Buying dried or fresh herbs in the grocery store is expensive. Luckily, it is easy to grow several different herbs at home to save money. Home herb gardens are thrifty, satisfying and make it practical for the gardener to experiment with herbs. Some herbs are particularly easy to grow at home and make good herbs to begin a home herb garden, even for amateur gardeners.
Chives are a versatile herb that can be used to add a subtle onion or garlic flavor to many foods. They especially complement egg and cheese dishes, but they also work well in potato dishes, soups and stews. They can be grown at home, both indoors and out, for a year-round supply of fresh chives.
It is possible to start chives from seed, but it is easy and convenient to buy potted chives at a grocery store or garden center. Simply transfer the potted herb to a sunny garden bed with well-drained, rich soil. Chives grow in a cluster consisting of several small bulbs. The foliage will grow to a height of about twelve inches. Once the plant is well established, dig up a cluster, gently separate the bulbs and replant to increase the number of plants.
The plants will die back in the winter, but can be potted indoors for winter-time use. According to The Forgotten Arts: Growing, Gardening and Cooking with Herbs (Yankee Publishing, 1972), chives can be dug from the garden and potted late in the summer. Once the foliage has died back, freeze the pot for several weeks. Chives need a dormant period in order to stimulate further growth. After a sufficient dormant period, set the potted chives on a sunny windowsill and water.
Lemon balm is a wonderful complement to fruit desserts, hot tea and iced tea. It makes a lovely garnish for any fruit-based dessert and has many medicinal uses. While not as common a culinary herb as chives, lemon balm is easy to grow and easy to use in the kitchen. Growing lemon balm in the home herb garden is a good way to experiment with the herb without the expense of buying it in the grocery store.
Lemon balm is a hardy perennial herb that likes a partially sunny location. It is happiest in well-drained soil. The plant spreads easily on its own and will often grow outside of the allotted space. Simply pull the new shoots to keep them from taking over a garden bed.
The Forgotten Arts suggests that the lemon balm plant can be cut back if it gets too tall. It typically grows to a height of two or three feet. Lemon balm is one of the first plants to appear in the spring and stays green and available until after the first hard frost in the fall. It is unavailable from the home garden only in the deep winter, when it is covered by snow and ice.
Discover the joys of growing a home herb garden by starting with two, easy-to-grow herbs. Lemon balm and chives are easily adapted to any home garden and are practical, delicious culinary herbs.
Sources:
Richard M. Bacon. The Forgotten Arts: Growing, Gardening & Cooking with Herbs. Yankee Publishing, Inc., Dublin, New Hampshire: 1972.
Claire Loewenfeld and Philippa Back. Herbs, Health and Cookery. Gramercy Publishing Company, New York: 1965.
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