Growing your Own Herbs, The Best Place to Start
It’s daunting, I know, taking that first step into the garden to begin growing your own. Where on Earth do you begin? Carrots? Peas? Runner Beans? I’m going to stop you right there. Before you begin throwing yourself in at the deep end, take a look at herbs. For every beginner vegetable gardener, herbs are by far the best place to start.
So why herbs?
I could sit here and bore you to death with quite a few reasons why herbs are such a good idea to grow in the garden, but here’s just a few of them.
1. They’re really easy to grow. You don’t have to spend day in, day out caring for them, ensuring they get the right amount of water, the correct percentage of acid in the soil and the perfect hours of sunshine. They pretty much care for themselves.
2. We all use herbs, a lot. I bet you use herbs at some point in your cooking. Correct? Even if it’s only a sprinkle of basil leaves in your pasta sauce, a bay leaf in a stew or a handful of coriander in a curry. They are the perfect flavour enhancers. By having a herb garden, you can have yourself an unlimited supply of free and fresh herbs.
3. Some herbs last a lifetime. I’ll discuss this further in a minute. But there are types of herbs, such as Mint, Oregano, Thyme, Rosemary and Bay which will return year on year. Plant it once, and be supplied forever.
What you need to know first is there are predominately two types of herbs: The woody hardy ones and the Soft Delicate ones. This information is vital as the former tend to be the ones that last a long while in the garden, while the latter tend to die off and then you have to replant them each year.
So let’s first look at the woody hardy varieties. These include Oregano, Thyme, Bay, Marjoram, Rosemary, Fennel and Sage.
If you’re buying these herbs as plants, then the best thing you can do is grab a pot, fill it with compost, plant your herb in their own pot, give it a little water and then let it do it’s thing. No really, it’s that simple. These herbs really do tend to look after themselves. When there’s be a dry spell in the weather, give them a little water but you really don’t have to do an awful lot with these herbs to look after them.
Growing herbs from seed is a little more difficult and can be hard if the weather conditions aren’t correct. In general, it’s best to wait until the last frost has passed and the soil is warm. What I often do is grab a small handful of seeds, sprinkle them all over the soil in a pot and then a cover with a thin layer of compost. Water regularly. And again, let it do it’s thing.
So now let’s look at the softer of the herbs. These include Parsley, Coriander, Tarragon, Dill, Basil, and Chives.
Again, with these herbs, I tend to plant them in their own individual pots however these herbs tend to require well drained soil, so in the bottom of the pot, I throw in a couple of large pebbles just to help with the draining. Also, with these herbs, make sure they’re in a really sunny spot. That’s why I love use pots for herbs, because you can always move them so they’re in the sun whereas if you stick them in the ground then they’re stuck there, no matter what.
Again, I would actually not recommend growing these herbs from seeds, especially herbs like Basil as they require an awful lot of attention and the perfect conditions. If you have the time, then certainly give it a go, but the idea of herb growing is to make your life easier.
So if it’s the first time you’ve ventured into the garden, and you want to learn about Growing your Own, then I would highly recommend giving herbs a go at first. Good luck!
TV’s James Wong opens The Edible Garden Show 2012
TV botanist James Wong officially opened The Edible Garden Show 2012 today (March 16) with help from injured servicemen and staff from Headley Court, the Surrey-based armed forces rehabilitation centre.
Headley Court has developed an innovative garden therapy unit to help servicemen returning from conflicts recover their strength, mobility and co-ordination. The horticultural therapy project is run by Major Peter Le Feuvre who says that gardening and grow-your-own also helps patients improve their concentration and reduce stress levels.
Major Le Feuvre and his team were invited to attend the award-winning grow-your-own event at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire to highlight the therapeutic benefits of gardening.
Major Le Feuvre spoke at the show’s Experts Theatre, giving the audience an insight into the success of the ‘green’ therapy. He described the remarkable progress made by the injured soldiers and how growing and nurturing plants has helped their recovery.
He was joined on the platform by representatives from Gardening Leave – a charity set up in 2007 to improve the mental and physical well-being of serving and ex-service personnel using horticultural therapy.
Welcoming the staff and soldiers from Headley Court, BBC TV’s award-winning ‘Grow Your Own Drugs’ presenter James Wong said: “We all know that growing our own fruit and vegetables has great health benefits but projects such as this demonstrate that grow your own and getting out into the garden or on to an allotment can really improve your overall health and wellbeing.”
James, who is renowned for his plant-based remedies, has been encouraging everyone to grow adventurous crops and exotic vegetables in their gardens and allotment plots during his talks in the Experts Theatre.
The Edible Garden Show 2012 brought together inspirational celebrity gardeners and chefs, key livestock experts and innovative exhibitors to create a one-stop shop for anyone wishing to grab a slice of the ‘Good Life’.
Celebrity chef John Burton-Race dished up delectable delights in the Cookery Theatre which also saw Rachel Green cook up a menu using home-grown British produce.
The three-day spectacular is the only national show dedicated to the grow-your-own revolution.
For more information visit: www.theediblegardenshow.co.uk
The Edible Garden Show 2012 is officially opened today by (front row l-r) Marine Cassidy Little, Cpl Paul Nichol and TV botanist James Wong, with Major Peter Le Feuvre (back row, second from left) and representatives of Headley Court armed forces rehabilitation centre and the charity Gardening Leave.
Grow-Your-Own peps up your love life according to The Edible Garden Show survey
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Grow-Your-Own peps up your love life according to The Edible Garden Show survey
Growing your own fruit and veg is not only good for your health – it also puts a zing into your love life and the relationships you share with those closest to you.
Nine out of ten people who took part in a survey about the impact of “grow your own” on their lives said they felt it improved their relationships with loved ones. Ten out of ten said they feel healthier by growing and eating their own food.
Far from escaping the other half to head down to the allotment, seven out of ten people said they and their partner grow their own together and it helps makes them feel closer to each other. The benefits aren’t just seen in the raised beds in the garden but the healthier life-style also pepped up their love life.
The survey was carried out for organisers of The Edible Garden Show which is staged at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, this weekend (16-18 March). The only national event dedicated to grow-your-own, The Edible Garden Show was last year voted Garden Event of the Year. It is a one-stop shop for those looking for a slice of the good life with a huge array of innovative exhibitors boasting everything from seeds to sheds, wellies to wormeries, pigs, goats and chickens.
There are also talks and demonstrations by celebrity gardeners including award-winning TV presenter James Wong, bestselling gardening author and broadcaster Pippa Greenwood, celebrity chefs John Burton-Race and Rachel Green and The Edible Garden Show’s own grow-your-own guru Paul Peacock.
Hundreds of people took part in the online poll which asked why they have joined the grow- your-own revolution sweeping the country. Eight out of ten of those who responded were women and more than half were aged between 30 and 49. A total of 75% said it was because the food tasted better, 75% because they like gardening and six out of ten because it saves money.
Relationships with partners were not the only ones to be boosted by grow-your-own. Nearly eight out of ten said children in the family like planting and nurturing their own food. Kids love growing strawberries, tomatoes, apples, potatoes, carrots, raspberries, radishes and gooseberries. With today’s youngsters battling obesity, 100% of those who took part in the survey said that being involved in growing produce helps children to understand the importance of a healthy lifestyle and diet.
For more show information or to buy tickets visit: www.theediblegardenshow.co.uk or telephone 0844 338 8001
Further results of The Edible Garden Show survey included:
- What is your most successful crop? 34% potatoes; 22% tomatoes; 16% runner beans; 6% courgettes; 6% parsnips; 3% asparagus; 3% broad beans; 10% others
- How much of your garden, patio etc is dedicated to GYO? 10% all; 12% half; 30% a quarter; 48% less than a quarter
- How many of you have an allotment? 20%
- How much do you grow? 33% enough for own family, a further 12% their own and extended family, 50% enough to share with family, neighbours and friends
- 25% have tried to grow something exotic and adventurous including Chinese gooseberries, chillies, aubergines, peppers and crystal lemon cucumber
- 27% keep chickens and another 23% are considering keeping chickens or ducks
- 45% use green energy at home or in the garden including solar power and rainwater harvesting
- What’s the most adventurous fruit you have grown? Blueberries (12%); melon (9%); oranges (5%); kiwi (4%); peaches (4%); figs (3%); but also bananas, lychees, guavas, pomegranates, limes, lemons, huckleberries, grapes, passionfruit, cherries, quince, apricots, raspberries and goji berries
- Adventurous vegetables include purple carrots (7%); black courgettes and climbing courgettes (6%); butternut squash (4%); aubergine (4%); plus celeriac, purple beans, coloured cauliflower, stripy tomatoes, yellow tomatoes, purple beans, spaghetti squash, asparagus, tree onion, artichokes, edamame beans, fennel, rainbow chard, salsify, okra and kohlrabi
- Popular herbs and spices grown include chillis, basil, saffron, coriander, fenugreek, oregano, tarragon, wasabi, sage, parsley, mint, rosemary, chives and cumin
- Although they love their fruit and veg, the grow-your-own enthusiasts who responded are mainly fish and meat eaters (83%) and eight out of ten of them cannot see themselves becoming vegetarian in the future. Only 11% of respondents are vegetarian and 6% are pescetarian (eating fish and seafood but no meat). However, 44% of all those surveyed have 1-2 meat-free days each week and 23% have 3-4 meat-free days
Link: http://www.wegrowourown.co.uk/blog/2012/01/13/grow-one-pot/
Many thanks to Craig Mcknight from We Grow Our Own for this great post.
My crusade for the new year is get everyone growing their own fruit and veg. I know that everyone is not lucky enough to have an allotment, a garden or even a patio. However, you can still grow your own food in even the smallest space, which is why I came up with the idea for my campaign – “Grow One Pot.” I want everyone to make a pledge to grow one thing this year and tell me what it is by leaving a comment below, and tweeting about it using the hashtag ‘#growonepot’
“Grow One Pot” came from the idea that you can using one pot or one container can produce a lot more fruit or veg than most people think.Common things that people use are:- A window box to grow herbs, or ‘cut and come again’ salads.- A hanging basket to grow tumbling tomatoes- A dustbin to grow your own potatoes- Three canes to form a wigwam shape which can be used for all climbing plants such as peas, beans, etc to scramble up.
There are many wonderful reasons to garden partially or exclusively in containers. Growing crops in containers also gives you much more control over your plants. You can usually move them indoors if you are faced with an unexpected frost, or move them to another position if they do not appear happy where they are, perhaps getting too much sunlight? You can even grow some vegetables indoors if you have a suitable sunny or bright area where you can sit some pots. So it can be easy to have a fresh, year round supply of flowers, vegetables and herbs.
The great thing about container vegetable gardening is that, apart from buying a few essentials, like good quality compost, it can be done on a low budget and is extremely versatile. You can grow plants in virtually anything that holds some soil and has holes in the bottom for drainage. It’s only bounded by your imagination – a chance for some really creative recycling! I’ve used old bathtubs, 20-litre plastic containers with the tops cut off, baskets of various sizes lined with bin bags to hold the water in, milk cartons for seedlings, anything that comes to hand. I almost used some dumped toilet bowl …..only I didn’t like the colour as they were pink.
Using containers makes it possible to grow food in areas where it would otherwise be impossible, and by employing some simple and innovative methods covered in more detail in future blog posts, such as vertical gardening, raised bed gardening, and square foot gardening, you can extract some excellent, and money-saving crop yields from just a tiny amount of space.
I’ll also be resurrecting my monthly blog post of what to do in your garden each month, and include tips on what to grow in your ‘container garden’ that month.
So, start the new year by making a pledge to get your fingernails dirty and growing at least one crop this year. Don’t forget to tell me what it is by leaving a comment below, and by tweeting me https://twitter.com/#!/WeGrowOurOwn on Twitter, and using the hashtag #growonepot. I’ll retweet every one I see! Happy gardening!
For more great posts please check out We Grow Our Own.
At long last we have been given our own allotment on a lovely site just 5 minutes walk from our house, pics and regular updates to follow....
