When it goes right, you can’t beat it! Some herbs are just like that. All you need to do is put them out and make sure that your plants get sunlight and plenty of water and your herbs will do the rest.

Here’s a list of herbs that once you plant them and get’em going, they will take care of themselves:

• Borage: Boil the leaves to reduce the chewy texture, because without this, the long, wooly and prickly leaves are not easily digestible. If you cultivate your borage plant in dry, dark soil and give full sun, you’ll have blue or purple star-shaped blossoms in no time at all. Start your seeds in early summer and by Independence Day your herb will have grown to up to two feet tall.

• Caraway: The leaves of this biennial are a lot like the foliage of a carrot during the first year. When the second year comes around, white or pink flowers that sit in umbrella-shaped clusters replace the carrot-like leaves on one to three foot stems. Give your caraway plant full-sunlight and also make sure it has well-drained earth for the best outcome. Since this is a biennial, you can sow seeds outdoors in spring or fall. Since caraway is a self-seeder, you can let the dead blooms fall to the ground and you will not have to reseed it for the next growing season.

• Dill: This fast-growing herb with thin, fern-like leaves loves well-drained soil and full sun. Don’t let your herb get more than 3 feet tall before you begin using it in your meals; you can start harvesting once your dill reaches a foot. Dill is great for bouquets because of its pretty, yellow umbrella-like heads, which can also be used as a seasoning. These will thrive well from seed and because this plant grow fast you will not need to start the germination process in advance.

• Fennel: The adult version of fennel looks a lot like dill, but its licorice taste is nothing like dill. If you sow your seeds in early summer, you’ll have a full-grown, 4-foot-tall plant in just a few weeks. Your plant will do best if you plant it so that it will get full-sun with well-drained soil. Don’t forget to harvest the delicious seeds! You will want to harvest them before they go fully brown. Dry the seeds and use in baked goods, soups and stews.

• Lemon Balm: If you like the sweet, lemony aroma of lemon balm, you will be happy to know that this perennial appreciates light, shady, well-drained soil. I like its heart-shaped leaves. Seeds take too long, instead start with a market-bought lemon balm and set it out in a pot or in your flower bed. Before you know it, you will be able to divide your lemon balm herb and replant the divided section in another spot. As a self-sower, lemon balm will quickly spread so give your plants plenty of space. If you want to stop self –sowing, pinch off all the dead flowers.

• Sweet Cicely: This perennial likes light shade as long as you give it loose, rich soil. Add in organic compost and mulch to support sweet cicely’s development. Since sweet cicely is a self-sowing herb you will only need to buy the first couple of plants and it will take over from there.

If these herbs are not enough to get you going, you should try German chamomile and chicory.

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

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

If you have already planted your herbs, you will have watched them sprout and flourish. Hopefully you will now know how very useful they can be in lots of different ways. But, using herbs from a home herb garden requires a little bit or work first.

The very first thing to do is to harvest them and getting the timing right is one of the most important things. The wind and the heat can disperse the essential oils of the herbs. You should harvest them on a still and dry day sometime around misdsummer. Fewer oils are produced by the herb on extremely wet days. So wait for a few hours for the early morning dew to evaporate from the leaves and then pick them just before the flowers open. Click here for more: how to grow herbs at home

Harvesting the herb does not mean removing the entire plant. You just want to take what you need at that time. You do not need to use the herbs that you are harvesting at the time that you pick them. They can always be preserved for later use.Be careful not to take more then one third of the plant’s foliage at one time. This will help the herb to recover and re-grow. You should also inspect the plant for insects and damaged leaves before you harvest it. 

Essentially, there are three ways to store your herbs; freezing, drying and #pickling’ in vinegar or salt. In order to dry herbs you need to bundle six to twelve stems together and remove any foliage near the base of the stems. Tie the bundle up with some gardening string. Then choose a cool place to hang them. If you are looking to dry individual leaves you can place them on a screen or a rack. Don’t forget to turn them regularly so they can dry properly. Some gardeners use machines like ovens or dehydrators etc. to dry herbs, although this may not be as good. For more visit our blog: Herb Garden Blog

Freezing herbs is a fairy simple way to preserve herbs. Cut the herbs into ¼ inch pieces and place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. When frozen store them in a freezer bag until they are needed.

The third alternative for storing your herbs is via a medium. For instance, you can cover herbs like chopped mint, basil or tarragon with vinegar and it will be preserved for several months. Or you can preserve your herbs by using alternate layers of flavored salt. When completely dry separate the brown herb from the flavored salt and store it in an airtight container. 

You can, of course use your herbs fresh and straight out of the garden. Make sure you clean them properly before using them. To clean them correctly, place them in a bowl of clean cool water. If there is a large quantity of herbs you can use the sink. Add about two tablespoons of salt to the water. The salt in the water will drive away insects without damaging the plant. Then, take them out of the water and dry them in a salad spinner. 

There are many different kinds of herb for many different uses. Each one will need to be picked and prepared in a slightly different way. So make certain you research the type of herb you are preparing beforehand to get the best from it. Click here for more: Herb Gardens