I love having easy access to fresh herbs! Most dried herbs are several months sometimes even years old! GROSS! Why use that stuff when you can easily grow your own tasty fresh herbs!

You don’t have a garden? No problem! Neither do I! I live in a townhouse in a neighborhood that has a pretty strict HOA so planting anything other than the approved shrubberies really isn’t a good idea. Even if you were to get the approval, the landscapers are likely to weed-whack everything to the root. Professionals? I think not!

I digress…

Back to my patio herb garden…

What you’ll need to recreate it:

• Baker’s rack
• Pots
• Potting Soil
• Herb plants

Equipment: I decided to use a baker’s rack – which I got as a hand-me-down (you can find some cheap ones at yard sales, flea malls, and on Craigslist) – because it would allow me to have several plants in a limited space. I purchased some plastic faux-terra cotta pots in both trough and single pot shapes. I would prefer the trough shape but invasive plants such as mint require their own pot so they don’t choke out other herbs.

What to plant: I generally plant the same herbs each year – rosemary, basil, mint, thyme, dill, oregano, cilantro, sage, and flat-leaf parsley – as these are the herbs that I use most frequently in my cooking. I sometimes will have a separate pot with chives when I can find them but this year I haven’t had any luck yet. I also have a separate trough for perfume lavender – just because it smells good but you also can use it in your cooking! Hello herbs de Provence!

Basics: Make sure your pots have good drainage and that they get adequate sunlight and water. I will gently mist my herbs each evening. Don’t put them in full sun as they will bake and die out. Fragile herbs like dill and cilantro need some shade. I’d say early morning or late afternoon sun is the best. Never water plants in the heat of the day under full sun because they will steam.

Harvesting: Most times I just head out to my herbs with some kitchen scissors and get to snipping. If you want to get persnickety with ’em, feel free.  Basil for instance will bush out if you cut it a certain way – same for rosemary. Just Google for more info on that…

Bottom line: Find some pots, get some herbs and get to planting! Its so rewarding and tasty to use your own home grown herbs in your cooking!

Much Love,

M