and chicory present gorgeous blue flowers. While most herbs can be categorized into their different uses, many have multiple purposes. For example, mint may be used for cooking, as tea, and for pest control. Whatever the reason for an interest, by researching herb garden plants more deeply it is possible to pick the herbs that will be most useful in any situation.
Herb Garden Kits
Herb Gardens in Kit Form
There are a lot of questions that can be answered about starting a herb garden. For instance, which herbs are best grown from seeds? What soil is best? By purchasing an indoor herb garden kit you will receive the answers to the relevant questions.
Much of the benefit to be gained from growing herbs using an indoor herb garden kit is because they are right at your finger tips so it is easier to enjoy them. There is no going out to the garden just to add a little seasoning to the pot on the stove. It is also convenient for harvesting and freezing for future use. Also conditions – the plants would have a fairly constant temperature in which to thrive.
Many herb kits are small and compact but there are many varieties of indoor herb garden kit. They can contain a large variety of herbs, or can be categorized into, Italian herbs, culinary herbs, international herbs, German herbs, herbal tea herbs, salsa herbs and many, many more. The contents of all starter kits for herbs are different but contain items that are similar in use, with which to get started.
All herb kits will contain seeds and some provide a dome that will offer consistent temperature and humidity for the plants to thrive and develop a healthy root system. There will of course be an instruction guide to provide the basic instructions for succeeding with the herbs. There are many websites that offer a newsletter to sign up for which will provide recipes and additional useful information. Indoor herb garden kits will often provide the planter in which to grow the herbs. But, all kits are different so check that it provides all the best features for the purpose.
When growing plants outdoors it can be hard to judge which area in the garden will get the right amount of light for each plant. While rain fall makes it easy to keep plants watered, too much rain can be harmful. Growing herbs indoors with a complete instruction guide to be found in a herb starter kit takes the guess work out of this hobby.
There is probably a great feeling of accomplishment when you become an herb expert but it does take work to get there. A good way to start is with a herb kit where the difficulties are removed and you are left with the enjoyment of the herbs. With experience and getting to know the herbs more, they can be moved into your garden and you are on your way to becoming an expert.
Information about Herbs
Herbs Information
All other plants grow as annuals, perennials, shrubs, or trees; any information about herbs will show that they are no different. Herbs must be planted into well-drained soil so add organic matter if soil is heavy or compacted. It is not necessary to use fertilizers as herbs will grow naturally and it for this reason that they are ideal for creating organic herb gardens. Most herbs for growing in a garden prefer a sunny location but just a few prefer full shade. Many herbs will grow well with afternoon shade. It is perhaps surprising that few diseases attack herbs but it must be said that sometimes in hot dry weather red spider mites can be found on low-growing plants and aphids may attack fennel, dill, caraway or anise. Rust has been known to affect mint.
The origin of Herbs can be traced back to ancient Egypt and China. There are mentions in the Bible and references to the use of herbs can be found in many medieval documents to show that herbs were in common usage. Herb growing is something that is favorable to gardeners for many purposes. Herbs may be used for medical purposes, to control garden pests, as tea, as pot-pouri and of course they have many culinary uses. The herb garden could be specific to one of these uses or be a mixture of different purposes. Herbs can be grown in a garden with other species of plants and even as pot plants in window boxes and indoors.
Herbs can be bought as seedlings ready to be planted, or they can be grown from seeds. There is great joy in seeing a plant grow out of a tiny single seed, children especially love it; and the experience is all the more rewarding because herbs are so useful. Most herbs can be grown from seed, which should be placed in a shallow pot or box in the late winter, just shallowly covered by light well-drained soil. Herbs do not have a deep root base so follow the rule: the finer the seed, the shallower it should be sown. The seedlings need to be transplanted to their growing positions in the spring. Please remember this herb garden information: some herbs do not transplant well and should be purchased as grown stock and planted directly into their growing position. The following are best examples of this: anise, coriander, dill, and fennel.
A small plot just 24 feet square (6ft x 4ft) is a large enough area in which to grow enough culinary herbs to support a whole family. Of course the most popular use for herbs is in cooking, but they are also grown for aromatic foliage and some, especially for the beauty of their flowers. They can be used fresh or dried, some are used merely as a garnish for the plate while others are used to enhance the flavor of a meal.
Growing herbs at home is easy and worthwhile, but there are problems and pitfalls that need to be avoided so it is best to acquire more information to know and understand about herbs. This article was intended just as a taster, just to scratch the surface, so to speak, of the wide subject of herb growing. Now it is time to continue the journey with more information. And you can find all of the information you need right here! Good Luck!
Growing Herbs in Pots
Growing Herbs on Your Windowsill
When growing herbs in pots, you do not need to be too fussy about growing conditions really but need three main things in order to be really successful; sunlight, soil and water. Sunlight is the main ingredient in growing herbs in pots whether they are grown indoors or outside. Herbs grown in a kitchen or other room do best in a south or west facing window to get the needed kind of sunlight. light for potted hebs is easy to provide but different types of herbs have different light requirements but, for the most part, all need a sunny location for at least part of the day. If this is impossible an artificial light source supplied by “grow lamps” or fluorescent lamps can be introduced instead.
Well drained, light, unfertilized soil in which to grow is required so the best growing medium is a mixture of two parts of sterilized potting compost with one part coarse sand or perlite for use in pots or containers. Each pot will need about an inch of gravel below the growing medium to ensure that the plant has good drainage. The planting medium can be supplemented by one teaspoon of lime per 5-inch pot to ensure that the soil is sweet enough for the herbs. Misting the plants and moistening the pebbles will help to keep the plants humid. Since they are being grown in containers they do perhaps need to have more water then herbs that are grown in a garden but, at all costs avoid over watering potted herbs as the roots must not become drenched or they will rot and die.
Different types of herb have different requirements and the advantage of growing herbs in pots or a container is that they can be moved as required. Annual herbs can spend all of their time indoors while perennial herbs do better if they are placed outside during the summer. Most herbs need to be protected from frost so it is best if they over-winter indoors. This rule can be forgotten when it comes to mint, chives, and tarragon. These herbs will go into a rest period then form firmer and fresher growth after being subjected to a light frost.
Most herbs can be grown in containers but some like it better then others. Mint needs to be contained or it will take over the whole garden as will horse radish. Generally speaking it is fairly easy to maintain an indoor herb garden and they are handy and within reach anytime needed for cooking. It is important to remember though, to plant new annuals each year; also repot and move perennials outdoors when needed. Of course, herbs need to be used and harvested occasionally. It is no secret that pruning plants encourages new growth. So use potted herbs in your recipes, store them and give them away to friends, or even start a dried herb business.
