Easiest Culinary Herbs To Grow
Fresh herbs elevate your culinary game and make your food taste amazing, whether you are a seasoned chef or a beginner in the kitchen. And they’re easy to grow and maintain, inside or outside, whether you have a green thumb or not!
How To Grow Herbs Inside
An indoor herb garden will serve you year-round regardless of changing seasons. And with an indoor herb garden kit, the process is as easy as gardening gets. How you tend each herb will vary, but, generally, you’ll want to keep the herbs by a window for as much natural sunlight as possible. Water the plant when the topsoil appears dry. And you may need the help of artificial light in the winter months or if your window has limited sunlight.
How To Grow Herbs Outside
Growing herbs outside mean the forces of nature will do a lot of the work for you. Depending on the herb, be sure to plant it where it’ll get the proper amount of sunlight. The herbs will get water when it rains, but if you live in a dry area, you may also need to water the garden regularly with a watering can.
To get all your planting gear at once, consider investing in an outdoor gardening toolset that comes with a weeding tool, garden fork, and all the other gardening tools you’ll need. A potting bench is another excellent addition, whether your outdoor garden is in your backyard, on your front porch, or your apartment patio. A potting bench gives you an area to complete your gardening tasks and store your gardening tools, and you can keep all your pots right on the bench.
1. Basil
Basil is the supporting character in nearly every Italian dish. It’s flavor upgrades any tomato sauce, and it’s the main ingredient for homemade pesto.
To maintain a basil plant indoors year-round, you will need to place it by a window, so it gets plenty of sun throughout the day, and you may need to supplement with artificial sunlight. Water the plant when the top layer of soil is dry. Outside, basil thrives when planted in late spring, flourishing throughout the summer months. It’ll grow less in the fall and will stop entirely in the winter.
2. Oregano
Mexican and Mediterranean dishes often use oregano, and it adds flavor to marinades for chicken, lamb, or beef. Notability, oregano has both anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties.
Whether your oregano is a permanent indoor plant or you want it outdoors, it’s best to start growing the oregano inside in a small pot at first. Put your oregano plant by a window that gets at least six hours of sunlight. Once you’ve got it growing, you can transplant it outside, if desired. Look for a spot to plant it with full sunlight.
3. Parsley
Parsley is a colorful addition to Italian and Greek dishes. If you’re making vegetable soup for a winter night, parsley is a must-have. And it serves well as a garnish on almost anything.
Parsley can be planted outdoors in a pot or directly into the ground. It also does well indoors near sunlight but will need an artificial LED light in the winter months. Regardless of where you plant it, make sure it gets enough water to keep the soil moist.
4. Sage
Sage is a holiday herb, great for making stuffing for Thanksgiving or seasoning chicken for Christmas dinner. Year-round, it can be used when making homemade sausage or as part of a delicious brown butter sauce on the meat.
Sage thrives both inside and outside, as long as it receives enough sunlight. Also, it is a great indoor house plant because a little bit of sage goes a long way — a small sage plant will not take up much space at all.
5. Mint
Step up your homemade cocktail game with fresh mint for the best mojitos or mint juleps. And you can add mint to a variety of dishes to make the flavor burst, including minty soup or grilled chicken.
Mint is an exceptional candidate for your indoor herb garden, as it does best in a pot. If not planted in a container, mint will run rampant, one thing to keep in mind if you decide to plant it outside. Whether indoors or outdoors, mint does best in the shade with partial sunlight.
6. Cilantro
Cilantro is a part of many Mexican, South American, and Asian dishes. Whether you are making pho, tacos, or homemade salsa, you’ll be happy to have fresh cilantro on hand.
Whether you are growing this herb inside or outside, plant the seedlings and water thoroughly. Water again once the soil is fully dried out. And make sure to place the plant in full sun, for up to six hours each day.
7. Rosemary
Most dishes taste better with the addition of rosemary. Rosemary goes particularly well with thyme and lemon and can be essential in recipes that include chicken and potatoes.
People tend to overwater rosemary — this herb does not need much water. Whether outside or inside, be sure to prune your rosemary often and keep it in direct sunlight. It needs soil that drains well and remains moist. If you plant your rosemary outside, plant it in the spring and fall.
Elevate Your Culinary Game
Whether you opt for an indoor or outdoor herb garden, having all these herbs at your fingertips will be well worth the minimal effort. And you can be sure your soon-to-be dinner guests will be ready for you to take your cooking to the next level with these easy to grow herbs.
