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Grow your own cooking herbs to add fresh zest and flavor to your menus year-round! Is It a Cooking Herb or a Spice? The first thing to know in selecting which herbs to grow is the difference between cooking (culinary) herbs and spices. The cinnamon stick you put in your hot chocolate or apple cider is a spice while the parsley on the edge of your plate is an herb. 1.Cooking herbs are usually the fresh or dried leaves of plants while spices are the ground seeds, roots, fruits, flowers, and/or bark. 2.Herbs grow very well in temperate zones, while spices generally come from tropical areas. 3.Herbs add subtle flavor, whereas spices are generally more pungent and add more robust flavor. Herbs run the gamut of about 70 cultivars, broken into categories of medicinal, ornamental, and aromatic as well as culinary or cooking herbs. To start growing cooking herbs, it's best first to select where and how you want to grow them. Site Selection Most cooking herbs thrive in just about any location that gives them plenty of light, good drainage and nutrition. In addition to outdoor garden spots, culinary herbs can be grown in patio containers, as indoor herb gardens, or in greenhouses using soil-less growing techniques like hydroponics or aquaponics. Outdoor Cooking Herb Gardens For easy access, plant your herb garden as close to your kitchen as possible. Herbs grown in full sun have denser foliage, darker color, and higher levels of the essential oils that add flavor to your recipes. Good air circulation and drainage are also important to the success of your cooking herb garden. The size of your cooking herb garden, of course, depends on the space you have available for growing. Generally, an area 20 by 4 feet accommodates a satisfactory variety of cultivars. Many herbs overlap in category. Border your cooking herb garden with some cultivars that have ornamental or aromatic qualities as well as the culinary. However, remember that the main purpose of this garden is for use in your kitchen. Place cooking herbs that you use frequently in less conspicuous areas so that you won't leave big holes in your garden when you harvest them for cooking! Most culinary herbs thrive under the same growth conditions as the vegetables they enhance and as such are a natural addition to your vegetable garden. Some cooking herbs even have properties that repel common insect pests and garden diseases, which is an added benefit to your vegetables. The best time to amend soil with nutrient rich compost is when you till your garden plot. Herbs have coarse roots that benefit from chunky organic matter, which helps excess water drain away and also helps provide good air circulation. After planting your cooking herbs, skirting them with a two to three-inch layer of mulch helps soil retain moisture. In addition, composting and mulching helps you maintain the neutral to slightly alkaline soil that most herbs prefer
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More Articles:1. Facts about the marigold flower It’s a well known fact that the marigold flower is one of the favorites in the home garden, but as well as an attractive and useful bedding plant, the marigold has enjoyed continued use for culinary, medicinal, and cosmetic purposes as well.1.The most common types of marigold are the wild marsh marigold, the tall African marigold, and the robust French marigold. African and French cultivars frequently are hybrid to sustain longer bloom and soften their pungent aroma. The resulting plant is calle… 2. Insect Spray Warnings And Alternatives All of us want to protect ourselves from anything that will harm us, no matter how small it may be. Mosquitoes, bugs and other small insects that fly or creep around our house are just some examples of those small beings that can pose serious danger to our health, especially to the young ones. That is why almost all of us have resorted to having the insect sprays and repellants easily found in the shelves of our favorite grocery store. For quite a long time, these sprays have been the most effec… 3. Who Else Wants Vigorously Growing Carnivorous Plants? Many people who have seen our carnivorous plants at the Farmer’s Market often ask us, “How do you get our plants looking so good every summer?” Our secret? Yearly repotting. Repotting is very important to encourage new growth. It freshens the soil, aerates the roots and gives the plant more room to grow.Freshening the soil is important because carnivorous plants grow in nutrient-free soil. Over time, nutrients from mineral and bacteria buildup in the soil slow down the growth of carnivorous pla… 4. Is Your Geranium Turning Yellow? Are Your Geraniums Turning Yellow?The geranium, like any other garden plant, needs proper care to flourish. Planting in a sunny spot, making sure the plant gets enough water and fertilizer and checking for disease and pests will help your plant to be healthy. One problem with geraniums is that they can turn yellow, wilt and drop leaves. Here’s some things to check for if this happens to your plant.1. If your geranium is in a planter, it could be that the plant has outgrown the container. Make s… |
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