Herbs: Growing tips and uses

An herb garden can be fun, attractive and very useful. It does not matter whether you are growing herbs for their culinary value, for the aroma-therapeutic qualities or for their aesthetic and design value. The rewards of growing herbs are immense.

Most herbs are not very difficult to grow. As long as you are mindful of the conditions they like and their growing habits, and plan your garden accordingly, you should not encounter any serious problems. The main thing to realize is that herbs need direct sun. A shaded area would not be conducive to successful growing.

Some herbs can spread widely and when they do, they can crowd out the other herbs growing around them and prevent those herbs from thriving. That is why it is generally a good idea to plant fast growing and spreading herbs in pots. Growing them in pots will contain them. Herbs that take over like that include chives and all varieties of mint.

I'll grow taller soon!

If you are growing tomatoes, planting basil around the tomatoes is a good way to provide your tomatoes with some instant and natural insect control. Basil can grow tall and get lanky. When allowed to grow tall, it will often go to seed. Since basil is an annual, allowing some of your crop to go to seed is probably a good idea. You can then harvest those seeds to plant the following year. The rest of the crop should be pinched back regularly. This will keep the plants from becoming spindly looking. It will also encourage bushier growth.

If you like to make your own pasta sauce, growing oregano and marjoram in addition to the basil will provide you with a great resource for your sauce. If you like to make salsa or like Mexican food, growing cilantro would be a good idea. Cilantro looks a lot like flat leaf parsley and has a very similar growing habit.

If you like Indian food, curry is a useful spice to grow. The aroma of curry can be intense, and the foliage of curry plants is silvery looking. It can really add drama and texture to a flowerbed. Since it does not grow tall, it would make a great border plant.

I like to grow a variety of types of Basil. I like to make pesto, so I grow Genovese basil for that purpose. Purple basil, ruffle leaf basil, lemon basil, Thai basil and Spicy Globe basil all have different flavors and different looks. A combination of different basils planted together can create a unique point of interest in your garden.

If you cook much meat, Rosemary, thyme and sage would be useful to grow. Rosemary can be grown as topiary or shaped

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