Introducing Herbs into your Garden with a Container

Happy Mother’s Day!  At least once a year I go back to my roots and remind myself why I cannot seem to exist without herbs.  I do not mean why I am a gardener.  That is genetic inheritance.  My grandparents on my mother’s side were farmers.  My grandfather on my father’s side was a flower gardener.  My father’s mother is the one who helped me to plant my first garden with pansies, bleeding hearts, columbine and coral bells among other plants.  So the gardening part was well ingrained before I was 10.  As a result Mother’s Day which is close to the frost free day for my area -- when outdoor gardening risks diminish, is a weekend I love to garden.

Herb gardening is uniquely mine in my family.  I really like to look at flower gardens, but except for a few old fashioned perennials I never grew many flowers.  Instead I prefer greenery, so I think that is why the herbs work so well for me.  And I find it fun to experiment with the vast flavors that herbs provide.  That keeps the scientist hidden inside me happy too!

When you cook with herbs it is not really just about adding fresh or dried chopped herbs to a dish.  It is much more subtle to make an herbal vinegar with fresh herbs and use it to craft a salad dressing or a marinade.  Or produce an herbal butter that you dot over plain steamed vegetables to bring out their true nature.

All of these suggestions can be done with a few herbs in pots on the patio.  So let’s discuss container gardening with herbs!

The most important thing to keep in mind when container gardening is that  this type of herb garden needs some attention in watering and timely pruning. And remember when placing plants in a container is to choose those with similar needs.  Herbs like marjoram, oregano, sage and thyme  all love lots of sun and need good drainage can all be placed together.  Any type of lettuce can be grown with others, but basil does best with other basil. Herbs can be cross-planted, so let basil and oregano share a pot.  Cilantro and dill with their light leaves look good together. When planting dill or cilantro, sew seed rather than purchasing plants.  In the hot months these will bolt (go to seed) so you can preserve a summer harvest by dropping a few new seed into the pot every two weeks.

If you like to combine herbs in containers, remember to place taller growers in the center and lower growers on the outside edges.  Thyme is a great companion in the pot to Basil, Dill and Tarragon.  Tarragon which can get 3 feet tall in the ground will be a much smaller grower in a pot, so remember to plan accordingly.  When choosing perennials for the container, try dwarf varieties or hybrids which generally have all the flavor and scent of the original cultivar, but often have a more decorative leaf and generally a smaller growing habit.

Planting your Containers

After deciding what herbs you would like to plant, you want to go and get the following supplies:

• Containers
• Potting Mix / Soil Mix
• Herb Seeds and/or herb seedlings
• Spade
• Watering can
• Base filler

A soil mix in the pots high in organic matter is a must.  I create my own blend rather than buying something that may not last the season.  5 parts top soil; 2 parts cool compost or peat moss; 1 part course (not play) sand.  The sand increases the oxygen and the compost provides the organic matter.  Later in the season I use a mix of 50% top soil and 50% compost to top off the pots as the soil sinks.  This adds more nutrients and replaces what is lost to erosion.

Select pots with holes in the bottom or sides, so excess water can escape.

Choose large pots, such as 12- to 24-inch-diameter planters. Choose plastic or composition planters instead of clay, which allow less water to evaporate from the soil.

If you are just starting out, you might want to use herb seedlings as they require less work than growing your herbs from seeds.

Once you have gathered all your supplies together, it's time to start creating your container herb garden!

Place a base filler in the bottom of the pot to aid drainage.  You can use Styrofoam peanuts, crushed aluminum cans, broken clay pots, or anything similar.  About an inch or so in the bottom is great.  Then fill your container with soil mix.  The amount of soil you put in depends on whether you use seeds or seedling to plant your herb garden. In general, if you are using seeds, fill your container to about 1 inch from the rim so that you will have room to cover your seeds with a little additional soil.

Always check the instructions on the seed packet as they will usually give you more detail on how best to plant your seeds. If you are using seedlings on the other hand, you want to cover the base of your container with only a few inches of soil so that you can fit the seedlings in. When you have arranged all your seedlings in the container you can fill the spaces around them with more soil.

As with seeds, you also want to follow the instructions that accompany your seedlings. If your seedlings to do come supplies with instructions, you can try looking up the information on the internet. These instructions are important for telling you the best growing conditions for your herbs. You might need to move your containers around to give them access to sufficient sunlight to help them grow.

Finally when you are done, give your containers a good watering! And of course do not forget to water your herb garden over the coming days.

Follow these steps and it shouldn’t be long before you have a beautiful and bountiful container herb garden just brimming with delicious fresh herbs!

Using the Herbs

There are simple ways to start using herbs.  Like individual sprigs of rosemary over broiled lamb chops;  Or adding ribbons of basil to your completed spaghetti to give it a burse of bright flavor.  Or mixing chopped fresh chives into butter whipped with sour cream for a topping on any kind of potatoes that makes them a special treat.  These can make using herbs simple, fast and give you a new taste on the palette. 

If your window or patio herbs start to get tall, cut them.  Fresh herbs will keep in the refrigerator for several days with the stems wrapped in a damp paper towel and popped into a zip seal bag.  If longer storage is needed, chopped them and place the herbs in an ice cube tray, cover them with water and freeze.  When you cook soup, stews, chili or sauces, just drop in a cube.  If you like many, pop dinner into the crock-pot, remember herbs lose flavor during long cooking times, so just drop in a few cubes when you get home and by the time you are ready to eat the fresh dynamic of the herbs will be released  just by reaching into the freezer.

Just a few last tips:

1. Chose containers with trays or get trays and fill them with pebbles.  Herbs do not like to have wet feet, but they also like to have a bit of water to draw on in the heat of the day.  Placing the pot in a tray will keep you from watering twice during the hot days of summer.
2. Don't let your herbs flower, unless you want to look at rather than eat them.  Herb flavors change when they create flowers, so cut those flower heads off to preserve the best flavors for cooking and tea.
3. Throughout the growing season pinch back the ends of the branches to promote more branching and the production of more leaves to harvest.  Check daily for dryness and water when t he soil is dry about 1" depth.  Do not overwater and provide good drainage.
4. To test soil for dryness, poke your finger into the soil: If it feels dry to a depth of one inch in a 12 inch pot and two inches in a 24 or larger pot, water.
   
   

 

Seven Herbs for a Cocktail Garden

Whether you are a gardener who enjoys a cocktail now and then or a mixologist tired of spending money on ingredients with an all-too-short shelf life, growing your own herbs to use in your favorite mixed drinks is fun and easy. 

I crafted a program on using herbs for cocktails (called Crafting Herbal Mocktails) and as a result have experimented with ways to incorporate fresh and dried herbs into mixed drinks or alcohol-free cocktails.  And you too can make your own herb enhanced drinks with just a few herbs.  If you grow in just a couple of planter boxes, a hodge podge of pots of varying sizes or in a garden patch or raised bed you can add a few herbs and start experimenting.

Realize you are not distilling your own spirits, but crafting flavorings and infusing existing spirits with the unique flavor of herbs is easy and fun.  Selecting herbs to grow can transform cocktail hour into an irresistible exercise in gardening as herbs make their way from planter box to martini, collins or rocks glass.

If you are interested in Cocktails or Mocktails I have posted several recipes in the past and you can search the blog or chose the links above.

Here are my picks for the 7 Best herbs to grow for cocktail making:

Mint

Flavor: Cool and refreshing. Depending on what type you grow, some have citrus tones, other are floral or spicy. Kentucky Colonel or Mojito mint are good choices for growing in a cocktail garden.

How to use it: Mint is probably the most commonly used fresh herb for cocktails. Mojitos and juleps are well known for using mint, but this refreshing leaf brightens flavor wherever it is used. Muddled or used as a garnish or infusion, mint is a winning choice for the gardener’s cocktail. And simple syrup can be used to make non-alcoholic ades or to flavor teas.

How to grow it: Mint grows like a weed. Plant in containers or in the yard (if you are prepared to have a lot of it).

To try: Nojito Mint Mojito-Style Mocktail

Rosemary

Flavor: Rosemary looks like clippings from a pine tree with a taste to match.

How to use it: Great as a garnish where just a hint of its flavor pops in to visit. The rich, woody flavor of rosemary can be added whole or muddled as a featured player in gin or vodka or to add pronounced depth to bourbon. Try adding a sprig to your next gin and tonic or whiskey sour. Enjoy it in a punch with sweeter flavor to give a savory hint.  It can also be used to craft a Gin substitute.

How to grow it: Start from cuttings in a pot placed in a sunny spot. Rosemary stands up well in drought conditions, and should be brought in for winter in colder climates.

To try: Rosemary Lemon Vodka

Thyme

Flavor: Can be sweet to savory depending on the variety but for cocktails common garden thyme is a good choice.  It provides a robust earthy flavor with a hint of lemon and mint and a subtle undertone of pepper.

How to use it: A simple syrup made with thyme makes it a great companion to any gin-based drink.  And using the simple syrup to create a fun fizz made with prosecco or a liqueur-based cocktail with Grand Marnier gives your cocktail hour variety.

How to grow it: Great in a rock garden and dry areas, raise from seed or cutting, but if you want to harvest the first year, get yourself a nursery plant to get a head start with this perennial that is slow to get going.

To try: Pear and Thyme Fizz

Basil

Flavor: Currently a fashionable herb in the cocktail scene, different varieties of this complex, aromatic herb can lean sweet, peppery or citrus-y with clove or licorice overtones.

How to use it: Like mint, basil is a great all-purpose herb, adding great flavor to gin, tequila or rum drinks among others. Muddle, use as a garnish or craft a simple syrup to use in cocktails as a change of pace from the same old cocktail. For some great color, use a purple basil.

How to grow it: Make sure basil plants get plenty of water and sunlight. Harvest leaves from the top a few at a time so the plant will have continued healthy growth throughout the summer and beyond. Start from seed or get a jump start with a nursery plant.

To try: Pineapple Basil Gin Cocktail

Lavender

Flavor: Floral and woody with undertones similar to mint and rosemary, lavender is wonderfully distinctive, but a little goes a long way.

How to use it: Perhaps best prepared in a simple syrup, lavender is the taste of springtime in front porch drinks featuring vodka, gin or even lemonade for the non-drinker.  But sprigs make a great garnish, and sugared stems are wonderful stirred into a drink.

How to grow it: A great container plant. Water deeply, but make sure it has good drainage and gets plenty of sunlight. Harvest as blossoms begin to open. It likes a well drained soil.  Hard to grow from seed, so get a plant from the shops or divide an existing plant from a freind.

To Try: Lavender Collins

Lemon Grass

Flavor: light citrus to lemon overtones with a hint of sweet mint combined with an intoxicating lemon scent.

How to use it: Lemon grass is used both for its lemon flavor as well as its amazing aroma it adds great dimension to flavoring vodka, as well as a simple syrup to make lemonade based drinks or complex citrus cocktails with gin, whiskey or sparkling wines.

How to grow it: An annual in cooler climates grow in a container as an accent plant or in the ground as a focal item as it has a tall spreading grass look that fans out.  It needs little care except regular water and well-drained soil. Propagate by seed or root division. 

To try: Mint and Lemongrass Cooler

Sage

Flavor: Earthy, woody and vaguely peppery, sage has a wonderful and distinctive flavor, but should be used sparingly.

How to use it: Muddled, infused into spirits or prepared in a simple syrup, sage adds savory complexity to mixed drinks, but the flavor can be overpowering for some. Try it in tequila or add some sage to your next gin fizz for a summer drink with unmistakable garden taste. A salt infused with sage is great savory glass rim.

How to grow it: Requires little care and is tolerant of different soil types and conditions, but soil should be well-drained.  Can be started from seed, cutting or division of an existing plant.  Keep well trimmed to avoid woodiness.

To try: Tequila Sage Smash from cakenknife.com

Growing Herbs in Containers - Planning a Container Garden

Planning a container garden

Where garden space is limited, or where your claim to the great outdoors begins and ends at the balcony or window box, you can create a visual and edible feast with herbs grown in pots and other containers.  Herbs such as bay laurel and rosemary are at their most effective when planted in their own in a container and since both can have a nice long life, placing them in a container lets you bring them indoors come winter.  Other herbs can be planted individually or in larger containers in groups.

rosemary being trained
on a copper frame into a
triangle topiary

This design is something you can do in its entirety or you can pick and choose those parts that will fit in the space you have available.

You can be as simple as a clipped bay or topiary rosemary in a large container flanking the door or a strawberry pot holding a wide variety of plants.

Containers can be the more traditional terra cotta or plastic pots to the more creative and textural stones sinks, barrels or half barrels, wheel barrows, olive oil cans, paint cans, steel tomato cans, wooden crates or hand-crafted hypertuffa containers you can make in any shape you want.

Keep these tips in mind when choosing containers:

1. Shallow containers such as stone sinks, and terracotta or hypertuffa troughs are suited for annual herbs such as sweet basil, dill, chervil, and calendula. 

2. Try to keep annuals and perennials in separate containers so you do not disturb the long-term herbs when you plant or discard the annuals.

3. All containers, regardless of style require adequate drainage holes in the base.  
4. If you are filling a large container, place it in the final position before you fill it, as it will be heavy and hard to move.

To Plan -- 

The easiest way to begin to fill a container is to combine three categories of plants: thriller, filler and spiller.

You want to have a bold, upright, architectural plant; that's the thriller.  It should get your attention.

The filler is the plant with medium height in the pot, or the next step down from the thriller.

The spiller tumbles out of the edge of the container and falls toward the ground.

When considering plants to use as your thrillers, fillers and spillers, think about their texture, fragrance and color combinations. Individually, each plant conveys color, texture, shape, and dazzle. Yet when combined in one container or a grouping of pots, examine how the plants interact with each other. Do certain colors in one plant bring out subtle complementary colors in another? How do the various leaf shapes, sizes and textures carry through the container plantings? Is there an underlying theme that connects all the plants together?

You can accomplish this with one container or a set of containers grouped together.

Thriller

So how do you combine form and function into a fabulous container? Start with your focal point, or thriller. This is the plant that provides architectural structure in the pot. "Thrillers are the big, bold element, so look for shapes that are strong and pronounced," says Steve. Good options for thrillers are elephant ears, cannas and ornamental grasses.  You can add a lemon grass, chives and a thick-leaved scented geranium like ‘Mabel Grey’ too.

Filler

Fillers are the plants in the middle that connect the thrillers to the spillers. Fillers are mounding, billowy plants that you put around the thriller. They disguise the base of the thriller and fill up the pot with neat shapes. Consider using plants of moderate size, such as basil, coleus, pentas and lantana. Small leaf filler would include thyme and variegated thyme.

Spiller

Spillers are the final element to consider when designing your pots. They cascade to the ground, softening the edges of the pot and anchoring it in place. They provide a colorful skirt around the combination of thrillers and fillers. Sweet potato vine, million bells (Calibrachoa) and nasturtiums are good examples of trailing plants.

Come back tomorrow for Design and Layout ideas for Containers

Patio Gardens - Gardening in Small Spaces

I was tooling around Etsy again looking for accessories and garden ideas and I came across some great custom made garden spaces you can pick up there. 

The first was this recycled garden on a shutter that I just loved.  Living in an apartment, I do not get to look outside at my lush garden which is 11 miles from my home, so what to do on my patio to bring home the wonder of my larger garden always plagues me.  Especially because I want it to be more original that it sometimes is.  But look -- you can get this perfect decorative garden that you can hang on any wall or patio, is it not a joy?

The maker is Jennifer Stevenson of New Jersey.  Her shop on Etsy: Elizabeth Kate Décor is named after her two daughters.  The shop is somewhat new, but I just loved the items she has and this planter was intriguing.

She credits her daughters for the inspiration for her clever items and I can imagine the fun they must have when you design a sign that states” The grass is greener where you water!”

http://www.etsy.com/listing/100567267/recycled-shutter-mason-jar-herb-garden

Another item I found while on my quest is this wood pallet garden.  I have wanted to make a wood pallet into a garden space because it is the perfect display for a porch like mine, but the husband is not too keen on it.  Maybe I should show him this picture and explain someone else will do most of the work!

This is from a shop called Woodposte and Rick is the maker in Little Rock, Arkansas.  His shop is new also, opening just in April of this year. He has some unique wood items and this was among them.  He explains that he didn't grow up working with wood but his grandfather did and is still going. Rick says he has come to enjoy it and all the power tools that come with the hobby. The shop name comes from a unique place as well, it is crafted by combining family names. Wood is his grandfather, father, and older brother's middle name while Poste is the middle name of his father-in-law.

His comment about how he ended up working in wood products in charming. “I guess I should have seen it coming since I ran track like my grandfather, had the same college major as my grandfather, and enjoy the same career my grandfather enjoyed. He's a good man.”

And how can you go wrong with this mini herb emporium by your home?

http://www.etsy.com/listing/99333527/wood-pallet-herb-garden

If what you are looking for is the plants already gathered together for you to grow, I found that too!

This perfect little garden package comes with six live plants.  This herb garden in a box includes your choice of 6 plants from an extensive list that includes Garlic Chive, Onion Chive, Oregano, Parsley, thyme, tarragon, basil, spearmint, marjoram, tarragon, winter savory, rosemary, lemon thyme, sage, and peppermint.  She promises to give recipes, or you can stop back here to get a few too!

The name of the shop is Sosucculent.  With herbs I can always agree!  Gayle has an older shop, opened back in 2009 and a great background in gardening and plants.

According to Gayle, she grew up in a family greenhouse and floral design business in Cleveland, Ohio.  Being from Northeastern Ohio myself I could not resist someone who knew Cleveland was once known as the Greenhouse Capital of the World.   A graduate of Ohio State University for Nursery and Landscape Management, she eventually started an Herb Farm. It was later that she discovered cold hardy succulents and gave up as much of the herbs to enjoy her new found friend.  I will not hold that against her because she still has herbie things for me to enjoy.  The store is populated with many succulents in some of the most original containers and arrangements I have seen.  A true joy to look at.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/98062600/herb-garden-in-a-box-cooks-delight

I hope you have enjoyed this exploration of herb gardens you can have at home and that you will visit these shops and stop back here for recipes and ideas once you have your garden started!

Urban Gardening with a twist

Ever have too much produce for your own family growing in your garden and wish you could find someone who wanted it?  There's an app for that (or there soon could be!)

Well I do not have the solution but two young men originating in Elmhurst, IL (where I live) do!

In a nutshell this is a project where they will use the internet to make shopping for veggies as easy as borrowing a cup of sugar from your neighbor.

Here is the website so you can grab the whole story: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1273317380/where-does-your-garden-grow

This is a project just getting off the ground and it needs support.  When you go to the website, you are seeing the Kickstarter Project webpage to collect pledges to raise the first $10,000.  If they collect that then the project will be funded through Kickstarter. They are 1/3 of the way there and need a few more supporters to make it to $10,000 by June 15, 2012.

Kickstarter is a funding platform for creative projects that works with everyone doing things from collecting Oral histories, to public art to something as interesting as an app that thinks gardeners wanting to share with neighbors who are looking for what they have.

The program I want to introduce you to is called Where does Your Garden Grow?  It was compiled by two young men.  One a web designer and one a landscaper.  Todd Jones has a business called Every Last Morsel where you can hire him to tend, create and monitor a garden in your urban space if you do not have the skill or time to do it yourself.  He teamed up with Collin to create a way to track all the gardens and locations and what was growing there.  From that simple beginning they realized if they crafted an open network it would allow people to share what they grow with others.  Linking this into the urban gardening movement which is just getting started and wouldn't you be more interested in adding one more plant if you knew you could find someone in an instant who could use what you grew.

I love this concept and I wanted to promote the idea here because if they gather the start money then I might soon have an app where I can find someone who has extra chive blossoms and would be willing to share them with me in exchange for chive blossom vinegar!  What a great idea this is!

What I love best is they have some great thank you gifts for pledging.  You can pledge as little as a dollar but if you pledge as little as $5.00 you will get a thank you gift, including such clever items as seed packets with phrases of thanks like:

I donated to Kickstarter Project 
and all I got was this silly thank you chard.

or

Thank you for helping us grow; 
Lettuce return the favor!

So check them out and decide for yourself if you might like to pledge support to this or other worthy gardening projects through Kickstarter.