While it’s easy to buy dried and fresh herbs at the supermarket, there are many advantages to growing your own cooking herbs. Unlike many other types of gardening, herbs are inexpensive and simple to maintain. Herb gardens don’t have to take up much room, either. With only a small amount of space or just a few small pots, you will have enough area to grow all of the herbs one household could need.

Homegrown herb gardens are an invigorating idea for anyone looking to bring the freshness of summer onto their kitchen table. Aside from being environmentally-friendly, these gardens will save you money and are a great way to give your green thumb a test drive. It costs as little as one dollar to buy an herb plant at the local nursery, compared to the four- or five-dollar herbs that come bottled. Depending on the size of the plant, you may be able to start cooking with it fairly quickly. If you’ve got more time, buy a cheaper, smaller plant and let it grow. Or if you’ve got a lot of time – weeks or months – buy a pack of seeds and follow the directions for planting.

Just don’t be fooled into thinking all herbs grow the same. Each one has a unique preference for their growing environment. After you decide which herb you or your family would eat the most, make sure to ask the nursery for special instructions to care for that plant. You should find out the temperature it needs and make sure it’s the right season for your chosen herb or herbs. If you’re really a beginner and want odds in your favor, look for starter kits with everything you need right off the shelf!

As for which herbs are the most hardy, Conrad Jacobson, an employee at Whole Foods Market in Chicago’s Gold Coast, has found basil, parsley and mint to be the easiest herbs to grow. “In my experience, those basics are the hardest to kill,” he said.

How to Plant Your Herbs

For the full experience of growing your own herbs from seed to sprout, a drinking straw will be your best planting tool. Push the straw a halfinch into the soil, clear an area and drop the seed down the straw. Set each seed two inches apart and cover the holes with soil. If you’re using a smaller pot, plant up to three seeds together and move them once they are mature enough.

When the sprouts are an inch or two tall, use tenderness and transplant the herbs. It’s hard on their roots, but necessary to give them more room. A dull knife can be used to loosen dirt around the edges. Hold your plant where the stem meets the soil and turn the pot upside down. You may need to gently untangle some roots with your fingers before placing the plant in its new container, ready with soil and a hole to fit in. Pack the plant in with the old soil it brought and new soil it’s sitting in. Then give your herbs enough water to dampen all the dirt, while taking care not to drown them.

Herb Gardens as Décor

Herbs add a great organic look and pleasant aroma to the kitchen. Try growing them in anything from a tin pail to painted pots that match your décor. Clear, glass vases that expose the soil and roots are a current trend with a modern look. Wherever they are, make sure you expose them to lots of sun and add compost if the soil is sandy or has clay.

Once your plants have their second set of leaves, known as the “true leaves,” you can harvest the leaves, leaving roots in place, and immediately add them to your favorite recipe.

Want to cherish your homegrown herbs all year? Look for perennial plants like lavender, sage or thyme, if you get enough sun. If kept indoors, these herbs are sure to be evergreen all twelve months. Other perennials, like oregano and mint, go dormant but return with more vitality than ever. You can also hang herbs upside-down, while they’re still fresh, stems bundled in eights or tens, before the winter months. Within a week the leaves should be dry to the touch and you can crush them into a lidded container and store in a dark place.

Cooking with Herbs

An easy way to use your herbs and appreciate some extra spice is in oils and vinegars. Try a unique idea to suite your taste, or consider one of our combinations!

An important thing to know when cooking is that “Oils in fresh herbs are very volatile,” explains Cheryl Corrado, Executive Chef of The Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago. She advises adding herbs at the very end of a cooked recipe as to avoid losing too much of their flavor. Adding herbs to a cold pasta salad is a foolproof way to practice incorporating fresh herbs, as opposed to dry. “I grow my own herbs at home and add them to just about everything,” Corrado said. Always note if a recipe calls for dry herbs. The rule is that a tablespoon of fresh herbs equals a teaspoon of dry herbs. As far as how often you can harvest your herbs, Jacobson said “if you use them regularly, they grow back quick enough. And you can always add herbs to whatever you’re cooking.”

Herbs contribute spice and zest to any dish, from soup to salad or breads and chicken. Growing your own herbs will impress anyone you choose to share them with. Not to mention how much better food tastes when you know you’ve grown it yourself!

Recipes

Use your homegrown herbs in sauces and dressings:

1 cup virgin olive oil/white wine vinegar mix
+3 strips lemon zest
+ 3-4 whole leaves of fresh basil
+ 10 stalks fresh chives

1 cup virgin olive oil/red wine vinegar mix
+ 4 sprigs fresh dill
+ ½ tsp. whole black peppercorns

1 cup virgin olive oil/red or white wine vinegar mix
+ 4-5 peeled garlic cloves
+ 4 sprigs fresh rosemary