Organic Herb Gardens: From Garden to Kitchen to Medicine Cabinet

Posted by Julian Pollock
May 18th, 2009
Filed in Fruits, Veggies and Herbs
Tags: healthy living, herb garden, herbs

Mmm, the savory fragrance of sweet basil, oregano and thyme wafting in your warm, welcoming kitchen… Now imagine that you just walked out into your own garden and picked those delicious organic herbs fresh for your culinary masterpiece. Or, maybe you just reached over your kitchen sink and plucked them from their growing pots on the windowsill.

Herb gardening isn’t difficult or reserved for experts requiring special skills or talents. Think of herbs as any other plants already growing in your garden or indoors in pots. If you can grow a petunia, you can grow herbs.

Your Herb Garden

Herb rock garden by amberdc

There aren’t any rules on what a herb garden is. It can be a structured, diverse organic herb garden or individual herbs can be planted among your flowers. They can even be planted in flowerpots right outside your door. Your biggest challenge is deciding what to plant. Here are some questions to ask yourself:

• Do you want culinary or medicinal herbs?
• How much space do you have for growing herbs?
• Do you want to plant them among other flowers or vegetables?
• Where will your herbs be planted? Is it sunny or more shaded?
• Will you plant them in the ground or in containers?

These questions may generate more that will assist you in planning. Making quick sketches can help you to begin to visualize your garden for a pleasing, herb-healthy arrangement.

Consider drainage when selecting the sites for your herbs. Herbs won’t grow in wet soil, so drainage is an important factor in your success. To improve drainage, remove the top 15 to 18 inches of soil, then place small rocks or crushed stone on the bottom of the excavated area. To improve soil fertility as well as drainage, combine the soil you removed with sphagnum peat or compost and sand and refill the bed. Allow for soil settling by building the bed a little higher that its original level.

Indoor Herb Gardening

Many herbs grow beautifully indoors. With adequate sun exposure, good potting soil, growing containers, and minimal attention you can enjoy freshly picked organic herbs year ’round.

Herbs require at minimum four to five hours of direct sunlight daily. They’re best positioned near a south, east or west exposure. Supplemental artificial grow lights can be used as well for indoor herbs if they aren’t getting adequate natural sunlight.

It is recommended to use clay or terra cotta pots since they’re porous and allow for healthy air and moisture circulation though any pot that will allow for good drainage will work. 6 inch diameter pots are a good choice, being small enough for a variety of pots and herbs and large enough for adequate growth.

Young herb plants can be purchased or you can start your herbs by seeding. To seed, simply place the seeds in your growing pot at the depth recommended on the seed packet, in the potting soil. Mist until the soil is moist. Keep the soil damp, misting every day if necessary to keep the soil moist to the touch. Be careful to avoid root rot that can result when you over-water the sprouts.

Choosing Your Herbs

Photo by Darny

The obvious place to begin is with the herbs you already cook with: basil, oregano, chives, cilantro, thyme, rosemary, parsley or anything your tastes desire. The information on the seed packets or plant stake at the nursery will tell you if they are best grown outdoors and under what conditions. Likewise, they will tell you how to grow them indoors, if recommended.

Aloe and comfrey for healing the skin (or just a great, home-grown natural skin care tonic), chamomile and lavender for relaxing the mind and body, mint to invigorate them – medicinal herbs such as these can provide you with a living garden pharmacy. A bit of research of common medicinal herbs for common ailments or a specific condition can guide you in your planting decisions.

Most herbs double up as having natural healing and culinary properties, in fact regularly putting many of them as garnishes on your plate, or even into your cooking pot, is an excellent and refreshingly friendly health insurance in itself. Working with these subtle organic plants is an extraordinarily sane way of getting and keeping in touch with yourself, so do try it.

More Input Means More Inspiration

Reading and discovering more it’s an exciting way of making sure you’re getting the best out of these herbs. We have included a short video on how to plant organic herbs:

This is the first of a series of articles presented in conjunction with Julian Pollock of Organic Family Circle. The series will explore the value and encourage the home growing of simple organic herbs for health and culinary pleasures.

Read the Entire Series

• Organic Herb Gardens: From Garden to Kitchen to Medicine Cabinet
• Growing Herbs for Fresh Organic Salads
• Basil: Powerhouse of Flavor, Nutrition and Healing
• Catnip: The Humble Prize in Your Organic Garden
• Chamomile and Lavender: Fragrance and Health in Your Organic Herb Garden
• Spotlight on Cilantro – A Spice and Medicinal Remedy All In One