Herb Growing for Someone Who Doesn't Know a Thing about Herbs

So, I've been going on a gardening spree lately. And I saw one of the starter kits at good ol' Wal-Mart the other day and picked it up. It had a pot for basil, one for thyme, and another for sage. And I'm all excited because I love pesto and know I can make it with basil and that basil is good for tomato-y foods. But the other two, I don't know a thing about. And I don't know how to use fresh herbs or even what they look like when they're ready to be used. The box said for the best growth to pick them regularly, but I have no idea when that is. Help?

 

picking time refers to when you need it =]
so if you wanted 2 leaves of basil, youd pick 2 leaves

or if the recipe calls for a sprig of thyme, then cut a sprig off (2 or 3 inches long maybe)


as for actually growing them.. i just plant things and water them and hope for the best. i dont bother with the jargon about proper temps, and soil conditions, and this that n the other.. if it wants to grow, then itll grow =]

 

Aren't those cute? I saw the same kit and almost bought one myself! In about 3 months, if everything grows well you may want to consider repotting them. Those are pretty little pots, but your herbs WILL outgrow them unless you use them VERY frequently.

Fresh herbs are wonderful in recipes! You want to roughly double what you would would use with dried herbs, and just snip or shred the little leaves into your recipes. So long as you don't pinch off more than about 2/3 of the plant (once it's grown a bit) it'll grow back - and be healthier for the "pruning."

Thyme is one of my favorite herbs. I use regular & lemon-thyme in my Greek recipes, on top of tomatoes or cottage cheese, shredded throughout fresh green salads, in bread-stuffings and seasoned rice dishes, in most of my soup/stew recipes and I steep the fresh leaves as a tea to soothe the symptoms of bronchitis & strep-throat.

I don't use sage quite as often, but it too is wonderful when added to biscuit recipes, bread-stuffings & seasoned rice, and with anything containing mushrooms, peas, or onions.

Good luck!
love,
mom

 

Thanks!

Yeah, I'm pretty much the same way when it comes to growing things. I just put them in a pot with some soil and make sure to water them everyday and hope something grows. Although, this is the first year I have attempted to grow anything at all. And so far, I'm loving it. Although nothing has reached any real results yet.

How do I know when the plants are mature? Or is it one of those "you just know" things? I've never seen fresh herbs, so I have no clue what they look like. Lol. I've lived a sheltered life, I suppose.

Oh! And I went to water my plants today. And after about 2 days, I already have 2 thyme sprouts showing up. I'm excited to try something new!