Making an Herb Garden

Savvy cooks grow fresh herbs in their kitchens to use instantly in recipes. Some people find medicinal uses for herbs, as in the treatment of acne with chamomile. If you don't use herbs for cooking or health reasons, an herb garden just outside your patio or on your apartment deck provides lovely plants with wonderful aromas. Many herbs have beautiful flowers and foliage.

Whatever your reason for growing an herb garden, there are a few simple steps to follow for planting an outside garden:

1. Select a spot in your yard that gets at least four hours of sunshine each day, with quality soil that has good drainage.
2. How many plants to you want to plant? Figure out the size of your garden by how many plants you want. Most herbs take up little space. The rule of thumb is one square foot per plant, or 20 plants in a 4 X 6 plot of ground.
3. Choose the herbs you want to plant. Some more popular herbs are tarragon, oregano, parsley, dill, garlic, thyme, rosemary, chives, sage, mint, and basil. Visit your garden center and check availability.
4. Plan on paper where to plant each herb, then turn the ground with a tiller or hoe. Remove large chunks of grass and rock, then add fertilized top soil or compost, or both. Thoroughly rake the treated and turned ground until it is level.
5. Dig holes for each of your herbs, water each hole slightly, and place the herbs inside their holes, taking special care not to rip their roots, fill the holes with soil, and water them.
6. Take care of your herbs, watering them when necessary, and enjoy.

If you don't have yard space for an herb garden, you can grow herbs in your kitchen, using small pots. They are not complicated to grow, and you will have them handy in one central location for your cooking and medicinal needs. Follow these simple steps to grow herbs in your kitchen:

1. Choose a sunny location in your kitchen. Herbs grown inside do well when they have at least four hours of sunshine each day. A kitchen windowsill is a suitable spot.
2. Select herbs that you will use when you cook. Plant them in small terra cotta pots with a drainage hole, or in small containers with drainage holes drilled through the bottom, and include a small layer of compost in with your potting soil.
3. Purchase herbs from your garden center or nursery, and transplant them to your pots or containers.
4. To encourage fresh growth, snip or harvest your herb leaves frequently.

Harvest your herbs anytime while they are growing, but when the plant has buds and is ready to bloom is the best time to enjoy the flavor and aromas of your herbs.