Do You Grow Any (Or All) Of Your Own Herbs?

Sherry

Sherry

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I tend to grow my favorite herbs and find that they are more flavorful than the ones that I've bought in the past. Of course they're more flavorful when they're fresh, you might think; but even dried, they are ever so much better than the bought ones.
Or, it could be that I'm just partial to the ones I grow myself simply because I am the one who grew them, loved them and dried them for winter use. I also have a thing for seeing them all lined up and labeled in jars, just as I do for the things that I can--tomatoes and tomato soups being number one there. I like doing pickles, jellies and jams, too.
I have no idea what that's all about. I really don't. I know only that it brings a feeling of great satisfaction to see all of these things all lined up in jars on my shelves.
Of the herbs that I grow, I like oregano, sweet basil, sage, and rosemary best. I generally plant some cilantro and parsley in spring, as well. Also, I like having some lavender around. And loads of mint. Peppermint tea--hot or iced--is a big favorite around here, with a little spearmint mixed in right along.
I grow my own garlic, too; but I'm not sure exactly what garlic is. I mean, it's not an herb. Not a spice, really. It's a...well, it's sort of like an onion?
Anyway, what are your favorites for growing? Or, what are your favorites to use even if you don't grow them yourself?
 
Since you have opened the gate for me to mention everything I have grown, I will share those things. Sometimes like you though, I get confused about what a herb is. I looked it up and one definition of a herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume".

Green peas, tomatoes, okras, lettuce, parsley, thyme are some of the things I have grown in my garden. Other things like sweet potatoes, pumpkins, squash and others might not fall into the herb category.

When all is said and done, I am delighted to have things home grown. I know everything that goes into producing them.
 
winterybella said:
Green peas, tomatoes, okras, lettuce, parsley, thyme are some of the things I have grown in my garden
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From that list, the only things that would be herbs in my book would be the parsley and thyme. The rest are vegetables.

A slightly better definition would be
Culinary herbs
Culinary herbs are distinguished from vegetables in that, like spices, they are used in small amounts and provide flavour rather than substance to food.
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And to distinguish between a herb and a spice

Culinary use typically distinguishes herbs as referring to the leafy green parts of a plant (either fresh or dried), from a "spice", a product from another part of the plant (usually dried), including seeds, berries, bark, roots and fruits
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.

I grow most of the herbs in use except for coriander. So thyme, parsley, sage, chives, oregano and marjoram all grow by my kitchen door. Coriander I tend to purchase frozen as I need it.

Oh and I grow peppermint by the bucket load literally.
 
I have grown Coriander and parsley successfully, and peppermint...well I don't grow it but it grows itself plenty. I have tried some other ones like basil, oregano, thyme and sage but my chickens ate them.:(
 
I grow rosemary and mint. These seem to grow very easily with little maintenance. I have tried to grow basil as well, but I never seem to succeed in keeping it alive or disease free. I have no idea what I'm doing wrong. I love to be able to take a few herbs from my garden and begin cooking, there is just lovely earthy feeling to being able to do that, which you is nice at times when living in the city.
 
I love being about to go outside and snip fresh herbs when I'm cooking! I usually have a wide variety growing for that purpose as well as a a couple extra plants for the butterflies. In fact, I like to keep a couple dill and fennel plants going just to keep the swallowtail larvae from eating all my parsley. I tend to use basil on an almost daily basis.
 
I love my herbs. To be truthful... my wife's herbs. She has the green thumb and is in charge of making sure we have our supply of assorted herbs, cucumbers, tomato, peppers, and such. I help once things get going and can pick with the best of them. But, I can also destroy any houseplant or garden in a short period of time. I love having fresh selections on hand when ever possible.
 
We grow a fair few herbs, for both flavor (always better fresh!) and also from a cost saving perspective it's much better too!

In our garden right now we have basil, cilantro, rosemary, thyme, and sage.

Our basil plant has certainly been getting its' fair share of use now that summer is here - Caprese salads are something I crave basically every day during summer! Is there anything better than tomato, fresh mozzarella and basil? Yum!
 
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