I have had a fun idea for gardening for awhile now and it's an idea that has been done before but it is somewhat new to me so here it is: windowsill herb garden! I just think this is such a great idea, you would constantly have fresh herbs available to freshen up your food! Pizza too boring today? Add a sprig of fresh basil or oregano! Baked potato seeming bland? Cut off the tops of your chives and add a subtle onion flavor! I just think its a great way to add interest to foods and so cheap and easy too! I already have a chive plant in my windowsill and my whole family uses it all of the time. I water it every other day or so and that's all the upkeep it really has needed. So I've been thinking why not try to do more? I'm doing research and finding out the best plants for growing on a windowsill and what special needs they may have. Here's what I've got so far.
Here are a few of the easiest herbs to grow:
Basil- it grows easily and doesn't need too much sunlight
Chives-are very low maintenance
Mint-comes in lots of different flavor varieties and grows just as easily in a garden as in a container
Oregano-very strong and versatile flavor, grows quickly.
Parsley- a great herb for the kitchen, the flat leaf variety is better in cooking.
Rosemary-is a hardy plant that grows well in containers
Containers to grow them in:
My chives are in a large plastic yogurt container with a hole in the bottom and that works really well, you can even put the lid underneath it to catch any extra water that runs through it. It would look something like this:
If you wanted to do something a little fancier you could grow them in small terracotta pots or decorative jars. You can pretty much use any container that has a hole in the bottom for drainage.
Generally you can use any dirt you want to fill the container but I would recommend adding some small rocks too the bottom of the container first to help with the drainage. (you don't want to drown your herbs)
Starting and maintaining your herbs:
Most of these herbs start very easily from seeds, Instructions will vary but you can find pretty straight forward directions on the back of your seed packet. Here's a nifty thing to know for our low income families, you can buy seeds with a bridge card.
The flavor of your herbs will be best with very little fertilization, so you won't need to use any extra soil additives which is great because it takes out some of the extra effort required for other kinds of gardening.
Herbs don't need to be super saturated when watering, in fact they develop better flavor if left a little bit dry. Try to water them just a bit every other day or so and don't worry too much if you forget once in a while.
What to do with your herbs once you've got them:
You can add them to just about anything to freshen up the flavor, I like to add fresh herbs to canned soups or frozen dinners. You can rough chop them and add them to pasta with butter and parmesan cheese for a fun tasty side dish. Rosemary makes a great addition to roasted chicken or potatoes. They can make just most any food taste better.
Here a few recipes using fresh herbs:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/basil-pesto-recipe2/index.html
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/pommes-frites-with-parsley-butter-recipe/index.html
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/watermelon-salad-with-mint-leaves-recipe/index.html
Well that's what I've got so far but you can find more information in other places in the internet, there are plenty of helpful gardening guides and sites out there. Here are a few sites I recommend:
http://www.bhg.com/gardening/vegetable/herbs/ i got most of my information from this one, but this next one seems to have a lot more detailed info
http://herbgardening.com/
I hope you find this idea to be as fun as I think it is. I really like the idea of adding fresh flavors to your cooking and getting your hands dirty to know where your food comes from.
