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Herbs are not only flavorful additions to meals but also some of the easiest plants to grow. Which of these herbs do you find the easiest to cultivate?
Official TEG Poll: Favorite Easy-to-Grow Herbs
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flowerbug
Garden Master
many are easy to grow, a few can even be trouble as they can spread so easily like mints and dill. chives at least mostly stay in a clump, but it can be prolific in dropping seeds and gradually spreading.
digitS'
Garden Master
It may be a question like, did humans domesticate dogs or did dogs domesticate themselves?
Given the right climate, those herbs are all easily grown. Then, we need to find a way to make use of them. There may be problems with something like rosemary in areas with colder Winters and needing to keep it in a pot, moving and tending under protection for several months each year. That meant that I didn't click the rosemary choice even though it is a "favorite."
I especially like lemon basil on baked fish. Sweet basil seems essential to me in pasta sauce. I will go to the bother of starting these cold-sensitive, sunlight-demanding annuals every Spring. Individuals have different tastes. DW thinks the baked fish should have dill. A few plants are allowed to go to seed each year and dill volunteers easily. I like it and enjoy having a sprig in my pocket while working outdoors
. I have something of a craving for cilantro. Fortunately, DW likes it, also. It takes some special care to have it available for any length of time during the Summer. Still, cilantro is easy in its season and just needs special attention for early harvest and late.
I find thyme to be a very useful herb in the kitchen. It isn't an aggressive herb here but not at all difficult to have available.
Steve
Given the right climate, those herbs are all easily grown. Then, we need to find a way to make use of them. There may be problems with something like rosemary in areas with colder Winters and needing to keep it in a pot, moving and tending under protection for several months each year. That meant that I didn't click the rosemary choice even though it is a "favorite."
I especially like lemon basil on baked fish. Sweet basil seems essential to me in pasta sauce. I will go to the bother of starting these cold-sensitive, sunlight-demanding annuals every Spring. Individuals have different tastes. DW thinks the baked fish should have dill. A few plants are allowed to go to seed each year and dill volunteers easily. I like it and enjoy having a sprig in my pocket while working outdoors
. I have something of a craving for cilantro. Fortunately, DW likes it, also. It takes some special care to have it available for any length of time during the Summer. Still, cilantro is easy in its season and just needs special attention for early harvest and late.I find thyme to be a very useful herb in the kitchen. It isn't an aggressive herb here but not at all difficult to have available.
Steve
ducks4you
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Mint is very easy to grow. I originally planted spearmint and peppermint in a west facing bed that had some shade. Nothing but weeds were growing there. I thought they had died out, but they made a great comeback last year.
I also have several patches of chocolate mint, which smells like an Andes mint candy, and is VERY hardy.
Oregano, IMHO, is the weed of the herb world. It will fill in easily and reseeds Very easily.
I am currently trying to grow thyme and rosemary in my kitchen window.
The rosemary is thumbing it's nose at me, but I have one little thyme sprout, as of this morning.
I also have several patches of chocolate mint, which smells like an Andes mint candy, and is VERY hardy.
Oregano, IMHO, is the weed of the herb world. It will fill in easily and reseeds Very easily.
I am currently trying to grow thyme and rosemary in my kitchen window.
The rosemary is thumbing it's nose at me, but I have one little thyme sprout, as of this morning.
flowerbug
Garden Master
it is interesting that oregano is said to be easy to grow but we sure did not get it to survive here. i suspect it was crowded out by pennyroyal and some of our other plantings plus found the heavy clay unsuitable...
ducks4you
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It would have to have been crowded out. MY patch was a lot larger, but grass filled in. STILL, it dropped seeds and relocated the oregano patch outside of the bed.
It really IS easy to grow and the cold here, as in MI won't kill it.
BUT, you gotta show it a Little bit of love!
It really IS easy to grow and the cold here, as in MI won't kill it.
BUT, you gotta show it a Little bit of love!
digitS'
Garden Master
Most, if not all, of these herbs are Mediterranean plants. Maybe they were there for the hunters and gatherers to hunt out and gather.
For the most part, this region of the world is fairly warm but, more than that, by definition of the climate – it has dry Summers. This would even be true at sea-level.
If these plants also require a well-drained soil, some gardeners may have trouble with them. My garden certainly has that soil. Even if the Pacific Northwest Mediterranean climate boundaries are about 200 miles away, this is still very much within that climate zone during the growing season even if Winter conditions disqualify it for the climate scientists.
Steve, Cosmopolitan Continentalist
For the most part, this region of the world is fairly warm but, more than that, by definition of the climate – it has dry Summers. This would even be true at sea-level.
If these plants also require a well-drained soil, some gardeners may have trouble with them. My garden certainly has that soil. Even if the Pacific Northwest Mediterranean climate boundaries are about 200 miles away, this is still very much within that climate zone during the growing season even if Winter conditions disqualify it for the climate scientists.
Steve, Cosmopolitan Continentalist
akroberts
Deeply Rooted
I planted parsley from the dollar tree and now it's a good 18 inches wide probably about 15 inches tall. I also have chives and cilantro. Most of my cilantro has been devoured or dried for kitchen use.
Every couple years i buy a pound of Cilantro seed, we eat a good handful every day. Parsley too cept seeds are much smaller and once established in the greenhouse those half dozen clumps will last the entire season. At any given time i’ll have 3-4 2ft. X 2ft patches of cilantro in various stages of maturity. We never let it completely mature into (Coriander). Both offer a modicum of cleansing and are good at drawing out heavy metals.
my $.02 worth.
my $.02 worth.
GottaGo
Deeply Rooted
We herb just about every meal in one form or another. Basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, sage. Since pepper (black white or red) is a no-go for me, we use herbs and garlic to bump up our meals. Though I'll admit I have a rotten hand with rosemary, I use store bought for that. I'm even trying again this year, a little masochism lol.
