A little while back during Reader Request Week, we had several folks ask about herbs. "How should I be pruning them?" "How do I plant them?" "How can I get the most out of them so there's plenty to cook with?" We went straight to the source with Tara Heibel from Sprout Home in Chicago to get our facts straight. Here's a video from Tara speaking directly to you, our Kitchn readers, with her best tips on getting the most out of your herbs.
It's no secret that fresh herbs are one of the quickest ways to dress up a dish and make it sing. It's even better when they come from your own garden instead of paying grocery store prices. Taking care of them isn't as tricky as you might think when you follow these pointers and they'll keep producing for you all through the summer season and even into fall. Happy growing!
Do you have a question for Tara? She's ready and waiting! Let us know in the comments below!
WHO IS TARA HEIBEL? In 2003 Tara put her passions to work for herself and opened a floral and landscape-design business in Chicago known as Sprout Home. Since, she's opened a location in Brooklyn and has made it her mission to spread the word and prove that modern home decor, plants and gardening can all exist in the same space. Her record collection and love of coffee is only exceeded by her knowledge and love for plants, indoors and out.
More Information About Herbs From The Kitchn:
• The Best Way to Measure Fresh Herbs
• Recipe Roundup: 20 Summer Cocktails with Fresh Herbs
• Tips: Three Ways To Preserve Fresh Herbs
(Image: Sprout Home via You Tube)
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Great job. I taught herb classes for years and here in AZ we can grown just about any herb--except dill and cilantro bolts early in the spring. Basil goes wild here but you do have to watch the really intense sun we get so we have to be careful not to have them get to much direct sun. Right now we are enjoying lots of caprese salad with by garden tomatoes and fresh basil.
What are the best herbs to grow inside? I live in an apartment without a balcony, so pretty much all I've got are window ledges. I live in Montreal, Canada, so for part of the year (like now) we get really great, 15-hour-a-day sun, and then in the winter we maybe only get 8-9 hours a day.
I would love some advice about Cilantro specifically. I've tried to grow it multiple times, but it seems to bolt almost as soon as there is enough to eat. Maybe this is just not for my climate, where it goes from too cool to too hot extremely quickly.
Loved this video! Great advice for those of us who are growing herbs in our gardens. @mandarinmarie, I don't know where you are (I'm in AL) but I have been completely unsuccessful at growing cilantro. It's just too hot too fast here. Thyme, rosemary, sage, oregano, and basil do very well. I've resigned myself to grocery store cilantro when I need it.
Thanks Ima--I'm in Maryland, so north of you but with a very short spring. Oh well. :(
I am also unsuccessful at growing cilantro and I'm in NY. I planted some starts in mid-May, went away for a week (during which it rained a lot) and came back to bolting plants. :(
Thanks for the great tips. I would love to know how to harvest/prune parsley. Do you also pinch it ? What about mint, sage and rosmary? --- We've got all these growing on our balcony in Switzerland ! :)
Thanks for the great video.I would like to know the best methods to preserve different herbs. My basil, cilantro, dill, parsley, and mint are growing at a rate that I cannot possibly use them all fresh.
wonderfully helpful, thank you!!
Julie42 - If you are receiving more than 6 hours of direct sun in any part of your house you can actually grow any herb you want! The trick is that it has to be direct. Basil, rosemary, thyme are all winners!
MANDARINMARIE & HBROGANSULLIVAN & IMA WURDIBITSCH - Cilantro can be tricky as it's not a big fan of its roots going above 78 degrees. Although that sounds impossible in most parts of the country during the summer months, it is ok with partial shade and being reseeded frequently, the same way you do lettuce. You can also insulate your containers to help keep the soil cool if you're really set on growing it on your own.
CHARLOTTE007 - When growing parsley you'll want to continually reseed your garden. Once you've eaten it or started to cut it for use in the kitchen it might grow a few new leaves but not many. The only way to keep it producing is to keep those seeds a sprouting!
As far as mint, sage and rosemary you can cut them back to the next leaf node to keep the plant producing.
AYY289- The Kitchn is actually and excellent resource for this. One of my favorite methods of saving herbs so you can use them year round is well documented here: http://www.thekitchn.com/quick-tip-leftover-herb-ice-cu-54187