Any food lover knows that fresh herbs just taste better than dried ones, but the fresh ones are expensive and often require buying a lot more than you want. What to do? Grow you own.
The easiest way to grow them is to take a trip to the garden center and buy little plants already started. (My exceptions there might be basil and parsley, which are ridiculously easy to grow around here. Just sow outside according to the directions on the seed packet.)
There’s a proviso, though: Don’t bother if you don’t have access to several hours of sunshine, whether on a window ledge or outside. These babies need sun. If you don’t know the first thing about growing anything, you might read a little bit about growing herbs before you head out to the store. The University of Illinois has a fact sheet on growing herbs that’s a nice primer. Ask the greenhouse people which herbs grow best in your area.
You can even grow some year round. I grow rosemary and bay laurel (source of bay leaves, which maybe is a tree rather than an herb, but I’m not a botanist so forgive me if I’m misstating it here) outside in pots and bring them in before freeze. It’s a great treat to get those fresh herbs into my dishes when the snow is blowing!
Joanne // May 1, 2007 at 4:57 pm
Parsley, mint, thyme, and onions from my garden just went into my grilled lamb burgers for dinner. Add to that a simple tahini sauce (add lemon juice, water, and garlic sauce to sesame paste) and salad, and it’s a great way to use fresh garden herbs for added flavor and health!
Janet Majure // May 1, 2007 at 5:07 pm
Oh, that’s sounds wonderful! Cruel, while I’m looking at a nearly empty cupboard.