Ten Healthy Herbs To Grow At Home

You're not alone if you think the prices for healthy herbs in supermarkets are way too expensive. Instead of buying overpriced healthy herbs why not grow them at home for barely any money? You might be wondering what benefits there are to growing your own herbs. Home-grown herbs are healthy and inexpensive, not to mention the fact that they are lot healthier and a lot less expensive than the fresh herbs you can buy at the supermarket.

You might be excited to start growing your herbs at home right now, but it may not be as easy as you think. Growing herbs takes precision and time out of your day. Did you know that most herbs begin to lose their antioxidant capacity, using it to fight the stress of having been cut, as soon as the first 60 minutes after they have been gathered. If you snip your own herbs as you need them from your own living plants, you will get herbs at the peak of their nutritional potential. This basically means they are a lot healthier than the ones you buy at the store.

I grow all of these herbs myself in a particularly hot climate. I spend about three minutes a day watering them, and as long as I don't mind sharing my herbs with the occasional gourmet-minded squirrel that finds its way to my deck, I get a constant supply of all the fresh herbs I need. Here are my personal top ten and how to grow them.

1. Basil.

Basil is basic to making pesto. It's also great in pasta or rice, and as a distinctive flavoring for many kinds of meat. The herb is mildly antiviral and antibacterial. It won't cure the plague but it probably helps you fight infections. But because basil oxidizes quickly after it is cut, it is much better to cut your own basil from your own plant at the last minute so it stays green for the table.

Basil grows up to about 3 feet (a meter) tall even in a modest-sized pot. It is killed by frost but easy to reseed. Pick off flowers to send the plant's energy into its edible leaves.

2. Parsley.

Parsley isn't especially expensive, and good quality parsley is usually available in the market. The advantage of having your own plants at home is that you don't have to worry about your parsley drying up in the refrigerator. Just a trim a little off your own parsley plant when you need it.

Parsley attracts monarch butterflies. You'll have to share your parsley with a colorful caterpillar to provide a home for monarchs, but it is a small price to pay for the beautiful sight when the butterfly emerges.

3. Scallions.

A milder alternative to onions and garlic, scallions are pricey in the supermarket. You can grow your own crop of these pungent purple bulbs in a pot in a sunny place. Just remember to plant in the fall for harvest in the spring. Scallions are sensitive to length of day, and don't grow well when planted out of season.

Seven More Herbs That Are Easy to Grow at Home

One of the most productive "herbs" is one of the most frequently overlooked.

4. Lemons.

If you have a 5-gallon (20-liter) pot and enough space to accommodate a 5-foot tall (1.7 meter) tree indoors in the winter, a Meyer lemon makes an interesting addition to home garden. After the first year, healthy lemons bloom all year and produce fruit all year, the Meyer lemon not exactly "sweet" but beautifully yellow and not especially tart. Be sure to prune your tree during your cooler season to keep it from growing too tall, and remember, if you get winter temperatures below freezing, you will have to protect the tree, providing it with supplemental heat all winter, or bring it indoors into a sunny place.

5. Sage.

Fresh sage isn't easy to find in most markets. When you want to use fresh sage, you almost have to cut your own. Fortunately, this herb is extremely easy to grow, free of pests, and not especially attractive to critters that might dine on your other herbs and vegetables. Even though sage is a desert plant, if you are raising sage in a pot, keep it well watered. Every other day is best unless you live in a particularly hot climate, where everyday watering is a must.

6. Rosemary.

Rosemary flavors roasts, soups, stews, potatoes, and even cookies. This bush-like member of the Mint family requires very little maintenance and can grow to the size of a small tree. The thing to remember when growing rosemary is not to overwater. Too much water, especially in a small pot, quickly kills the plant.

7. Lavender.

Lavender is another herb that isn't always easy to find fresh. It is an interesting addition to salads, casseroles, roasts, and cookies, and with its beautiful purple flowers, it is a beautiful addition to your garden or deck. Make sure the plant gets plenty of sun, but don't expect abundant growth in hot weather.

8. Dill.

Dill is fussy about weather. It grows well in cool weather, but with the onset of summer heat it is likely simply to turn orange and die. Dill produces both "weed" and seed, the green dillweed used to flavor fish and pickles, the dill seed used in baked goods, potatoes, and pickled vegetables. Easy to start, the only problem with dill is that it usually does not survive beyond the middle of spring in much of the United States.

9. Thai peppers.

The Thai hot pepper is a beautiful plant. It grows as a small bush first covered with white flowers and then yielding hundreds of green peppers that turn red as they get ripe. Most animals that invade herb gardens find the peppers themselves to hot for their taste, but both birds and squirrels like to feed on the leaves. If this happens, simply moving the pot to a less easily accesible location may do the trick.

10. Thyme.

Thyme is a seasoning many cooks like to use fresh. The delicate, small leaves don't transport very well, and it's almost essential to raise your own thyme unless you cook recipes that allow for the use of dried thyme. The herb is hard to kill, but for best yields place the pot where it gets lots of morning sunlight and minimal afternoon heat.