Grow A Vegetable Garden

Growing a culinary herb garden need not be an elaborate affair. Herbs can be grown in a container outside your door or even in small pots on your window sill. So whether you have a large plot available or just a small space on your balcony, there is no reason why you shouldn’t try your hand at growing herbs.

What you decide to grow will depend upon what your like to eat and what conditions your plants will be exposed to. Locations facing south and west tend to be sunny and hot and suit herbs that naturally grow in warmer climates such as bay, rosemary, dill and lemon verbena.

Shade loving plants such as parsley, borage and mint will flourish better in a north or east facing exposure.

If you plan to grow your herbs in a raised bed vegetable garden or straight into the ground, make sure your site is as close to your house as possible. This will prevent you from being put of using them when the weather is wet or chilly.

You can make the arrangement look more attractive by choosing herbs in a variety of colors and shades and with differing foliage such as those produced by mint, thyme and sage. The differing shades of greens, reds, grays and purples can be very attractive bur its a good idea to draw out a colored plan before you actually plant anything, to get a good idea of how the culinary garden will actually look. It’s easier to rearrange on paper than once the plants are in the ground or container!

Be aware that some plants spread very quickly and use up the water and block sunlight from the other plants. A common exmaple of this is the mint family. If you want this type of plant it is better to do so in it’s own container.

If you do grow them in the ground be sure to add barriers so your herbs can’t spread so easily. An overground example of this would be a dwarf hedge of something like lavender. Or you can use stone pavers, bricks, stones or make narrow channels from gravel. These have the added advantage of producing a landscaped design and you will be able to pick your herbs easily from the footpaths without disturbing other nearby plants.

And once you’ve got your culinary herb garden sorted it will be time to grow a vegetable garden in full.