New To Herbs? Tips on how to get started!

New to Herbs? Tips on how to get started!

Since I’ve moved, it has given me the impetus to think about an herb garden in the spring.  It’s perfect, it gives me plenty of time to plan and something to think about when the snows are blowing. Where to put the new herb garden?  What herbs do I want to put there?  As I flounder about for an answer, I remember back when I first got into herbs way back when.  It was a scary prospect. I had little experience growing my own herbs.  My main interest was in the medicinal aspects, but it was intimidating.  Over the years I took classes, trips, and asked mentors big and little questions (my mom was the main go-to for answers).  But now that I have perspective, I realize that I took on a huge project that was honestly overwhelming.  I set out with a huge herb garden with an arch and pathways.  I was planting every herb I could get my hands on because there were so many and (in my mind), I needed to find out all about each and every one right away.

Over the years, I did learn, but I realize I could have saved myself so much stress by starting out small.  So, I am reaching out to newbie herbies out there, with the thought to use some of my hard-learned lessons to make your journey so much easier.  You don’t have to know everything.  It is impossible.  But you can take a few easy-to-grow herbs and become knowledgeable about them.  You can slowly find your favorites, have fun and play with them.  Learn their growing habits, how they smell, taste and how to use them.  After you have mastered those few, you can slowly branch out.  The fun is that there will always be a new plant to get to know. 

There are three main categories of herbal use.  There is medicinal, crafting, and culinary.  I wish I had started out with the culinary aspects.  The herbs of course are all interchangeable in their way with these categories, but learning how to cook with them has immediate satisfaction, is easy and the herbs that you cook with are all easy to grow.   If you were to follow my advice, I’d say pick about 6 culinary herbs and start having fun with those.  These can be grown in pots or in a small sunny spot.  My choices would be chives, garlic chives, dill, basil (purple is my pick), lemon balm and thyme.

Chives:  A perennial with edible leaves and flowers (Allium schoenoprasum) it has a mild onion flavor.  It grows so easily, once you plant it you will have your own fresh onion tips to add to soups, salads, omelets and so much more.  It is fun to add the flowers to a variety of dishes you want to spice up with purple color.  I’ve had a stand of them for over 20 years and I took a start from it to start at my new place. In colder climes chives die back to the underground bulbs in winter, with the new leaves appearing in early spring. Chives starting to look old can be cut back to about 2 inches tall.  When harvesting, the needed number of stalks should be cut to the base.  During the growing season, the plant continually regrows leaves, allowing for a continuous harvest.  It enjoys rich soil and a sunny spot.

Garlic Chives:  Similar to Chives, Garlic Chives (Allium tuberosum) and also known as Chinese leek, it grows in a small clump like Chives and prefers rich soil and a sunny spot too.  However, it has a mild garlic flavor and flat green leaves with white flowers.  Any dish that requires garlic, you can chop and add these.  Harvest, chop and freeze your excess to easily cook with it.  Use it as garnish and the flowers are edible as well.

Dill:  Earlier blooming than Mammoth dill, Bouquet dill (Apiaceae Anethum graveolens) has large seed umbels and dark-green foliage. Dill provides a great beneficial-insect habitat in the garden and can reseed prolifically. So even though it is an annual, you can save the seeds from the seed head, or let it reseed itself.  Dill is used in many pickle recipes as well as in seafood, soups, sauces, and potatoes.  For me, the smell of dill screams summer, and I love to chop the tender leaves to sprinkle in salads and potato salad.  It can take partial shade and is easy to grow.

Purple Basil:  Use this delightful purple-hued version, Dark Opal Basil (Ocimum basilicum 'Purpurascens') just as you would the regular green basils.  It is an annual, so if you want the best leaves to harvest, trim back before flowering but being sure to leave a few stalks to flower so you can collect the seeds or let it self-seed.   I use it for everything I would with basil, especially tomato dishes.  But it makes the most delightful pink vinegar for making dressing for salads.  It has a mild licorice flavor.  It likes well-drained soil and sun.

Lemon Balm:  Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) has a delightful lemony flavor and comes from the mint family.  It makes a wonderful tea, is great in marinades, sauces and syrups.  Great in many desserts.  Bees and butterflies love the nectar and pollen of lemon balm’s white or purple blossoms.  It spreads a little so be prepared to keep it reined in. It loves sun and can take a little bit drier soil, so is a bit drought tolerant.

Thyme:  French Thyme ((Thymus vulgaris), is drought tolerant and can grow in poor soil.    It has a distinctly sweeter, spicier flavor than English types and is preferred for authentic French dishes.    Thyme is perhaps the most popular herb and is added to a wide variety of dishes, including stews, soups, meat and fish.  This variety has a strong thyme flavor.  It has a small size and tiny leaves but big flavor so you don’t need to add a lot. It is a perennial in zones 4-8.

There you have it.  Six suggestions to get started in the world of herbs.  Do a little research, learn their habits and where to purchase seeds or plants…once you get comfortable with how they grow and taste, learn their medicinal side, and if they have any usage in crafting.  It is an easy and fun way to dip your toe into the world of herbs, without getting tossed around in the deep waves of the ocean.   After you feel secure in your knowledge of these six, you can branch off to explore three more...and so on.  It will be an exploration that will take the rest of your life, but as long as you start out knowing that, it won't be stressful any longer.