Herbs aren’t just a great way to flavor your dishes, jazz up your cocktail, zing up that water infuser, or even just to stay healthy. They are all that and, the clincher for us, herbs are also SO NOW! Blame the pandemic, blame Insta – influencers. Whatever, we are all in. Best of all, growing herbs is almost idiot-proof — even if you are a fair-weather gardener; it’s easy and it’s fun.
Unlike most garden crops and plants, herbs don’t need much space or special soil to get started. Eco Outdoor shares herbs that can be grown in your garden without stress.
5 Must-have Herbs to consider
1. Parsley (Petroselinum Crispum)
Parsley is our gateway herb. One unique thing about parsley is that it can endure difficult conditions and adapt; making it easy to grow and harvestable at any time of the year. This herb offers vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
How to plant: Plant parsley seeds in moist soil in the garden or a flowerpot during spring or autumn with just enough sunlight. If the leaves start turning yellow especially in cold weather, you can use some liquid fertiliser to boost nutrients like fish emulsion fertilizer 5-1-1 concentrate.
2. Thyme (Thymus Vulgaris)
If you can get past that unfortunate Latin moniker, you can get a more common herb than Thyme. It seems no African delicacy is complete without the addition of thyme; but did you know you could grow yours? With different types from lemon thyme to wooly, etc., you can eat a different type of thyme flavoured Jollof anytime in the year.
How to plant: You can buy the plants or beg, steal or borrow some cuttings from a gardener-friend. Plant by the sun outdoors or indoors, and with other drought-tolerant perennials like rosemary, or vegetables like cabbage.
Although it’s drought-resistant, you can keep the soil moist and feed regularly with water-soluble plant food.
3. Rosemary (Salvia Rosmarinus)
Rosemary is drought-resistant, requires very little attention, and can last for years and on rainwater alone. Ideal for slackers everywhere.
How to plant: It’s best to grow rosemary by cutting from a strong plant. Place the cuttings in a pot and water. Plant in a pot in the sun and temperatures from 60° to 70°F. After 8 weeks, you can root cuttings for transplanting in the garden. Couldn’t be simpler
4. Mint (Mentha)
Mint is another easy to grow herb but, be careful or it will take over your garden. And boy is it hard to kill! So, caveat emptor!
Mint comes in a wide variety — chocolate mint, peppermint, lemon mint, spearmint, etc.
How to plant: What mint needs is really rich soil and water. Keep the soil moist until the seeds germinate which is 10-15 days. In two months you can harvest your mint.
5. Lavender (Lavandula)
Lavender is a perennial plant and doesn’t quite qualify as herb, but it can be used for baking as a flavour, in the laundry basket or lingerie drawer, or as a fragrant additive to making bathing products. It’s easy to grow and draws bees to your garden for pollination.
How to plant: This plant loves full sunlight and moisture. It’ll do well in a well-drained pot or garden bed. Just like mint, you will need to watch your lavender carefully to avoid overgrowth.