You want to plant herbs but you don’t know how to grow them. Whether you decide to make one of these beautiful rose gardens or plant a simple square in front of the kitchen door, let’s take a look at all the steps to cultivate them well.
Steps to growing herbs
Make a scale plan and arrange the different herbs according to their size, color and growing period. Turn the soil about 8 inches deep and amend it with compost, well-rotted manure, or a balanced fertilizer. Draw the lines of your plan with a string or pebbles.
Sow all annuals like basil and savory in early spring, unless you decide to grow them indoors as early as late winter, to transplant after the last frosts. Obtain the condiment plants in pots from a nurseryman or cut off your friends’ plants.
Mint, lemongrass, oregano and tarragon are easily cut in the spring. So that mint and lemongrass do not invade your garden, surround their squares with planks or tiles driven at least 15 cm deep.
Bushy perennials like thyme, sage, lavender, rosemary and bay leaf cut or layered in mid-summer. Let the dill, fennel and parsley go to seed.
Add a little fertilizer after each important harvest and water without excess. In the following years, you will need to pull up any plants that are spreading out of their squares and cuttings or layering the old plants.
You can also grow herbs in pots on a sunny balcony as long as you water them well. The easiest are basil, rosemary and chives.
Chervil, parsley and mint tolerate shade better. To grow chives, mint and tarragon indoors during the winter months, pot the plants well before the first frosts and leave the pots in the ground for three to six weeks for the roots to set well.
Give potted plants a little fertilizer every two weeks. Water when the soil is dry. Place the jars in a cool, well-lit room.
Herbs: the different preservation techniques
It is best to pick herbs just before flowering, as that is when they are the richest in aromatic oils. Pick them early in the morning; wash them, then shake them to get rid of their water.
How to dry them?
To dry them, make small bunches of them and hang them upside down in a warm, dark and well-ventilated place. You can also put your bouquets in paper bags with holes that you hang outside, in the shade, for a few days (bring them in at night).
To save time, you can also dry your herbs in a very gentle oven. Once completely dry, the leaves come off and crush easily. Keep them in airtight jars, preferably in a cool, dark place. They will keep for about a year.
The possibility of freezing them
You can also freeze herbs, especially those with tender leaves. Make small bouquets that you will take a few seconds to blanch in boiling water. Then put them in ice water, then put them in the freezer in plastic bags. They will keep for two to six months. If you don’t want to keep them that long, simply chop them and freeze them in plastic bags or in an ice cube tray filled with water. You will then put the ice cubes in plastic bags.
Herbs for sauces will keep for several months if you put the chopped leaves coated with olive oil in a jar. Then keep them in the refrigerator.
Read also : Plants and aromatic herbs: the complete guide to the best
