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| Fall basil |
Saturday, October 21, 2023
Herbs are expensive in the store, easy to grow and most are perennials. If you are looking to amp up your cooking and save some money for little time, grow herbs. An added bonus? Herbs are fragrant so they repel deer and pollinators love them. Spring, summer or fall are good times to plant any perennial, whether it is flowers, shrubs, trees, veggies or herbs.
These are the herbs I grow in the garden:
Chives. A perennial that can be grown in a pot, indoors, outdoors or in the ground. There are 2 types of chives, common chives and garlic chives. Both are easy to grow and have pretty flowers. Common chives has purple flowers and garlic chives have white flowers. Garlic chives do self seed easily so after flowering, remove the seed heads.
Egyptian walking onions. A perennial that can be grown in a pot or in the ground. Technically, this plant is probably a vegetable but can also be used as an herb. There are two varieties I am aware of one, one has the flavor of a white onion, the other of sweet onions. You can use the bulb for cooking just like you would with a regular onion and the tops for fresh chives. They propagate underground and also by their bulbets that form on top of their stalks in summer. They are super hardy, heat and cold don't bother them a bit.
Oregano. A perennial that can be grown in a pot or in the ground. I love the smell and the bees love the flowers. A Mediterranean herb thrives on neglect.
Parsley. A biennial that can be grown in a pot or in the ground. Biennials are leafy the first year, then flower and die the second year. They produce many seeds so you typically get volunteers coming back year after year. Very cold hardy as well.
Thyme. A perennial that can be grown in a pot or in the ground. I love the smell and the bees love the tiny flowers. A Mediterranean herb thrives on neglect. I grow the creeping thyme that I put all the way around my ornamental edible garden bed to deter deer.
Lemon balm. A perennial that can be grown in a pot indoors or outdoors or in the ground. A happy self-seeder in the mint family. Can grow into a really large clump. Grow in a pot and remove the seed heads after flowering to prevent spreading or just give the volunteers to friends. Bees love the flowers. Great lemony scent. Can be used as a lemon substitute in recipes and makes a nice tea from dried leaves.
Mint. A perennial that can be grown in a pot indoors or outdoors or in the ground. There are many different kinds of mint-chocolate, orange, peppermint, spearmint, lemon, etc. Pick a taste you want to add to your cooking. Mint can be very invasive, spreading vigorously underground. I grow mine in a pot. Very hardy.
Tarragon. A perennial that can be grown in a pot indoors or outdoors or in the ground. It spreads underground but not too much so in my garden. Love adding to salads, on fish or soups, and as a substitute for cilantro in salsa. It has an anise flavor. I find it refreshing.
Basil. An annual that can be grown in a pot indoors or outdoors or in the ground. It will turn black with the first frost of the year. Smells great and the bees love the flowers. Very easy to start from cuttings. Can put in a pot outdoors and bring in for the winter to have fresh basil year round.
Sage. A perennial that can be grown in a pot or in the ground. I love the smell and the bees love the tiny flowers. Another Mediterranean herb thrives on neglect. It is also in the mint family but is not invasive.
Rosemary. A tender perennial that can be grown in a pot indoors or outdoors or in the ground. I have tried varieties in my Midwest garden that was supposed to be hardy to Zone 5. They do make it to early winter and when we get that warm spell that we always do in late winter and then another blast of frigid air, the plant dies. Best reco I have is to keep it in a pot and then bring it inside the garage when it gets down in the low 20's until it starts warming back up. For my Zone 7, this would be from early January until early March. You could also keep it under a portable greenhouse outdoors through the winter.
From these herbs you can make your own Herbes de Provence and Poultry Seasoning. I put my herb mix on everything!
I cut my herb plants back by about a third a couple times through the growing season, put them loosely in paper bags and let them dry in a warm closet. Once dried, I remove the leaves and store in ziplock bags or quart jars in a dark place. I use these as refills for my spice jars and to mix my own herb seasonings. Be sure to label them as it is hard to tell one dry leave from another!
My "Herbes de Provence" recipe:
Thyme, Marjoram/Oregano, Rosemary, Basil, Tarragon, Sage
I just mix together whatever herbs I have on hand. If you love mint, add it. If you like a hint of lemon, add lemon balm.
My Poultry Seasoning recipe:
3 Tbl sage
1 Tbl parsley
1 Tbl thyme
1 Tbl marjoram or oregano
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