If you love to garden and cook, you should consider growing an herb garden to enhance both.  Growing fresh herbs can heighten the flavor in any meal.  For some reason, many people never consider an herb garden, thinking it is too difficult.  Herb gardens do not require special soil, they only require sunlight and water, this is the easiest garden to grow.  You could plant the variety of herbs you like most and have wonderful fresh flavors to enjoy all year long.  Herbs can be grown in containers on a window sill, they are great for people living in apartments or homes without yard space.

The best time to grow an herb garden starts in early spring with tiny seeds.  As the weather becomes warmer, the young plants could be transplanted outdoors.  For the seeds, these would be grown in four inch pots and then placed in a location with lots of sunlight.  Keep in mind that while standard containers work well, any type of container could be used as long as the seeds have room to grow.  Most important, if you choose anything other than a new container, use a mixture of three teaspoons bleach to a gallon of water to wash it out carefully, rinse, and then dry to kill any organisms.

When you grow an herb garden you can save space by putting three or four plants such as basil, parsley or oregano in one container.  Remember to pinch off flower heads often so that the leaves will look and taste their best.  This type of herb will only last a season and will need to be replanted each year. Herbs such as rosemary and lavender will grow rather large and require adequate space in your yard.  These two herbs in particular will provide enough sprigs for several years.  Herbs such as chives, mint or sage will come back each year with proper care. When they become leggy they will need to be cut back often to promote future growth.

If you have healthy soil, great but if not, perhaps you may be dealing with clay or sandy soil where any type of herb garden plants will not grow.  In this case, you could choose buy or build a raised garden box in which to grow the herbs.  As long as the boxes have good drain holes and rich soil is added, the herbs will do well.  Garden boxes can be purchased or made in any size to work in the designated area of the yard such as under a window.  In addition to using the raised garden bed for herbs, you could also use a portion for vegetables or flowers.  Remember, herbs must get a lot of sunlight regardless of where the plants are located.

As you can see, organic herb gardening is actually relatively easy.  Therefore, if you love the flavors of mint, oregano, marjoram, thyme, basil, chives, sage, tarragon, lavender, rosemary, and other herbs, this would be a great option.  Without doubt, cooking with fresh herbs creates a wonderful flavor that does not come from dried herbs.

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