Herb Garden, Part 1 - Seasonal Potted Herbs

This is the first part of the Herb Garden plan.




When I started on the Herb Garden journey I had no idea whatsoever what all the different herbs were with regards to cooking.  Generally I knew about a few herbs used in Italian cooking and Indian cooking but that was it.   I found I knew even less when I first looked at the huge array of herbs that can be grown.

The first type of herb I'm looking at is what I am calling the seasonal herb.  In other words it dies in the British climate and you can only grown it during the spring, summer and early autumn months after which it will die.  In particular I'm looking at how to easily have a wider variety of herbs growing close to the back door without being restricted to a small kitchen window sill.

To keep your attention, I'm really considering Corriander, Basil, Tarragon and other herbs that are small delicate plants where you want them but don't necessarily need tons.  When considering a plant you do wish to grow a large quantity of, you can read the next blog on Part 2 - Seasonal Drills.

The solution I came up with for these singluar potted herbs that die off each year had to be one on a budget that can be achieved by anyone whereever they are.  The solution nonetheless came from the Internet having seen a very creative idea of what someone had done using a wooden pallet.

When you look carefully a particular type of pallet is used - one that has braces that are turned in to four legs.   One the basis that old dusty pallets are left around for no particular reason there's a great opportunity to up-cycle here and turn something that is heading for the skip in to something useful. Having knocked the bottom slat off this pallet and removed any nails, it's ready for painting and holds twelve individual pots.

What I found particularly attractive about this method is because of its upright nature you can plant a wide variety in a very small space.  I'm currently dusting off a pallet to paint and prepare.

Generally, I'd say around twelve different seasonal herbs provides a huge variety for cooking and should be enough variety and quantity to spice up any dish, sandwich or platter over the summer months.  So it doesn't matter whether you live in a large estate house, have a tiny yard the size of a postage stamp or you work on a building site, you can have fresh herbs anywhere and everywhere.

Look out for the next entry about Seasonal Drills.