It’s only April, which means either you’re already harvesting vegetables from your garden or you’re considering starting one. If starting a garden seems like a daunting task, consider starting a small herb garden that is much more manageable and also provides your meals with the freshest, tastiest ingredients for your spring and summer dishes.
Thankfully, many herbs like it hot, which means they’re perfect for Texas. Besides being edible, they also look beautiful in your backyard and often smell even better than they look. Here are a few herbs and ideas you might consider for your new herb garden:
BASIL: Everyone loves basil, but this little guy likes water, so make sure to plant it next to other herbs that need to be watered frequently – at least once a week. We recommend experimenting with the different varieties of basil. The purple basil is beautiful and tastes amazing!
DILL: Butterflies love dill just as much as we do. If you’re wanting to draw in these gorgeous creatures then plant lots of dill. Make sure to compensate for the fact that they will eat plenty of leaves.
GARLIC: Garlic does best when planted in the fall. We recommend planting short neck varieties, and don’t forget to fertilize with nitrogen every three weeks. It should be ready to harvest early next summer.
MINT: Use mint to make a small aromatic shrub. It comes in a variety of different colors and flavors, and goes quite well with spring cocktails. However, keep it trimmed as it can spread quickly.
CILANTRO: Although cilantro is a common staple in this region for its contribution to numerous Mexican dishes, it does best in cooler weather so plant it in the fall. However, you will want to protect it from a hard frost.
POTTED PLANTS: Texas is full of sunshine but because we do have the occasional frosts, we recommend putting the more sensitive plants in pots that can be easily moved inside. Check out this buzzfeed video on how to make a very cool three-tiered mini herb garden:
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