Gardening

So, you might not consider yourself much of a home gardener, but you love to cook, and you go crazy over seasonally fresh flavor. This is where growing culinary herbs comes into play. Over the next few weeks, I’m going to show you how easy it is to grow your own herbs, whether you’re limited by time, space, money, or that highly coveted green thumb. Let’s start this series with chives.

It's easier than you think.

Every one of these picks is $40 or under.

These are the two easiest ways to make your mint last.

You may not know them by name, but if you’ve got houseplants, you’ve probably come across fungus gnats.

Pour some beer into empty tuna cans!

If you can't even keep an air plant alive, this post is for you!

Cottagecore is trending outside too!

You won't believe it's made entirely from LEGOs.

Don't bother with seeds.

This tip comes just in time for spring.

Yes, even you!

It's less than 40 square feet! And yet, it gives me so much fresh produce!

It's super low-maintenance (promise!) and can be grown inside or in a garden.

Number four is going to save you so much money at the grocery store!

The kits include everything you need to nurture your edible garden, all you have to do is put on your wide-brimmed hat and get digging.

Surefire advice from people who battle these pesky insects year-round.

My victory garden has never looked better!

The more you trim your thyme, the more it grows!

It's pretty simple — you just need to know a few things first.

It's super easy to grow! It's just a little harder to keep it where it belongs. We can help!

Get ready! May is the perfect time to start growing your own basil!

Like a heartier version of arugula, they are not only edible but actually delicious.

Grow a full head of garlic from a clove you already have!

A cold spell or frost will make the leaves taste noticeably sweeter.

Sage is an intensely aromatic herb, and unlike its tender cousins — basil and parsley — its leaves are sturdy and resinous. Because of sage’s powerful aroma and oily texture, a little goes long way, flavor-wise. The preserving possibilities are numerous, so we get to be creative with this potent perennial. Infuse honey with dried sage leaves to add flavor to hot or iced tea, sweeten baked goods, add to a citrus-y marinade, or serve on a cheese plate.

"If you have nothing left to give right now, consider buying a plant start."

Does your basil plant have pretty white or purple flowers? Yeah, they actually need to go.

The experts say it's easy!

I'm also gonna start growing my own herbs now!

You don’t even have to leave home to get your grow on!

First of all, buying a potted basil plant is MUCH better than buying those plastic clamshell packages.

Even if you only have room for just one or two containers on your balcony, you’d be surprised at how much you can work with in that setting.

It's easy to feel overwhelmed, but you really only need these 3 things.

Whether you’re working with a tiny balcony, a few square feet of dirt, or a window box; whether your porch is soaked in 10 hours of sunlight a day or you live in the shadow of a high-rise, you can start your own tiny victory garden.

I earned two degrees in agriculture, and I still couldn’t grow a blade of grass. Then I tried a seed subscription box.

Yes, really, for months.

If you're eating foods like potatoes, peppers, and squash, then you might already have everything you need to start growing your own vegetable garden.

If you’re intimidated by the idea of indoor gardening, don’t be! Earlier this year, we worked with green-thumbed pro Amy Pennington, author of Apartment Gardening, to come up with a list of the four easiest things you could possibly grow in your kitchen. She’s got all sorts of tips, tricks, and techniques — and she was willing to share them! Keep reading to check out the four easiest things you can grow indoors. Mint is one of those plants that you really cannot mess up.

You spend a lot of time cultivating your backyard garden, so why not spruce it up with adorable garden markers that will add a touch of cuteness and make it easy to find what’s what? Set up some of these markers and you’ll never again have to wonder if you’re you’re looking at the parsley or the cilantro.

Although I do most of the cooking and cleaning, I like to joke that my husband is in charge of keeping all the living things in our house alive. He makes sure I eat real meals like a normal human (not just cheese and gummy candies), he feeds our fish and the dog we sometimes babysit, and he’s in charge of all our plants. This division of labor came about after I killed three too many succulents and an air plant. (Seriously, how does one kill an air plant?

Although I do most of the cooking and cleaning, I like to joke that my husband is in charge of keeping all the living things in our house alive. He makes sure I eat real meals like a normal human (not just cheese and gummy candies), he feeds our fish and the dog we sometimes babysit, and he’s in charge of all our plants. This division of labor came about after I killed three too many succulents and an air plant. (Seriously, how does one kill an air plant?

It’s happening! Gardening season, that is. Before you know it, you’ll be up to your eyeballs (or at least your shins) in fresh herbs, vegetables, and more. Mind your peas and corral all that mint you’re growing with these charming DIY garden markers — they’re all made from things you probably already have around the house. Want to be the coolest mom or dad on the block? Task your kids with creating these cheeky garden markers from The Shopping Mama.

Maybe you’ve tried to grow basil in your kitchen before? And maybe you were lucky to get four leaves — two of which you were actually willing to eat? Trust me, I get it. I didn’t always have a green thumb, but now I’ve literally written the book on indoor gardening. The good news: Plants don’t require a ton to grow (the official list includes light, nutrients, water, and a little bit of love). Here’s how to make sure those needs get met.

You know all those grow-your-own basil kits sold online and in novelty stores? I do not understand them! For starters, they almost never work (or they do … until they don’t). And secondly, they’re just totally unnecessary. Basil is actually not hard to grow, and you’ll have a lot more success if you just do it sans kit. Here’s what you need to know about growing basil in your kitchen without a kit.

It really is as easy as you think it is!

Mint is one of those plants that you really cannot mess up. Promise. It can handle the abuse of lack of watering or poor sunlight. The only real risk is that the plant chokes itself (silly, plant!) but that can be avoided easily. Here’s everything you need to know about growing mint in your kitchen. Mint is a considered a “runner” — a plant that sends out horizontal root runners, which produce new stalks. This is both good news and bad news for small gardens.

What if I told you that you could grow your own salad (or, at the very least, a leafy base of arugula) inside the comforts of your kitchen? It’s true, you can! Usually when it comes to indoor gardening, people tend to think of herbs or, well, just succulents. But it’s actually super easy to grow arugula on your windowsill. Here’s what you need to know.

There are two ways to start a garden: You can grow something from seeds, or transplant a start (which is a fancy way of talking about a mini plant that’s already started for you). Which one is better? It depends! It depends on what it is that you want to grow, how much time you have, and your level of experience. Don’t worry, it’s not all that complicated. Here’s a useful guide on both strategies so that you can make the most of your garden space.

If you’ve spent any time on Pinterest lately, you may have noticed the ever-growing pallet garden trend. They seem like a good idea in theory: Pallets are used (in great quantities!) to ship boxes, cargo, and lumber, and are often discarded in heaps outside big-box stores, making them fairly easy to scrounge up. Plus, they’re a good solution for small-space gardening, as they take advantage of vertical space and fit on even the smallest balconies.

Are you starting a garden this spring? For the last several years, the only gardens we’ve been planting have been in containers. But growing food in containers shouldn’t be a drawback; urban gardening in pots, containers, and windowboxes can yield quite a lot of food. Take a look at this gallery of ten different containers and good ideas for gardening in small spaces. TOP ROW • 1 NYC Garden from Flickr member Tashian.

Community gardens can do a lot to make more good: Studies find they help reduce crime, bring in new businesses to the area, create a better network of neighbors, and have a positive effect on property values. Some community gardens even deliver fresh food to the people who need it the most. That all gets a (green) thumbs up, right? Here’s how you can get the green light to put your green thumb to work. Not all gardens are the same. Some are just designed for plants, bushes, and flowers.

Those of you with a green thumb know that growing an herb garden in the kitchen can be tricky — especially if space is limited. Put a few pots on your windowsill and they’re just begging to be knocked over. Put ’em too close the range and they’ll wilt faster than you can chop ’em. But hang them on a pegboard and, well, you’ve got the perfect solution.

Michelle Obama’s platform as First Lady was to get America to eat better. Her childhood obesity campaign entailed an array of projects from school nutrition reform to a cultivating a garden at the White House. Much has been speculated about the fate of the latter — the 2,800-square-foot vegetable garden located on the South Lawn — under a Trump presidency.

Nope, you’re not looking at some wacky palm tree — that’s how Brussels sprouts actually grow. We’re blowing your mind a little bit right now, aren’t we? For the last few years, Brussels sprouts have been, um, sprouting up on menus everywhere. While most of our 12-year-old selves hated sprouts (as people sometimes affectionally call them), as adults we now gobble them up served with bacon, covered in buffalo sauce, shredded into a slaw … the list goes on.

Out of something the same can grow something new. Not to get too precious, but it really is the miracle of life — and there’s something wonderful about bringing that miracle into your home, in the form of plants, flowers, or herbs. The RÅSKOG cart can play the role of plant stand quite well, but I like it in particular for a good old-fashioned herb garden. The sturdy casters allow for easy transportation, letting you wheel the cart into the perfect afternoon sunny spot.

Perhaps, like me, you have always dreamed of having an indoor herb garden to add freshness and flavor to your dishes with basically zero effort. In my mind, the scenario goes something like this: I’m thinking about what to make for breakfast and I decide I’ll whip up a frittata, making use of those eggs I picked up at the farm, that last nub of goat cheese, and, of course, herbs from my garden! Needless to say, this has never happened.

If you’ve been wanting to try your hand at vegetable gardening, but are intimidated or just facing a lack of space, microgreens just might be your answer. They are quick to grow and only take up a windowsill’s worth of space. And if you want to make it even easier, this kit has everything you need to get started.

If you’ve struggled to keep a garden alive in the past, or forget what you’ve done year to year to make your garden successful, we have a little trick that might help you finally get things under control: the Gardener’s One Line a Day from Chronicle Books. While the intent of this pocket-sized grass-green notebook may be a bit more about reflection, we love to use it with a slightly more practical bent.

Our lives are lived in the kitchen, measured in cups of flour and sticks of butter and shared with friends, family, and furry creatures. But this week, we delved into a different kind of life in the kitchen — plant life. And we asked Abbye Churchill, herbalist and co-author of A Wilder Life: A Season-by-Season Guide to Getting in Touch with Nature, to be our green guide.