7 Secrets to Your Successful
Indoor Herb Garden
3nd Edition

Your Herb Garden Series

By
John B. Green

Contents

Dedication

Introduction

Chapter One Types of Herbs

Aromatic herbs

Ornamental herbs

Growing Medicinal Herbs

Chapter Two Why Grow  a Culinary Herb Garden?

Chapter Three 7 Secrets to Your Successful  Indoor Herb Garden

Secret One -- How to Choose the Right Culinary Herbs

Herb Summary

Secret Two – Starting with Plants and Why

Secret Three - Containers

Container Preparation

Secret Four – Use a Proper Growing Medium

Soil Mix Recipes

Video How to Mix Potting Soil

Secret Five - Lighting

Secret Six – Air Circulation

Secret Seven - Water for Success

Chapter Four Other Tips

Fertilizing

Mini Tools for Mini Gardens

Pest Control

How to Transplant Your Herbs

Transplanting Video

Success and Failures

Indoor Herb Garden Plans

Costs

Chapter Five Storing Your Herbs

How to Dry Your Herbs

Freezing Herbs

Herb Dehydrators

General Storage Tips

Chapter Six  Recipes

Basil

My Red Sauce #1– serves 4

Red Sauce #2 – Serves 2

Herb Burgers – Serves 4

Kitchen Sink Meat Loaf – Serves 8

Dill

Basic Lemon-Dill Butter

Garlic

Parsley

Mediterranean Tilapia – Serves 4

Rice Pilaf

My Tuna Salad with Parsley – Serves 4 to 6

Marjoram

Rosemary

My Herb Pork Chops – Serves 4

Sage

Summer Savory

Thyme

French Tarragon

My Chicken Breasts Tarragon – Serves 4

Home Made Salad Dressing – Serves 6 to 8

Sicilian – Italiano Pasta Salad – Serves 4 to 6

Resources

Free Herb Information:

Websites – Herb Gardens and Planning

Containers

Supplemental Lighting

Tips for Success

Conclusion

Disclaimer

See the Resources Section for information about how to receive free herb information.

Dedication

To my Mother Fern who loved growing plants indoors and out. To my father Clarence who was there to turn the garden over, get it ready and help with the planting.

To my farmer Aunt and Uncle, Beulah and Clarence who taught me to love the soil, the garden plants and the bounty a garden can produce.

To all my gardens who have given me so much joy and produce over the years.

To my loyal readers, may your journey through Your Herb Garden Series be inspiring and productive for you.

My Indoor Herb Garden 12/31/2011

My Indoor Herb Garden 3/20/2012

My Indoor Herb Garden 4/13/2012

Introduction

Growing up in Iowa in the early 1950’s, a garden was a given. The country was still recovering from the effects of World War II and the Korean War. Many vegetables and some fruits were easier to grow than buy at the grocery store. Iowa soil where I grew up was so fertile about all you had to do was turn it over, put a seed in it, cover it, water it and stand back.

Moving to Colorado was a real shock when it came to gardening. I had never experienced clay soil like we have here. My first garden, the carrots went down about 3 inches and up out of the ground about 2 inches before dying out. It took me some 5 years of experimenting and reading before learning how to make dirt out of clay. But once the clay was amended properly, it makes a wonderful growing medium.

Having lived in a Condo for 17 years, I have not had an outdoor garden for a long time. Nor have I grown indoor plants for some years. This year, the urge to start growing green plants has taken over. So my choices were pretty much the same as yours might be.

1.        House plants to brighten up a room.

2.       Vegetables to eat.

3.       Herbs to use for Medicinal Purposes. (And I am not talking about marijuana.) I mean edphedra or Ephedra sinica, Echinacea and other similar medicinal herbs. Before the discovery and widespread use of antibiotics, the herb Echinacea -- which may be better known as the purple coneflower -- was one of the most widely prescribed medicines in the United States. 

Today Echinacea is making a comeback for its outstanding ability to help boost the immune system.  Many individuals take this herb in a capsule or tablet form in order to fend off colds and flu throughout the rough, winter months.  Actually, today's modern research has confirmed this plants ability to bolster your immune system.  Active ingredients in this herb actually stimulate the production of the much-needed disease-fighting white blood cells.

4.      Ornamental Herbs for attractiveness

5.       Herbs for cooking or Culinary Herbs. Herbs such as basil, thyme, parsley, cumin, oregano, cilantro, cutting celery, bay leaf, tarragon, dill and similar culinary herbs.

Rodale’s Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening (copyright 2009) also gives these rules of thumb for telling spices and herbs apart:

Herbs are green and often have subtle flavors.  Their leaves are used both fresh and dried. Spices are usually seeds, roots, fruits, flowers, or bark. Spices have a tendency to be shades of brown, black or red, with dramatic, pungent flavors.

Culinary herbs are cultivated to flavor other foods, including vegetables, meats, vinegars, butters and oils. Some culinary herbs are used to brew herb teas.

My choice was to stick to the Culinary Herbs since I like to cook. The next choice was an outdoor patio herb garden or an indoor herb garden. Starting my garden in winter made the choice for me. My herb garden would be indoors.

Chapter One
Types of Herbs

Aromatic herbs

While some of these may include culinary herbs, aromatic herbs most often are grown for additives in products such as perfumes, toilet water and other items needing a vibrant fragrance.

If your reason for growing herbs is for to obtain additives, you will not be distancing yourself from many other herb growers. But few herbalists cultivate for just for this reason alone. But that's not to suggest the aromatic herbs you grow won't produce a stunning effect in your garden -- because they absolutely will.

Aromatic herbs, just like their culinary cousins possess a long, rich history that goes as far back as the culinary plants. The ancient Egyptians perhaps were one of the most renowned of peoples to use herbs. And they are especially known for the development of a fragrance called Kyphi. Today, we would call it ”incense." This fragrance was traditionally used in religious services as part of a general purification ceremony.

Ornamental herbs

You may also desire to grow herbs just to make a bright environment for visual esthetics. Without a doubt, you've seen the brightly colored flowers and foliage of many of these gorgeous plants.  Many have less color and more restrained pastel or even whitish looking flowers. 

These are classified as ornamental herbs, whose sole purpose is to be decorative.  Of course they may be some overlapping.  Some culinary herbs are very beautiful as they grow.  Many medicinal herbs, such as Echinacea or the purple coneflower are stunning to behold.

Ornamental herbs can also be beautiful because of the texture of their leaves in addition to their colors. These plants make perfect accents for a balcony or to line your flower bed.

And if your main purpose is for ornamental or decorative reasons, you may never harvest these plants.

If you're considering adding herbs to your world for this reason, valerian -- also a very valuable medicinal herb -- is a perfect choice.  It produces crimson blossoms.  Borage and chicory are also good choices here, with their blue flowers.  But don't overlook other herbs that could add delightful color including variegated thyme, mint lavender and even chives.

Another perfect example of an ornamental herb is one called the Dittany of Crete.  It's a type of oregano.  Forming a low mound and producing leaves with fine silvery hairs, this plant wasn't made to add flavor to any meal -- it was created to be admired!

Growing Medicinal Herbs

Medicinal herbs have one of the most interesting of all the classifications of herbs. In the past, our ancestors highly prized these plants for their ability to cure illness and heal wounds. Often these healing herbs were the only tools that stood between them and death. Before medical knowledge became widespread, every family had at least one amateur herbalist in the family tree.

Herbal medicines are certainly the oldest type of "medical care" recognized by the human species.  You can't find one culture throughout history -- you could travel as far back in time as you like -- that didn't use some plant to take care of the ill individuals in its society.

Even primitive humans observed and appreciated the many different types of plants and herbs which were available to help heal their families and relatives. It is too bad, we don't have some record of how mankind or perhaps more appropriately womankind came to realize that plants and herbs possessed such healing power.

But discover it they did. Paleontologists have uncovered evidence of herbs alongside the bones of a Stone Age-era man in Iraq. The herbs buried with him, by some thoughtful relative, were marshmallow root, hyacinth and yarrow.

Today marshmallow root is utilized to ease inflammations –like a painful throat. Hyacinth is employed for a diuretic that encourages tissues to discharge any excess water they might be retaining.  And yarrow can be a cold or fever remedy that was practically ubiquitous in its use before the synthesis of aspirin.ds

Some other well known medicinal herbs are Ephedra used for a decongestant. Ephedra is the basis for pseudoephedrine decongestant drugs and should not be used except under the supervision of your doctor.

Echinacea is better known as the purple coneflower and is used to boost the immune system and ward off colds. The bark of the white willow tree was used for generations to relieve pain before scientists isolated the pain relieving chemical and synthesized aspirin.

As a budding herbalist, you should know that different parts of the herbs are used for different applications. The flowers, stems, roots, fruits and leaves may all be used depending on the symptoms and health issues involved. Different applications of medicinal herbs are:

1.        Infusions

2.       Teas

3.       Poultices

4.      Tinctures

5.       Herbal Plasters

No medicinal herb should be used without consulting a certified herbalist and/or your doctor. Not even the culinary herbs which have medicinal uses.

We will look at growing the other kinds of herbs in future books in the Your Herb Garden Series.

Now let’s move on to how to grow your Indoor Culinary Herb Garden.

Chapter Two
Why Grow
a Culinary Herb Garden?

You may think you want to grow a Culinary Herb garden for herbs to use in cooking, add to your salads or making seasoned oils or vinegars for salads. And you would be right of course! Then there is making flavored oils and vinegars as gifts for friends and family members.

But there are other reasons for doing a little indoor gardening. There is a return to the primal sense of nature driven by your own small piece of nature inside of you. Working with plants and soil, relieves stress, it gets us back to a simpler time of life and there is a sense of accomplishment in growing plants. Indoor herb gardens can be very esthetically pleasing to look at plus they can smell good too.  Spending a small amount of time caring for your garden each day allows an escape from the cares of the day. Just ask a bonsai gardener about this.

In our journey we will look at container gardening indoors. The types of herbs to grow, whether to start from seed or plants (Secret One), starting from plants or seeds (Secret Two)kinds of pots and containers (Secret Three), soils (Secret Four), Lighting (Secret Five), Air Circulation (Secret Six), How to Water (Secret 7), fertilizers, mini-garden tools, pest control, successes and failures and why, harvesting your herbs and recipes.

Whatever you choose, just be prepared to make choices.  And there are plenty of them.  Of course, this sounds overwhelming at first.  But when our journey is over, you will arrive at a place knowing your intentions, well armed with the names of a few herbs you like including some of your favorites and the knowledge to succeed with your indoor garden.

And hopefully, as we travel together, you and I, you'll discover a few more herbs you hadn't initially considered.  After all that's the true joy of herb gardening -- watching something unexpected spring up.

Chapter Three
7 Secrets to Your Successful
Indoor Herb Garden

1.        How to choose the right culinary herbs for your needs.

2.       Containers – which ones are right for your garden – How to prepare your containers for success.

3.       Starting with plants not seeds and why.

4.      Use a proper growing medium – Suggested Grow Medium Recipes

5.       How much light does your garden need? – Where to place your garden for maximum success. Even indoors this is an important choice.

6.       Air Circulation – Why proper air circulation is important.

7.       How to water for success. – The proper tools to avoid overwatering.

Secret One -- How to Choose the Right Culinary Herbs

For many people, culinary herbs are the most recognizable and the most useful.  Even those who have never used an herbal supplement in their life, know what some fresh basil can do to a meal, the difference some oregano can make in spaghetti sauce or how some fresh chives can make a baked potato come to life. 

What is a Culinary Herb? Most of us would be at a loss to give a good definition so let me help out.

Culinary herbs are sometimes referred to as sweet herbs. They are those plants, whether they are annual, biennial or perennial, that have tender roots or ripe seeds.  They also possess an aromatic fragrance (yes, they smell darned good!) and they have a great flavor.

Cooks have been using culinary herbs for thousands of years to spice up our food.  Paleontologists have discovered the ancient Egyptians used herbs even before the pharaohs ordered the building of the pyramids.

Similarly, the ancient Chinese naturally turned to the plants in their gardens in order to enhance the flavor and appearance of the meals.

The Bible mentions herbs such as mint, cumin and other herbs being used to pay tithes.

Hyssop from the Bible can still be found.

Photo Taken by Author with permission at
TagawaGardens – Aurora, CO

Here in this one herb, you have an ornamental and a culinary herb where the flower and the leaves can be used in cooking.

Choosing the right herbs for your garden can be a bit confusing when you are starting out. There are the standard Italian herbs of basil, bay laurel leaf, leaf marjoram, Italian parsley, standard curly leaf parsley, garlic, rosemary, thyme, sage and oregano. There is tarragon for use in chicken tarragon. There are a variety of Asian cooking herbs such as Thai Basil and Vietnamese Coriander. There is cilantro and cumin used in Mexican cooking.

So where do you start?  How about some Top 10 Lists of Culinary Herbs

|  http://containerherbgardening.com/top-ten-culinary-herb-garden-plants/
 1 |  Basil
 2 |  Chives
 3 |  Coriander/Cilantro
 4 |  Dill
 5 |  Fennel
 6 |  Mint
 7 |  Parsley
 8 |  Sage
 9 |  Tarragon
 10 |  Thyme

|  http://reciperelay.com/marcs-top-ten-culinary-herbs/
 1 |  Basil
 2 |  Parsley
 3 |  Cilantro
 4 |  Fennel
 5 |  Mint
 6 |  Rosemary
 7 |  Tarragon
 8 |  Sage
 9 |  Chives
 10 |  Oregano

|  http://www.neuhsa.org/topten.html
 1 |  Basil
 2 |  Chives
 3 |  Cilantro
 4 |  Dill
 5 |  Mint
 6 |  Oregano
 7 |  Parsley
 8 |  Rosemary
 9 |  Sage
 10 |  Savory
 11 |  Thyme

As you can see, the top ten list varies all over the place. Some people include garlic in the list and leave out other herbs. Some include lovage for example. My suggestion is to make your own top ten list based on what you use most and like. How about starting with your pantry?

If you cook with herbs at all, start with your pantry to see what you use most. This is my pantry list.

 Type of Herb |  Herb |  Frequency of Use |  Current Supply
 Annual |  Basil |  Always in Italian red sauce, some pestos |  ½ regular bottle
 Annual |  Cilantro |  Almost never – I don’t care for the taste |
 Annual |  Dill Weed |  Always in tuna salad |  ½ std bottle
 Perennial but grown as Annual |  Garlic |  Used on steaks and other meats, in red sauce |  ½ bottle powered
 Annual |  Leaf Marjoram |  Always in red sauce, some on herbed chicken |  1/3 std can
 Annual |  Summer Savory |   Used on herb pork chops or chicken, bean soups, chicken soup, red sauce |  None
 Biennial |  Common or Curly Leaf Parsley |  Always in red sauce, often on pork chops, chicken, or in tuna salad |  ½ std bottle
 Perennial |  Bay Laurel |  Used to use in red sauce |  None
 Perennial |  Chives |   On Baked Potato |  ½ bottle dried
 Perennial |  Rosemary |  Always in red sauce and on herbed pork chops or chicken |  ½ small can
 Perennial |  Thyme |  Sparingly in red sauce |  1/3 powered bottle
 Perennial |  Oregano |  Sometimes in red sauce or other Italian dishes |  ¼ bottle
 Perennial |  Sage |  Always in red sauce and gently with herbed chicken |  ½ std bottle
 Perennial |  Summer Savory |   Hearty bean soups or stews, rich meats |  None
 Perennial |  Tarragon |  Used for Chicken Tarragon |  ½ std can

From my chart of 16 herbs, I would start with basil, curly leaf parsley and Italian parsley, leaf marjoram, sage, rosemary, tarragon. Then add dill, both summer and winter savory, garlic and bay laurel later.

Checking the pantry is just my method, you could also research what is easiest to grow indoors or what looks like fun.  Google  - what herbs are easiest to grow indoors or the same with quotes around it.  This is a good Google query
what herbs are easiest to grow on a windowsill both without and with quotes.

http://www.richters.com is an excellent garden site too. Another site is http://www.guide-to-houseplants.com/indoor-herb-gardens.html

My Top Ten List

|  My List |  Start from Seed |  Start From Plant
 1 |  Basil (sweet basil) |  Yes |  Yes
 2 |  Dill |  Yes |  easiest
 3 |  Garlic |  Not recommended |  Start with one or two bulbs from store bought garlic or nursery plants for better selection
 4 |  Common or Curly Leaf Parsley |  Yes but germinates slowly-soak overnight before planting |  Plants are quicker
 5 |  Leaf Marjoram |  Yes |  seedling or nursery plant is quicker
 6 |  Rosemary |  Yes but not recommended |  6 inch long stem cuttings or full plant from nursery
 7 |  Summer Savory |  Yes but slow germination about 3 weeks |  Nursery plant quicker
 8 |  Thyme |  yes |  Nursery plant quicker
 9 |  Sage |  yes |  Nursery plants quicker
 10 |  Tarragon |  Not recommended |  Root cutting or nursery plant

1. Basil – Originated in India and is a member of the mint family. Sweet or common basil is used in Italian cooking and pesto sauce. There are a variety of Asian and Thai basils that are used in Asian recipes.

Wikipedia.org (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_basil_cultivars ) lists about 30 different varieties of basil including one “Lettuce Leaf Basil” with leaves so large they are used in salads. Herbs2000.com/basil states 150 varieties of basil are cultivated around the world so you can find the ones perfect for your cooking tastes.

Sweet Basil has a strong clove scent when fresh. It is a spicy herb with hints of mint and clove that goes well with almost any tomato dish or sauce. Use it on salads, hamburger, chicken or cottage cheese. Basil is also reputed to be an anti-inflammatory, the fresh leaves used for insect bites and for some respiratory problems.

Windowsill Greek Basil

Starting – Can be started from seed but a nursery plant will get your indoor garden going sooner. Tagawa Gardens in Aurora, CO charges about $4.00 per plant in a 4 inch plastic pot in season. One plant properly taken care of should be all you would need. The mature plant grows to about 18 inches tall so allow both lateral and overhead room. Basil can tolerate a wide ph range from 4.3 (very acidic) to 8.4 on the basic or alkaline side. (A ph of 7 is neutral)with the best range about 6.3 ph. Use a soil test kit or soil meter to determine the ph. Soil test kits I researched range from about four dollars to eighteen dollars. They are available from most seed and nursery companies or your local nursery. A soil test meter will range from about nine to 15 dollars and is much easier to use than a soil test kit. 

Temperature – Basil will not tolerate temperatures much below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. So make sure to keep your plants in a warm sunny location or under artificial lighting for plants. If necessary, use a heat strip to keep your pots and the plant roots warm.

Containers – porous, breathable terra cotta clay pots with the large drainage hole are good for growing single basil plants. SAVE MONEY HINT -- check a local Dollar Tree store in your area. (Poundland in the UK.) Everything is $1 or less. They do carry terra cotta and plastic pots. Also Google (terra cotta pots ) and do some research. Hey research can be fun. A 6.5 or 7 inch pot per one plant should be about right.

Almost any container can be used for your indoor garden. Just make sure it has adequate drainage. Nothing will kill a plant faster than overwatering with bad drainage. Your plants will get root rot and die. Water when the soil is dry to the touch about 1 inch down. Place container in sunny location to receive around six hours a day of direct sunlight. Supplement as needed with artificial grow lighting up to 10 to 12 hours a day.

Harvesting – Individual leaves can be plucked and used anytime. For larger harvests for drying or using in oils and vinegars, wait until the flowers bloom. Then pick the flowering tops and leaves for sorting and use. Using a sharp knife or scissors will cause the least damage to the plant. Make sure to leave at least 4 or 5 leaf sets and flowers on the plant to keep it alive.

When using in recipes, individual leaves will give the most flavor by tearing rather than cutting. But using a blender or food processor to make pesto is the only way to go. 

2. Dill – May also be known as American or Common Dill.  Dill is an old plant that is even discussed in Egyptian writings over 5,000 years old. The plant bears feathery leaves on a hollow stems. When flowering, dill produces a large number of yellow colored flowers. It is another annual aromatic herb that is easily grown from seed. The taste is slightly bitter and sharp.

Dill Image Purchased from
© http://www.dreamstime.com/Zhugin_info | http://www.dreamstime.com/

Starting -- When growing in pots use a larger container, 12 inches and plant just a few seeds about 4 to 6 inches apart. When you get some seedlings up, transplant or thin to 3 plants per pot. Dill grows to about 30 inches in height so allow lots of room.

Temperature – Dill is a hardy plant and can tolerate temperatures to as low as 25 degrees Fahrenheit for short periods. Because of this low temperature tolerance, it can be sown outside in the early spring or in a pot set in a cool place for a couple of days to assist seed germination.

Containers – Again the terra cotta pots are best but a plastic tray with a drain pan under it may also be used. If using a tray, dill plants in individual small pots can make be a workable arrangement.

Light – Dill needs a lot of light -- At least 5 hours of direct sunlight daily or up to 12 hours of bright intensity artificial light per day.

Harvesting – Pick leaves as flowers start to open. After full blooms are achieved, leaf production stops. Harvest seeds when they are flat or brown.

Uses – In potato salad, omelets, sprinkle in salads or on sliced cucumbers and tomatoes, over cooked green beans , on salmon before broiling, brighten up your tuna salad with a bit of dill and combine with garlic and pepper to make a highly spiced pork roast. Use the leaves and seeds to make pickles, beet dishes, in sauerkraut dishes and for making spiced vinegars.

3. Garlic – The part that we use in cooking is also the part that propagates the plant. Garlic is generally grown from each clove in a bulb.  Garlic is very long growing period from planting to harvest. If planting outdoors, you can plant cloves 1 ½ inches deep in Oct to mid November for harvest in June next year. That is if you are in a temperature zone where the ground doesn’t freeze below 6 inches deep. Otherwise you will have to start in pots indoors. Growing indoors garlic should also be started in Oct because of the long growing period. Garlic requires a lot of sun like most indoor herbs. Your seed garlic should be chilled in the refrigerator for a period of time to awaken it out of dormancy. (I have seen garlic bulbs from the grocery put out a 6 inch shoot if left long enough in the vegetable drawer). When starting garlic, it is suggested you use nursery bulbs of one of the French varieties of garlic.

Garlic Plants Growing -- Purchased from
© http://www.dreamstime.com/Digitalvox_info | http://www.dreamstime.com/

Starting – Use a pot of at least 6 inch diameter filled with potting soil that will drain well. Peel the husk off each clove to be planted. Plant with the slightly concave end down since the shoot comes out of the other end. Plant about 1 ½ inches deep. Water well and drain. Then give the little guys a lot of sunlight. At least 5 to 6 hours each day. And I would add a couple of hours of artificial light to that.

Patience – is required for the garlic to grow and produce usable bulbs. The Bulb is the only part used in cooking. (Growing period will be around 90 to 120 days in most cases.)

Storing – Never in oil as that can lead to botulism. Store it in a cool place away from direct sunlight. The advice is to not store in the refrigerator but I have done so without any seeming damage to the bulb. But I did put the bulb in a plastic bag and kept it in a moisture and temperature controlled vegetable drawer. Once it sprouts or goes soft throw it out.

Uses – In red sauces for Italian cooking, with about any tomato dish, garlic mushroom chicken, fresh garlic bread and many other recipes.

Garlic Chives are a good alternative to garlic. The chives are easier to grow and are milder in flavor than regular garlic bulbs.

Garlic Chives 4/15/2012

4. Common or Curly Leaf Parsley – Parsley is another herb that has been used for thousands of years. It originated in Italy and the Mediterranean region as far as I can tell from my research. Other common varieties are Italian flat leaf and Hamberg. 

Starting – Parsley is well suited to growing in containers from cups to pots. Just make sure the containers have good drainage. When starting parsley from seed, soak the seeds overnight in warm water to shorten the germination time. If using a 6 inch pot, plant the seeds about 1/8 inch deep and spritz with water from a spray bottle. Cover the pot with plastic wrap and secure with a rubber band or string. Set the pot in a windowsill with good indirect sunlight. (This method makes the pot into a mini green house. Poke two or three holes to allow some moisture to escape). Every two to three days loosen the plastic wrap to check the soil. It should be just moist to the touch and not wet. Germination should happen in 4 to 6 weeks. The seedlings look like blades of grass as they get above ground. At this stage, thin to 2 to 3 plants per pot. If growing in a cup, thin to one plant.  Parsley tolerates full sun or part shade. But indoors, I would try to set it to get at least 5 to 6 hours of sun per day.

Harvesting – Cut individual shoots of parsley at ground level to stimulate new growth. Otherwise cut individual leaves for use.

Storing – While parsley will freeze well, it loses a lot of taste this way. Drying for storage is a better method.

Uses – For many years, parsley was used mostly as a garnish before actually being used in cooking. It can be used in salads as it is a good source of Vitamins A, C and especially K. Use it in soups, stews, on steaks or other meats, in meatloaf, in omelets, on most vegetables. I even use parsley in my tuna salad recipe.

Curly Leaf Parsley 4/15/2012

5. Leaf Marjoram – sometimes called sweet marjoram is a member of the oregano family. It originated primarily in the Mediterranean and Middle East areas. The plant grows from 10 to 24 inches tall and makes an attractive hanging plant. The abundant gray-green leaves have a sweet spicy fragrance and flavor.  When starting to bloom, the flowers form small knots before opening into small white or pink flowers.  Sweet Marjoram is cold sensitive and will need to be replanted annually. It can be grown in a pot indoors in a window with lots of sunlight. Growing indoors, the plant may need supplemental T5 florescent grow lighting. 

Starting – When starting in pots, use at least a 6 inch pot. Sweet Marjoram tolerates a wide ph range from about 5 to almost 9. Plant seeds ¼ inch or less. Keep soil moist but not wet to encourage germination.

Place plants in a sunny location where there is at least 5 hours of sun per day. In 8 to 15 days you should start to see some seedlings breaking ground. At this point, thin to one or two plants per pot and eventually one plant per pot. A suggestion is to plant a couple of pots for continual usage. Cutting or pinching back the tops of the plants will cause a bushier growth. If starting from plants, use a soil that drains well. Allow soil to dry but not bone dry between watering. Do Not Overwater as marjoram is susceptible to root rot.

Harvesting – When the plant reaches 6 to 8 inches or 15 to 20 cm tall, the leaves may be picked for use.

Storing – Sweet Marjoram stores well when dried. For the best flavor, cut stems near soil level right after the flower buds form and before flowers appear. Then tie stems into bunches. Hang bunched stems in a dry location away from the sun. After dried, pluck leaves and store in airtight containers out of the light. When dried and stored, marjoram’s flavor becomes more powerful.

Uses – The tender stems, leaves and flowers may all be used. This herb’s taste is deceiving so use it sparingly in salads, squash, cauliflower, peas, spinach and similar vegetable recipes. Use it in your Italian recipes especially red sauce, meat pies, sausage, lamb, omelets, on poultry, seafood, in salads, on fresh or cooked vegetables, herb butters and in salad dressings just to mention a few.

Marjoram 4/15/2012

6. Rosemary – Since rosemary is slow to germinate with beginning growth slow as well, it is better to purchase plants from a local nursery. But be prepared for a surprise. Depending on the variety, a mature rosemary plant can reach 4 to 6 feet in height. So be careful in choosing plants for your indoor herb garden. Google “How many varieties of rosemary are there” I found one reference to 63 varieties in one garden. 

Rosemary is member of the mint family and another Mediterranean native. It is a very aromatic plant. Flowers are generally purple but some varieties produce a white flower. This is one herb that can brighten your home and make it smell better too. Rosemary does well on almost no water.  Outdoors Rosemary can do well on only 12 inches of water a year. Use a water meter or stick a pencil into the pot. If the pencil comes out with just a few crumbs of soil stuck to it, water the plant with room temperature water to avoid shock. Make sure not to overwater. If rosemary is critically dry, it will turn yellow. Rosemary is difficult to grow indoors due to lack of humidity. If there is a lack of good indoor humidity, Rosemary leaves may turn black starting at the tip and dry up back to the leaf root. Then the leaf will fall off the plant. If you mist the plant, make sure there is adequate room ventilation or use a fan to dry the leaves and prevent any powdery mildew starting. Powdery mildew is a grayish white fungus.

Starting – Rosemary should be started from cuttings of about 3 inches. Better yet, purchase a plant or two from a local nursery. For indoor growing, choose a variety that does not reach 4 to 6 feet and as wide when mature. Blue Spires or Herb Cottage are two such varieties that top out about 18 to 24 inches and spread out.  

Gorizia or Spice Island varieties produce high harvests of leaves for pesto or drying.

Tuscan Blue has a nice flavor for table use but will grow to 48 inches.

Tuscan Blue is also prone to low humidity problems growing indoors in winter. (Leaves dry up and fall off if room humidity is too low.)

Photo taken by Author at
Tagawa Gardens, Aurora, Colorado

Blue Spires grows to about 2 feet tall. Of course pinching or cutting the tops of the growing plants will force wider bushier growth. 

Blue Boy is another dwarf variety topping out about 24 inches. This makes it an excellent indoor candidate. It flowers freely with excellent flavor for cooking. Ref: http://www.richters.com/show.cgi?page=MagazineRack/Articles/GrowingHerbsIndoors.html

Rosemary growing indoors requires at least 5 hours of good sunlight daily supplemented by fluorescent grow lighting another 10 to 12 hours daily.

Again remember not to overwater. Overwatering kills more indoor plants than about any other practice.

Harvesting – Once your rosemary plant starts producing stems with leaves, use scissors or knife to cut stems from the plant. Never cut more than ¼ of all stems on the plant or you might kill it. Trimming regularly will induce fresh growth and tender leaves or needles as some call them for use.
http://www.backyard-vegetable-gardening.com/harvesting-rosemary.html 

Storing – Cut the stems with the leaves intact. Tie into bunches and hang to dry. Once the leaves have dried out totally, they can be removed and stored in an airtight container for several months.

Uses – The flowers can be eaten directly or used in salads.  Use rosemary in Italian red sauces, rosemary pesto, to make flavored cooking oils and vinegars, rosemary chicken, on salmon, in rosemary beads, roasted red potatoes and onions, herb pork chops with rosemary, parsley and sage just to mention a few uses.

BBQ Rosemary 4/15/2012

7. Sage – This herb is again a woody evergreen shrub in the mint family which is native to the Mediterranean region. The leaves are gray-green with a slightly curled up and fuzzy looking appearance. Sage is an aromatic herb with medicinal and culinary properties. Common Garden Sage grows to height of about 2 feet to 30 inches when mature. It spreads out so allow 15 to 18 inches between plants. 

Common garden sage above –
Photo by Author at
Tagawa Gardens, Aurora Colorado

Bergarten Sage above

Bergarten Sage grows about 18 inches high and 24 inches wide at full growth.

Starting – The easiest method is to purchase a nursery plant such as those shown here. The cost for a 4 inch pot I was quoted was four dollars. Your nursery may be a bit more or less. But you should not need more than one plant in your indoor garden. Use an 8 inch pot with soil that drains well.  Transplant the plant carefully to the new home. If the soil is dry after transplanting (remember the pencil test or a water meter), water just until the water comes out the drain hole. Then allow it to drain in the sink before moving to a sunny location. Sage is a Mediterranean native so allow at least 5 to 6 hours of full sun a day supplemented with grow lighting. Allow soil to get almost dry before watering again. Sage does not tolerate a constantly moist soil. And you run the risk of root rot by using wet soil. Indoors Sage needs a constant air circulation to avoid mildew or fungus. Fertilize lightly with a good indoor liquid plant fertilizer every couple of months and water lightly after application. Or dilute the fertilizer with water before applying.

Harvesting – Cut or pinch off leaves for use before the plant flowers.

Storing – Best used fresh, Sage may be frozen in plastic bags. Dry leaves and store in airtight containers away from light. Cover fresh leaves with olive oil and store in the refrigerator up to 3 weeks.

Uses – Sage is used for flavoring sausages, roasts, stuffing, Italian red sauces, herbed poultry and pork chops, Italian herbed potato salad, the olive oil and sage mixture may be used in making herb salad dressings, pair sage with rosemary and thyme in vegetable recipes for squash or green beans, Cornish game hens, chicken marsala, sage biscuits and bean soups or stews to mention a few.

8.      Summer Savory – Another Mediterranean herb with a slightly peppery flavor, it goes well with tomatoes. This makes is a nice addition to Italian red sauces. It is an annual growing to about 18 inches tall making it suitable for growing indoors in containers. Summer savory is also one of the easiest to start from seed with a germination time of less than a week and 6 weeks to first harvest. Because it is a Mediterranean herb, give it full sun as many hours a day as possible supplemented with grow lights so it gets about 10 to 12 hours of light a day.  Summer Savory is a lighter taste than its cousin Winter Savory.

Image Purchased from
© http://www.dreamstime.com/Teine_info| http://www.dreamstime.com/

Starting – The mature plant is 12 to 18 inches high and 10 to 14 inches wide so do one plant per 12 inch pot. Sow seeds just under the soil surface or sprinkle on top. Water and let drain thoroughly. Try to pick a sunny location where the pot will get at least 5 to 6 hours of light each day. Then supplement with grow lighting another 6 to 10 hours. You should see seedlings in less than a week. Let the seedlings get an good start and thin to 3 plants per pot. After another week, thin to one plant per pot. Do Not Overwater. Use well drained, slightly alkaline soil with a PH about 7. If growing for storage later, you might plant two or three plants in separate pots.

Harvesting – After about six weeks, you can start a light harvest by cutting leaves at the leaf base with scissors. When the plant flowers, leaf growth will stop and you will have to cut the stems and leaves off at soil level for drying and storing. You should be able to prolong the tender leaf stage by cutting off flower buds as they appear. Give it a try.

Storing – After flowers have appeared, leaf growth stops. Cut the plant at soil level and hang it to dry. If you have more than one plant, tie the stems in bunches and hang to dry. Then remove the leaves and store in an airtight container away from light.

Uses – With its slightly peppery taste, summer savory can be use in place of pepper or thyme. It goes with about any bean recipe that you have. Bean soups or salads in particular go well with summer savory. Use it in Italian Red Sauces or other tomato dishes, cheese and eggs, omelets, vegetables, potatoes O’Brien in place of parsley, herb roasted potatoes, herb pork chops and herb chicken, pea soup and savory tea.

9. Thyme – Another Mediterranean herb classified as an evergreen shrub of the mint family. Common garden thyme is the usual thyme grown for culinary uses. It grows to a height around 15 inches or 30 cm. Grown in pots or containers, it requires no special care making it especially suited for indoor gardening. Use slightly alkaline quick draining soil with a PH of 6 to 8 to keep your plants happy. While it can be started from seed, purchasing several plants from your local nursery will get you off to a faster start.

French Thyme (Thymus Vulgaris English Wedgewood)

Starting – I would suggest a 6 inch terra cotta, coconut fiber pot, or plastic pot with really good drainage. Another idea is an 8 inch bonsai pot for around $18 dollars.

Thyme being a Mediterranean herb is not going to use a lot of water. Remove your nursery plant carefully from its original container and inspect to make sure it is not root bound. If you find the roots are profuse and gnarled, take a fork and carefully separate some of the outside roots before replanting. Make a big enough hole in the new soil to allow your transplant to have some new soil cover over the top of the original soil. Place the transplant into the hole. Using your fingers, push soil carefully back around the root block and over the top of the soil block from the nursery. Then use fingers to lightly firm the soil.

Water lightly until water just starts to come out the bottom of the drain hole in the container. Then place it in a sunny window where the plant can get 5 to 6 hours of sun each day. You will likely have to supplement the sunlight with regular T12 or T5 florescent grow lights, compact florescent grow light systems, high output systems or high intensity discharge systems. The T12 or newer T5 florescent lights are the least expensive in the range of $30 to $35 starting with two foot bulbs. Check Amazon and eBay for these types of lights to get the best prices. You may also find comparable prices at your local nursery. Nicks Garden Center in Aurora, CO says that one 2 foot T5 bulb with reflector will work fine to grow plants in a 2 foot long container garden on almost no electricity.

Harvesting – Both the leaves and flowers of thyme are usable. Harvest by cutting with scissors when you need them during the growing season. You can prune both leaves and stems (not the woody branches). Just leave at least 6 inches or a bit more of plant so it can recover. This pruning encourages the plant to grow more.

Storing – You can store thyme in a number of ways. In plastic bags in the refrigerator, by freezing it which will retain the most flavor. You can also mix chopped or cut leaves with enough olive oil or butter and then freeze in ice cube trays. And the traditional way of cutting stems with leaves, tie the stems into bunches and dry in a shady ventilated room.  Then pluck the leaves and store in airtight containers away from light.

Uses – Thyme has many medicinal uses. For example, thymol is used in many antiseptic mouth washes. Culinary uses include Italian red sauces, stuffing, herbed chicken and pork chops, fish, on grilled or sautéed zucchini and yellow squash, in Focaccia bread, scalloped potatoes, herbed red potatoes and roast beef just to mention a few.

Thyme in Background
4/15/2012

10. Tarragon – The two main varieties of tarragon are French and Russian. The Russian plant is hardier but the French version is the one you want for your indoor herb garden. It is the one used in culinary uses. French tarragon does not produce seed so you will have to get a cutting or purchase a plant at a local nursery. Tarragon is a native to a wide area of the Northern Hemisphere from Asia to India to Europe to America to Mexico. French tarragon is thought to have originated in the Caspian Sea area or Serbia. Tarragon normally grows from 12 to 24 inches tall. One plant per household will produce all you need.

Variety shown is Artemisia dracunculus
which grows to 18 inches tall

Starting – Start French tarragon seed in a 6 inch pot. Tarragon will tolerate poor soils as long as the soil is light and well-drained. Transplant your nursery plant to an 8 inch container in stages following the one size bigger pot rule each time. Since tarragon produces tightly intertwined roots, you may need to loosen them a bit with a fork before transplanting. Once transplanted water lightly and drain well then let dry before watering again. It will tolerate very dry soils and hates wet, soggy or compacted soils. Fertilize with a diluted fish emulsion liquid or with diluted Age Old brand liquid kelp every couple of months and water it in. But be sure to drain the plant well after watering. Tarragon likes soil PH in the 6.0 to the 7.5 range and does not like acidic soil less than PH 6.0. The leaves are the part you will use in cooking. Leaves are about one inch long, spiky, dark green and aromatic. Put your tarragon in a sunny location where it will get a minimum of 5 to 6 hours of sunlight a day. Then supplement with florescent grow lighting.

Harvesting – The young top leaves yield the best flavor. If you cut the top bushy growth, you will encourage new growth to form a more compact bushy plant.

Storing – May be cut, wrapped in a paper towel and stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. It may also be dried and frozen. Or it may be dried and stored in airtight containers out of direct sunlight.

Uses – Tarragon has many uses. It is the base in béarnaise sauce. It is used in chicken tarragon or other herbed poultry, beef or pork recipes. Use it in tuna salad or with fish or seafood recipes. It can be used to make flavored butters, oils and vinegars. You can even combine it with Brie cheese for a sauce to put on waffles. The link below goes to some great tarragon recipes.
http://homecooking.about.com/library/archive/bltarragon.htm 

Herb Summary

 Herb |  Water |  Light |  Grouping
 Basil |  Check once a week – water when soil is dry |  About 6 hrs direct sun a day or 10 to 12 artificial if needed |  Grows to 18 inches tall or more depending on variety. Plant one plant per 10 inch or 12 inch pot. Basil needs to kept warm above 40 degrees and above 50 is better.
 Dill |  Water when soil is dry |  6 hrs direct sun + up to 12 hrs artificial if needed. |  up to 30 inch height and large spread. – 2 plants max per 12 inch pot or gallon pot
 Garlic |  Water when soil is dry |  5-6 hrs direct sun a day + up to 12 hrs artificial if necessary |  Since sets bulbs, plant in separate 12 inch or larger container
 Curly Leaf Parsley |  Needs moist soil but not wet. Only water when soil is starting to dry. |  5 to 6 hrs direct sun minimum or more if indirect sun. Supplement with artificial light as needed. | One or two plants max per 12 inch container because of the spread.  Curly parsley stems and leaves will intertwine with the parsley next to it.
 Sweet Marjoram |  Water when soil is dry but not bone dry – doesn’t like cold |  6 hours minimum direct sun supplemented with artificial light as needed. |  Grows 10 to 24 inches tall so allow room. May be planted with Basil, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme if pot is large enough.  One to two plants in a 12 inch or larger pot.
 Rosemary |  Almost no water. Wait until it is bone dry. A pencil stuck 1 to 2 inches deep comes out with only crumbs of soil attached |  Minimum of 5 to 6 hours direct sun a day supplemented with artificial light as necessary |  One plant per pot. Can grow to 4 to 6 feet depending on variety. Try to get one that tops out 18 to 24 inches. May be combined with Basil, Marjoram, Sage or Thyme if container is large enough.
 Sage |  Another Mediterranean herb so wait until soil is dry to water. Then just enough so water comes out of drain hole. Drain well before putting in sun. |  5 -6 hours of sunlight or more. Supplemented by artificial light as needed |  Grows 24 – 30 inches tall with a 15 plus inch spread. One plant is all that you will need in a 12 inch container or larger. May be combined with Basil, Marjoram, or Thyme in a large container.
 Summer Savory |  Again water when soil is dry. Don’t overwater. |  Full sun 6 hours a day or more. Supplement with artificial light as needed |  One plant per 12 inch pot or two if container is large enough.
 Thyme |  Again water when soil is dry but only until water comes out bottom of container. Then drain well. |  Sunny window with 5 – 6 hours or more of sunlight supplemented with artificial light as needed. |  Growth 15 to 30 inches so allow enough room. One plant will supply normal household needs. May be combined with Basil, Marjoram, Sage if large enough container.
 French Tarragon |  Hates wet soggy soils. Tolerates very dry conditions. Water only when soil is very dry to touch. |  Again a minimum of 5 to 6 hrs of sun per day supplemented with artificial light as needed for a healthy plant. |  One plant per household in a 12 inch pot should be enough.

Secret Two – Starting with Plants and Why

In most cases, you will not have a minimum of 5 to 6 hours of full sunlight available per day to induce seed germination. And if you are not using a lot of grow lights or high intensity discharge (HID) lighting, it will be difficult to get seeds to germinate. Plus many culinary herbs have a long time to put seedlings up. So if you are like I am and want some quick results, purchase plants from the nursery for an instant herb garden. This would hold true for outside, patio or indoor herb gardens.

Not all nursery plants are equal. Take time to examine plants before purchasing your herbs. Examine the plant for any signs of powdery mildew (feathery white growth on main stem or on leaves.) I like to pick plants in the 4 inch pots even though they are a couple of dollars more than the 2 inch pots. The four inch plants are further along to maturity.

When you get your plants home, give them three or four days to grow accustomed to their new environment, the light, the air circulation and so on. After 3 days to a week, I suggest transplanting to a one size larger container. For example, transplant a 4 inch pot to a 6 inch pot or a 2 inch pot to a 4 inch pot. Only move up one size so the plant is not shocked by too much space for the roots.

Secret Three - Containers

The usual containers are terra cotta pots or rectangular trays with drainage saucers under them. Also window boxes in the Terra Cotta line. Terra Cotta pottery has the advantages for allowing air movement through the sides of the pot and possessing good drainage. Air circulation through the root system along with drainage is necessary to prevent root rot, mildew and other diseases. Six inch pots are generally $2, 10 inch pots at $ 8 and 12 inch pots at $12. But again check your local nursery, Dollar Tree, Amazon, eBay and do a Google search for terra cotta pots.

If terra cotta pots are used outdoors, they will allow the potting medium to dry out more quickly than enameled pots or metal containers.

I currently use 5 and 6 inch terra cotta pots for my little herb garden. So far, the plants seem happy.

Plastic is another option but not as good as terra cotta. Plastic tends to hold water and does not allow air to pass thru to the roots thus promoting root rot more often than other types of containers.

Coconut Fiber pots are also a good option allowing for drainage and air transpiration through the sides of the pot. Roots can grow through the sides and bottoms of the coir pots as the plant matures. Plus the prices are reasonable. But you will have to have an outside container as the Coir pots by themselves drain water too fast.

http://www.amazon.com/Planters-Pride-RSQ03000-Square-Coconut/dp/B004X4NRIQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325053655&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Panacea-Products-30-Inch-Trough-Fiber/dp/B000ZOPXX0/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1325053655&sr=8-4

http://www.ecodepotsales.com/commerce/products/detail.aspx?i=10  Lowest prices I have found. 8 inch pots with 48 pots per package for less than $2 dollars including shipping as 12/27/2011. I don’t think anyone can beat this price.

Orchid Pots are excellent for indoor gardening. These may also be called net pots. They consist of an inner container of mesh to allow for root growth and excellent drainage. The mesh pot fits inside an outside container with drainage so the roots don’t sit in water. You can also monitor the root condition with these type of pots.

Wooden planters and window boxes made from cedar or other wood make good planters or pot holders.  These can be painted for decorative purposes and they allow good drainage.

Metal or plastic pails can be turned into planters once you make drain holes in them. Old wheel barrows, watering cans and other such items can be made into decorative outside planters.

Container Preparation

If your containers have had soil in them, wash with soap and water. Then sterilize them with a bleach solution of 1 part bleach to 9 parts water. Rinse them well and dry before putting your potting soil in them.

If using new terra cotta pots from the nursery, soak overnight in a bucket of water to pre-wet the pot so it does not soak up the moisture from the transplant soil. Before using for planting, wash good with soap and water, rinse well and let air dry for 30 minutes before using for planting.

Do not do this procedure with coir – coconut fiber pots. Throw them away. They are so inexpensive you can afford to replace them.

Some types of containers such as baskets can be used directly by lining with a heavy clear plastic bag with holes punched for drainage and air passage. If you do this, make sure to punch quite a few holes.

Use a drip saucer under individual pots for excess water drainage. These come in both Terra Cotta and inexpensive plastic versions. Make sure to get a saucer large enough for the pot you are using. Line it with some washed river gravel to allow for drainage and air circulation under the bottom of the pot.

Secret Four – Use a Proper Growing Medium

Most references say to mix some perlite or vermiculite into the soil as a moisture control. Others recommend using sphagnum moss for the same purpose. Suzie at Tagawa Gardens in Aurora, CO recommends mixing in a cactus potting soil mixture into the regular potting soil. The cactus mix contains small particles of volcanic rock which keeps the soil draining well without absorbing water.

Others recommend a mixture of coarse builder’s sand, peat or sphagnum moss and perlite – vermiculite. But almost all of the Mediterranean herbs listed in this book will do well with poor soil that is well drained. (The 50/50 cactus / soil mix drains well. But when it goes dry it does so right now. My thyme plant has gone from being ok to needing water in one hour when the potting soil is at the critical drying stage.)

In any case don’t use outside dirt or soil from your garden as that may be contaminated with diseases fatal to your herbs. Most potting soil is a mixture of moss, wood chips and leaf mulch. There is almost no dirt in potting soil. Start with a good sterile potting soil from a nursery to make your mixture.

Buying potting soil with the secret ingredient mycorhizzae, a microscopic fungus, to your soil mix will vastly improve its effectiveness. Mycorhizzae is a happy fungus that colonizes plant roots to improve the plant’s ability to uptake water and nutrients and thus maximizes a plant’s growth and yield.

Soil Mix Recipes
Basic Potting Soil Recipe #1

2 parts packaged potting soil

1 part coarse sand

1 part peat moss or leaf mold

Optional: slow release 14-14-14 fertilizer or bone meal
as per package directions

Basic Potting Soil Recipe #2
2 parts packaged potting soil
1 Part Perlite
1 Part peat or sphagnum moss Or
1 Part Coir – ground coconut fiber to improve soil drainage and hold water
Optional: slow release fertilizer or Age Old Brand Liquid Kelp
applied per directions

Potting Mix #1 for Mediterranean Herbs
2 Parts packaged potting soil
1 Part Perlite
1 Part Coir Or 1 Part Peat Moss (to improve drainage, aeration and some water retention)
If using peat moss add a bit of crushed limestone to counteract the Moss acidity. This is especially important for plants that don’t tolerate PH levels on the acid side. i.e. less than 7.0

Potting Mix #2 for Mediterranean Herbs
8 cups packaged potting soil
3 cups  Perlite = 35% of potting soil
2 Cups of Cactus mix to improve drainage more than just perlite.
Mix thoroughly by hand so you can feel the mixture as well as look at it to ensure the perlite is thoroughly mixed.

This mixture will make almost three quarters of a one gallon bag plastic bag. I currently keep a gallon of the mixture without any cactus mix and one with cactus mix. My Mediterranean Herbs are doing ok in both mixtures. But I think the 8 potting soil -3 cups Perlite and 2 cups cactus mix is best.

While all 4 of these soil recipes are good ones, adding mycorhizzae, a microscopic fungus, to your soil mix will vastly improve its effectiveness. Scientists discovered that mycorhizzae is a fungus found in the wild that improves a plants ability to use water and nutrients from the soil. The scientists and growers also found indoor plants were in desperate need of this fungus to achieve maximum growth, leaf structure and flavor. All of which are important in growing herbs. Check with your local nursery for potting soil mixes containing this necessary happy fungus.

Video How to Mix Potting Soil

http://www.yourindoorherbgarden.com/media/mixingpottingsoil33112/

Secret Five - Lighting

All the ten herbs listed need 5 to 6 hours of sunlight or more daily. You may also need to supplement with florescent grow lights or other types of grow lighting. These lights run the range of prices from $30 to over $500 per unit.

To understand grow lights, you need to understand sunlight. In relation to plants, sunlight is measured on a Kelvin color scale. Scientifically, Kelvin temperature measures a light source color relative to the light source color of a black body at a particular temperature measured in degrees Kelvin.

To make this simpler, the Kelvin color light scale measures the visual color or temperature of light in relative degrees of warmth to coolness. Typical summer sun with sky is about 6500K to 6800K.

A typical incandescent bulb is in the 2700 K range or in the warm orange range. A standard fluorescent bulb may be in the 3000 K to 4200 K range or cool blue-white visually. So what you want is a grow light that mimics summer sun without a lot of heat output.

Grow lights run a wide range of prices and configurations from the new high output T5 fluorescent bulbs / fixtures to the High Intensity Discharge bulbs. Or a combo HID / High Pressure Sodium fixture. The HID and HPS bulbs are expensive. Such fixtures generally range from $200 to over $500 in price.

Much less expensive are the new T5 high output fluorescent grow lights. One T5 bulb will put out as much light as two T12 bulbs. The older T12 fluorescent grow bulbs are being phased out in favor of the T5 bulbs. Prices for T5 fixtures range from $25 to 35 for a two or four bulb two foot fixture to $90 plus for an 8 bulb four foot long fixture.

Amazon carries a good selection of grow lights.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003U51E8E/ref=asc_df_B003U51E8E1831175?smid=A3VZKFNMHAPZBO&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=asn&creative=395105&creativeASIN=B003U51E8E

Another good resource is http://homeharvest.com/lightingmain.htm and
http://homeharvest.com/whichgrowlightisrightforme.htm

http://www.plantlightinghydroponics.com/grow-bulbs-fluorescent-c-73.html
This website is a good resource for grow light bulbs at reasonable prices and for hydroponic supplies.

Grow Light Tip:  Spend the extra dollars to get a 2 bulb fixture. The one bulb fixture I purchased worked ok when the plants were smaller and I had it close to them. But now my plants are larger, the one bulb fixture does not cover the area where the plants are sitting as adequately.

Secret Six – Air Circulation

Air circulation is essential to the health of your garden for several reasons.

1.        It helps to prevent formation of mildew and fungus in the top of the grow mix and the spread to the plant.

2.       The movement of the leaves and stems stimulates the plant to grow stronger stems and leaves.

3.       The movement also stimulates the plant to uptake water and nutrients from the potting soil.

4.      The circulation brings carbon dioxide to the plant which is used in the plant’s growth process. The result is the plant puts out clean oxygen from the carbon dioxide.

5.       If you are a smoker or have odors in the air, the circulation will help the plant to clean the air of noxious smells.

If your garden is in a small space, you can use a small personal fan some distance away so the air movement on the herbs is not too violent but a nice steady breeze. My garden started out sitting in a drain tray on my kitchen counter. So every time I go to the fridge for a snack, I spend a bit of time blowing gently across the plants. This way they get carbon dioxide and air movement. (But I am retired so have time for this stuff.)

Now that the garden is more mature, I have some on the counter under the grow lights and some in front of my patio door. So I use an oscillating fan to provide air circulation.

Secret Seven - Water for Success

The last secret to your successful indoor herb garden is proper watering. Most of the herbs in this book are Mediterranean in origin and grow in poor soil with almost no water. For example, Rosemary and tarragon can go almost bone dry before watering. Parsley likes a moist but not soggy soil.

Overwatering is the main killer of indoor herbs and other indoor plants. Soggy soil promotes root rot which is death for a plant. If a plant’s leaves turn yellow, it is generally a sign of overwatering. If they turn brown, it is time to water.

When the top soil is dry to the touch, check the soil with a pencil, toothpick or finger inserted into the soil about ¼ to 1/3 of the pot depth. If the pencil or tooth pick comes out with only a few crumbs of soil attached, it is time to water. The most accurate measure is to use a water meter. These cost about $12 to $18 and will help save killing your plants by overwatering. (Google Query - digital water meters for indoor gardening) They are good for any indoor potted plant and not just herbs.

 Before over watering

After over watering

 Above the parsley plant after
overwatering. It will cost me $4 or more
to replace this plant. That is about 1/3 the
cost of a water meter.

A general watering rule for any indoor plant is when the top ¼ to 1/3 top of the soil in your pot is dry, water it. For example, when a 4 inch pot is dry down to 1 inch to 1 1/2 inches it is time to water. When a 6 inch potted plant is dry down to 2 inches, it is time to water. When your pencil or a toothpick comes out clean ¼ to 1/3 down into the soil, it is probably time to water. If you get a toothpick comes back that has black soil all over it at that depth and you water, you will water log your soil and promote root rot. Alternatively you can use your finger which will be more sensitive. Your best tool watering tool is a water meter. Mine is a Hydrofarms Active 3 in one. Light, water and ph meter. My cost was $9.98

Humidity Tip

A good way to provide humidity for your plants is to put the pot in a drain saucer or tray with about ½ inch to 1 inch of pebbles of pea gravel in the saucer. Then put some water in the saucer but not enough the plant will sit in the water. The level of the pebbles should be enough to keep the plant out of the water. As the water evaporates, it will provide a column of humidity for the plant. This procedure is especially good for growing Rosemary indoors in the winter. (This tip was from Tia at Tagawa Gardens in Aurora, CO)

Chapter Four Other Tips

Fertilizing

You can use organic or inorganic fertilizers on your indoor herb garden. I prefer the organic kind such as fish emulsion or age old kelp. Fish and kelp fertilizers come in a variety of strengths so be sure to follow directions. In the application of any fertilizer directly as a soil drench be sure to apply some water to the plant first. Watering buffers the roots and helps to prevent root burn. (I killed my first thyme by not following this rule.)

Apply enough water so it just starts to drain out the bottom of the pot. Then let the plant sit for about an hour before applying the fertilizer so there is some water uptake and the soil will not be soggy.

You can also apply most of these fertilizers as a foliar spray. If applying as a foliar spray, make sure you have good air circulation so the leaves get dry and don’t sit wet. Wet leaves promote powdery mildew.

If your potting soil has fertilizer in it as the one I am using does, wait a few months before applying more fertilizer. Too much fertilizer is not a good thing.

Fertilizers high in nitrogen promote growth but not bloom or fruit set. Too much nitrogen and you may get an herb with leggie growth but not many leaves per sprig.

Here is a link to a great page about organic fertilizers. Not an affiliate link.
http://www.4hydroponics.com/nutrients/organics.asp

Mini Tools for Mini Gardens

Most of the tools you see in nurseries are for outdoor gardening. Few are for indoor container gardening. So I came up with my own set of mini tools for mini gardens.

From Left to Right

1.        Metal fork – 2 for a $1 at Dollar Tree. Not shown 2 large spoons for a $1 at Dollar Tree

2.       Plastic Fork saved from a take out meal

3.       Small pair of sharp pointed scissors for harvesting herbs or trimming out problem sprigs. These are old fly tying scissors but an inexpensive pair of sewing scissors will work too. Cost should be no more than $5 or $6 dollars.

4.      Pair of forceps from my fly tying kit. These are available in fly shops. I like them because they have a positive grip. I use them for picking up dropped leaves and other items from the pot which could cause disease. An inexpensive pair of long tweezers would work as well for this purpose.

5.       Wooden toothpicks. I use them for tilling the top ½ inch of soil after watering to allow the soil to breathe better and not sit soggy. These are an old brand called World’s Fair Brand that is no longer made. Diamond Brand in Minnesota still makes tooth picks out of white birch which is the best wood for toothpicks. But changing manners and public perception are making the toothpick a thing of the past. The cheap Chinese kind are not good because they are brittle and break too easy.

Alternatives – Party tooth picks are an alternative and Dollar Tree sells 1,000 bamboo picks for a $1.00. These picks would also work and for a buck you have a lifetime supply.

6.       Last on the right is a Hydrofarms three in one meter. Water, PH and Light. This cost me 9.97 or so and was now one of my best tools. To get a proper reading set it to the water side and insert the probes no more than 1/3 the soil depth you are measuring. Suzy at Tagawa Gardens suggests no more than 2 inches is enough to get a proper reading. Marking the probes 2 inches from the bottom with a permanent marker is the easiest way to tell how far you have them in the soil.

If the meter is in the red zone, it is time to water. Or you may have a meter graduated in numbers. In this case, when it reads a (1) you need to water.

7.       Top Rear is a 1 and 1/2 inch soft bristle paint brush. This is a great tool for cleaning up when done transplanting or brushing soil crumbs from around the drain saucers. This could be a larger brush but this is what I had laying around.

8.      Bottom front is a set of $1 measuring cups from Dollar Tree. These are useful for measuring out soil, perlite and cactus mix when making potting soil. The one cup is also useful for putting the mixed soil into a one gallon plastic bag for storage.

9.       Not shown is a $1 set of measuring spoons from (you guessed it) the Dollar Tree store.

If you don’t have a dollar tree store in your area, try this Google query.
http://www.dollartree.com/custserv/locate_store.cmd

In the UK, Poundland stores are similar.
http://www.poundland.co.uk/

Disinfecting your tools:

To avoid spreading fungi and other diseases from pot to pot, it is important to disinfect your tools between uses. Especially the water meter as the probes can carry spores from pot to pot. The other tools are your mixing fork or potting soil mixing tool, your mixing container and your cutting scissors or harvesting tool.

For a quick disinfect, use Clorox wipes or similar wipes between pots. The wipes are about $5 in the grocery store or check the Dollar Tree.

For a better disinfection, use a 10% bleach solution deep enough to soak the tools for at least 5 minutes.

Home Made Crop Duster

A homemade duster made from an old chicken bouillon cube bottle. I drilled holes around the top and one in the middle. Then I added 4 heaping teaspoons of copper sulphate to the bottle. Next I shook the bottle gently and outside gave it a good sideways wrist flip. Very nice cloud of dust came out. So this should make a good small garden duster. I saved the cap inner seal to prevent spills during storage.  And my small duster is much better than the big bottle of copper sulphate that I purchased.

Home Made Pressure Duster

You can also make a pressure duster using a turkey baster with the bulb end. Stick the tube end into the dust to get a charge in the tube. Then stick the tube into the plant leaves and squeeze the bulb to produce a fine cloud of dust.

You can also do the same with a small diameter straw. Mark the dust end of the straw so you always put the dust in the same end. Get a small charge of dust in the straw, then insert into the plant leaves and blow gently through the other end to produce your dust cloud. But you have to be much closer to the dust produced.

The turkey baster duster is safer.

WEAR safety glasses and some kind of mask during this operation to avoid getting any dust in eyes or lungs.

Pest Control

Having your herb garden indoors minimizes many pests.

There are two main types of pest around your indoor herb garden. Insects such as white fly, spider mites and fungus flies or fungus gnats. These are insects that either directly or their offspring suck the life from the plant. You may also get aphids indoors but not as likely as outdoors.

The second group of pests is diseases such as black fungus, leaf mold, powdery mildew or downy mildew.

Since adding two garlic chive plants to my collection and being more careful about watering, I have not seen any fungus gnats around.

Proper air circulation is one of the best ways to minimize fungus and mildew problems. If you do get powdery mildew (see Successes and Failures for examples) or black spot at the base of your herb, try some copper sulphate as a spray or as a dust to control and eliminate the problem. There are also organic oil sprays made with rosemary oil, sesame seed oil, other herbal oils and a base of canola oil that can be sprayed on the plants. These work by smothering the fungus or mildew. Oils also control flying pests and aphids. They are expensive at some $16 to $18 per bottle. But one bottle is a many years supply unless you are also using it outdoors and indoors. Pharm-Oil is the brand Tagawa Gardens carries. This brand is listed as safe for edible herbs and vegetables.

The old standard is Neem Oil which can be obtained mixed or in concentrate for mixing your own. Neem oil is not recommended for use around food handling areas so be careful when you use it.

Also any oil spray should not be sprayed directly on the soil as the oils will smother the fine hair roots just under the surface and kill them. Dead roots decay. Decay causes fungus problems. (This from Dee at Tagawa Gardens)

Wettable sulphur can be used as a dust or a spray to control fungi.

Home Made Pest Controls:

You can also make your own pest controls. Crush a couple of garlic cloves, chop ½ to one small onion and boil in 1 quart of water for about ten to fifteen minutes. Strain through a fine cloth or a coffee maker filter to remove the physical matter. Let cool, mix one cup of canola oil or one cup of rosemary oil with the filtered mixture. Use it in your spray bottle. The oil will help keep the spray on the plant and smother both insect eggs and plant diseases. The garlic and onion will help to make your plants undesirable to the adult insects. You can also mix 1/4 cup of liquid ivory dish soap or lemon Joy soap to improve the spread of the spray. The soap acts as a wetting agent allowing the oil spray to spread out over the leaves more evenly.

The Baking Soda spray is another one.

Add 1 tablespoon of baking soda to a gallon of water and mix well.  This spray can be used as a foliar spray and as a soil spray.

Add 1 tablespoon of lemon joy or liquid ivory dish soap. The Joy has a small amount lemon oil in it which will improve the smothering effect to kill insects and fungi. The amount of oil is not enough to prohibit using it as a soil spray too.

Be sure to spray the top and bottom of the leaves. And only spray before any direct sunlight is on the plant. If you spray during the heat of the day, you will likely burn the leaves due to the direct sunlight on the wet leaves. The water droplets act like a magnifying glass increasing the power of the sun’s rays.

You can also purchase Potassium Bicarbonate at the nursery instead of Baking Soda. Follow directions for mixing the Potassium Bicarbonate.

Be sure to wear some kind of mask and safety glasses when using any dust type of control.

For fungi control spray about every 7 days.

And agitate the spray device regularly to keep the soda or potassium bicarbonate mixed well.

After wetting down the plants, I turn my oscillating fan on and let it dry the leaves more quickly.

The advantage to the baking soda and bicarbonate sprays is they can be used up to the day of harvest. Neem oil mixed properly can also be used to the day of harvest.

How to Transplant Your Herbs

Start by having a presoaked clean terra cotta pot if you are using those.

Then have enough potting soil ready for the size of container you will be moving your herb into. For a six inch pot it takes about 4 or 5 cups of soil mixed plus the root ball you are moving.

I use a large cottage cheese container and my Dollar Tree fork for my mixing bucket. Sometimes I will add a cup of mixed Age Old Kelp to the soil and enough water to thoroughly wet the soil.

Then stir the soil (My 8/3/2 is my usual mix) like a cake batter using the fork. Every couple of stirs around the sides, reach to the bottom of the container and fold the bottom soil through the mix. Again this is similar to cutting in during a hand mixing operation.

Continue this procedure until the soil is thoroughly mixed. Then make a small ball of soil in your palm and see how it crumbles apart when you push on it with your forefinger. I like my soil moist but not soggy. Soggy soil will not fall apart. Moist soil will clump into pieces. (Remember you will generally water after the transplanting operation. A soggy plant is not a happy plant. Soggy too often = root rot, fungus or powdery mildew none of which make your herb a happy camper and generally lead to plant death.)

After your soil is mixed, hold the pot with your thumb in the drain hole. Use your measuring cup, large spoon or shake some of the mixed soil into the new pot. With your free hand, use your knuckles or finger tips to press the soil gently into place to make a soil bed in the bottom of the pot.

Set your transplant on top of the soil bed. You want to the crown of the root ball to be above the drain line on your pot or above where you will stop adding transplant soil to the pot. When you are done, the transplanted root ball should be a little hill shape allowing water to drain off the root ball. This way you will minimize a soggy set of roots when you water.

Adjust your soil bed until you have the right height for your plant. Next gently squeeze the sides of the old plastic container or use your plastic knife to cut around the sides of the current pot. Grasp the plant gently at the base and work the root ball free from the old container.

Examine the roots to make sure they are whitish looking. If the plant has become root bound, gently rub the sides of the root ball with your finger and the bottom with your palm to loosen the root ball.

Set the plant and root ball into the new pot. Gently transfer soil around the root ball about half way up. Then using your finger tips, compress the transplant soil a bit on all sides of the root ball. Make sure your plant is upright after this operation. Continue adding soil and gently firming up the added soil around the root ball until you are about ½ inch below the surface of the root ball.

Then go around the edges of the root ball and press down to finish seating the plant in its new home.

If you have your plant too deep, use the fork to reach down under the current root ball and lift up. Push some of the soil along the sides into the void with your finger tips until the plant is at a correct height. The root ball should be just even with the surrounding soil or just slightly above it. About ¼ to ½ inch maximum height will allow some drainage off the root ball and still allow water to soak into the root ball. Too high and the hair roots from the plant will eventually become exposed to the air and die causing water uptake problems and possible fungi growth.

Transplanting Video

http://www.yourindoorherbgarden.com/media/transplanting33112/

Success and Failures

While I have had good success growing my indoor herb garden, I have also had some failures too.

My two biggest failures were killing my first triple curled parsley plant by overwatering and my first thyme plant by using soil that did not drain well enough. Plus I root burned the thyme by fertilizing without buffering the roots first.

Curled parsley overwatered – leaves turning yellow

Dying Parsley Plant

Perhaps I could have saved this plant by letting it dry out. But I should have cut off all the leaves and put them into my dry bag instead of throwing the whole plant out. Ah well, live and learn.

Thyme plant showing dead and burned roots.

This is from overwatering initially and then fertilizing without buffering the roots combined with an improper draining soil mix.

The white fuzzy growth on the woody stem is the beginning of powdery mildew. Eventually this spread to the leaves. Even with isolation and increased air circulation, the plant eventually succumbed and had to be thrown out. Per Suzy at Tagawa Gardens Sage is difficult to grow indoors. It needs constant air circulation to avoid formation of mildew. At another nursery, I found several sage plants with mildew already on them. Even the professionals have their issues with this pest.

Successes

Left to Right

1.        Left Front - Triple Curl Parsley – this is my replacement plant. I transplanted it to 6 inch pot within a few days of bringing it home from the nursery.

2.       Left Rear – English Thyme – this is the replacement for the one that I killed by overwatering and over fertilizing. It is in a 50/50 cactus / soil mix. This mix drains well and avoids a lot of watering problems. But I still wait until the plant is asking for water by its little heads drooping over before I water it.

3.       Right Rear – Italian Flat Leaf Parsley – this plant was transplanted within a few days after arriving home from the nursery. It is in an 8/3/2 mix. It was transplanted from a 2 inch pot to a 5 inch pot and took about 4 weeks to really adjust and take off but is doing well now. I think it is close to a move to the next size up pot.

4.      Right front – Greek Windowsill Basil – this herb was in a 2 inch pot when I got it. I left it that way for about three weeks before moving it to a 4 inch pot. It has been in the 4 inch pot for 5 weeks and is now ready to go up to a 6 inch pot. I have to watch this one to avoid it going dry.

Indoor Herb Garden Plans

Your herb garden plan will depend on several factors.

1.        Where you will place your garden to get the required light. Most of the plants discussed in this book require a minimum of 5 to 6 or more hours of light daily supplemented with grow lights.

2.       How you pot your garden will also make a big difference in your arrangement and selection of containers. For example, Basil and Rosemary should go in separate 6, 8 or 10 inch pots because they grow to 24 inches or more high. Tuscan Blue rosemary grows to 48 inches in height. If you plant this or a similar variety of rosemary in a large enough pot, you could add some dwarf sage and thyme on either side of the rosemary. Also growing in a smaller pot and keeping your herb harvested by cutting off the tops of the sprigs will make it bushier and less tall.

3.       Basil needs to be kept warm above 40 degrees Fahrenheit so it should go in a separate container to allow placement in a warm and sunny area.

4.      If you decide to on a window sill type of container, you will probably plant directly in the container rather than in pots placed in the window box container. This arrangement holds the advantage of grouping tall herbs with smaller herbs. Tall rosemary, with thyme and basil or sage would be one arrangement. A window box also is a good container for holding individual potted herbs. It is easy to move around and will allow any water drainage from the pots to drain out. Place a drip tray under the box container to catch excess water when using inside.

Window boxes come in wood, painted wood, terra cotta, poly or fiberglass. The plastic or poly generally is the least expensive with a 30 inch box and drip tray costing around $15 to $18 dollars.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Doutdoor&field-keywords=terra+cotta+planters&x=2&y=13   --
large selection of terra cotta planters from pots, stacks to window boxes and railing planters.

http://www.gardeners.com/Self-Watering-Rolling-Planter-Large/PatioPlanters_Cat,38-627RS,default,cp.html  -- A variety of 17 inch rolling planters. All at $44.95.

http://www.gardeners.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Gardeners-Site/default/Link-Keywordsearch?DefaultButton=findSimple&ViewAll=1&q=terra+cotta+window+boxes&x=0&y=0?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=Google&utm_term=terra_cotta_window_box -- 9 Terra Cotta window boxes all under $40.

5.       Another option is to put your herbs in different size pots and place them in a tray. Here is one plan for such an arrangement.
Illustration by Michelle Burchard from Herb_Box.pdf.

As of the original publication date in January 2012, my little herb garden was sitting in a $1.49 black plastic drain tray with inside dimensions of 20 inches long X 10 inches deep X 2 inches high. While not elegant, this tray did a good job of keeping my herbs organized and was easy to move my little garden around to light sources or heat sources. 

But this tray will hold two more 4 inch square starter pots and a couple of the small 2 inch pots. Or it could be configured similar to the tray in the illustration above with the Rosemary in a 10 inch or 12 inch pot combined with the Thyme or with the Marjoram. Parsley would need a separate pot because it likes moist soil and sunny to part shade conditions.

At present I have these herbs in my garden; Greek Window Sill Basil, Italian Flat Leaf Parsley, Triple Curled Leaf Parsley, Marjoram, Tuscan Blue Rosemary, BBQ Rosemary, Thyme, French Tarragon and two garlic chive plants. They are in 5 and 6 inch pots so they have room to grow and spread out.

6.       An innovative use for regular water bottles, pint to gallon is to turn them into pots. Cut the bottoms off the pint bottles, drill or poke holes around the screw top end for more drainage; put the bottle with the screw top off in soil or a pot to hold it. Then fill the pot with soil to plant seeds or hold a 2 inch starter pot transplant. You will have adequate drainage with proper loamy light soil. Or do the same thing with a 2 liter bottle but cut it in half to make two planters. Drill holes in the bottom and around the bottom. Then do the same around the neck of the bottle. Now you have two planters to use. Fill with a good potting soil and use for transplanting a 4 inch starter nursery plant. This is an excellent low-cost way to start an indoor herb garden and it recycles water or soda bottles that would normally end up in a landfill.

7.       Indoor table top garden stands, regular stands and rolling trays with and without grow lights built in. Table top stands start about $70 with rolling four tier stands running between $500 and $900. http://homeharvest.com/fluorescentplantcartscompact.htm

Costs

Costs will vary depending on whether you start your plants from seed or purchase them at a local nursery. The types of pots or window boxes or indoor stands you choose to use for containers and plant stands and the types of grow lights you choose. If you went the whole uptown route, you could easily spend $500 to $1,000 just to start 10 to 20 herbs. But this is totally unnecessary.

In general, I have found 4 inch starter herbs run about four to 5 dollars a pot. If you watch for spring or end of season sales, you can save 30 to 40% on the plants. And you can find sales on containers at local nurseries or online.

Let’s get a general idea of the cost to start our ten herb indoor garden.

 Item |  Basic Item Total |  New Items |  Total
 10 starter herbs at $4 per 4 inch pot |  40.00 |  |    40.00
 1 black plastic tray to hold plants |    1.49 |  |    41.49
 1 24 inch T5 Sunblaster Grow light |  39.99 |  |    81.48
 1 large bag potting soil |    9.99 |  |    91.47
 Misc tools |  15.00 |  |  106.47
 4 terra cotta 6 inch pots |  20.00 |  |  126.47
 1 terra cotta 12 inch pots |  |  20.00 |
 1 additional 24 inch grow light |  |  40.00 |
 1 gallon Bay Laurel Plant |  |  25.00 |
 Estimated Additional Cost Later |  |  85.00 |
 Estimated Indoor Herb Garden Incl. Add’l Cost |  |  |  211.47

For under $200 dollars, you can have a nice indoor herb garden ($125 - $150). The additional items don’t need to be added until your basic garden is going and you see if you even want those items. To reduce your costs, be innovative on your pots. Use 6 inch pots for some herbs and one or two 8 inch pots for the larger ones with one 10 inch pot to hold one large and a couple of the smaller herbs.

Chapter Five
Storing Your Herbs

Herbs are best stored by drying and storing in opaque air tight glass jars. Light and air are the two worst enemies of dried herbs. There are again many types and prices for spice and herb jars. The best I have seen is made by RSVP. These are available in a non airtight screw top for $2.50 per bottle and an airtight wide mouth bottle for $3.50. Unfortunately the airtight jar is not opaque. Either way, the cost for 10 bottles is $25 to $35 dollars plus tax and shipping. Say about $45 dollars total for storage bottles. Tip: Go to the Dollar Tree or similar store and purchase mini-round or square plastic containers at 10 containers for a $1.00 for your herbs. Wrap a label around the clear plastic to reduce light. These inexpensive containers have a good seal on the lid.

How to Dry Your Herbs

Generally you will cut a bundle of stems and leaves, wash off any dirt, dry with paper towels so there is no moisture to form mold, tie the stems with leaves together and hang in a dark, dry airy room about two weeks or until the leaves are dry. Then strip the leaves and store in the herb bottles. If your herbs have no dirt or fungicide on them such as copper sulphate, just put them in the paper dry bags and let them dry.

You can also carefully harvest the leaves or sprigs to avoid getting any dirt on them. Then put them in a brown paper lunch bag sack. Fold over the top and put in a dry room away from light for a couple of days to a week. Every two days shake the sack a bit to ensure the herbs dry evenly. (Tip from Tia at Tagawa Gardens)

From personal experience, the brown paper sack method works great. Just be sure shut out light and shake them up every two to three days.

An alternative way is to spread out the sprigs of cut herbs on a cookie sheet and dry in the oven at 85 to 95 degrees for about 15 minutes. You might also try the top tray of a broiler pan as your drying pan since it has holes for warm air to circulate.

The main thing in using the oven is to not get the temperature too high as it will damage the leaves and reduce the flavor and color. CAUTION: Watch your temperature and the herbs carefully. Dry herbs will burn. See Microwave Test below. When dry store the leaves in airtight opaque jars. As you use the herbs replace the empty space with cotton to reduce the amount of air reaching your remaining herbs.

I read you can also quick dry herbs in your microwave. Caution: microwaves vary greatly in power with most of the newer ones ranging from 1,000 watts to 1,400 watts or more.

Here are results of my trial run with one sprig of fresh parsley in a 1,000 watt microwave. At 20 second time on high power, the parsley main stem caught fire in 5 seconds. Starting with a second sprig, I cut off the stem just below the leaves, used a 15 second time and the number 1 power setting. After 15 seconds, the leaves were almost dry. Another 15 seconds at the number 1 power setting and the bottom end of the sprig was a small explosive flash fire. But the leaves did get dry. CONCLUSION: DRYING HERBS IN A MICROWAVE IS TOO BIG A FIRE HAZARD. DON’T DO IT.

Freezing Herbs

Many herbs can be stored temporarily in zip lock bags in the refrigerator for up to two or three weeks. But freezing is a better method.

Basil for example freezes well but does not do well in refrigerator cold. Wash and thoroughly dry the leaves, place flat on a cookie sheet or pan with a flat bottom in the freezer. When the leaves are completely frozen, place in zip lock freezer bags for up to six months storage. Another method is to place up to a teaspoon of chopped leaves in an ice cube tray with unfrozen water. Then freeze to make basil ice cubes. Or mix with a bit of oil in a food processor to make basil oil and then freeze flat in plastic bags. Break off only what you need for your recipe. Try the log method for Basil and see how it goes. See Parsley below for the log method.

Dill can be cut with the long stems and leaves into sections short enough to fit into one quart freezer bags. Frozen dill keeps about six months.

Garlic can be frozen in oil in containers and frozen, mixed with butter and frozen, place chopped garlic in plastic and freeze. See this Yahoo answer for some excellent other methods to using including how to acidify garlic to make it safe to store. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060901200809AAkSqIY

Parsley logs will store for a year in the freezer as will parsley pesto cubes
http://awaytogarden.com/growing-and-storing-a-year-of-parsley This is an excellent article with slide shows. The parsley log is the most unique and useful way to store parsley that I ran across. And the same idea should work for some other herbs that can be frozen in plastic freezer bags.

Marjoram can be stored in plastic bags in the refrigerator for several weeks. But it stores better frozen mixed with a little oil or butter and made into ice cubes. You can also spread the cut stems and leaves on sheets in the freezer and freeze. Then strip the leaves and put in freezer bags to store for several months. While the leaves may look limp and unattractive the flavor is fine. Some references call for storing marjoram in damp paper towels in the refrigerator, I would just store the unwashed leaves as dampness promotes decay. Add the marjoram to cooked dishes shortly before serving.

Rosemary may be stored in a variety of ways. I have read that rosemary should be rinsed before storage in the vegetable drawer for up to two weeks. And I have seen not to rinse it before storing in paper towels in plastic bags in the vegetable drawer. I am going to go with the not rinsing method as moisture promotes mold and decay in the fridge. In any case, change out the paper towels every couple of days. If you see any mold, throw out that batch of herbs.

Rinse with water and roll into a log in moist paper towels in a plastic bag open at the end. Store the bag in the vegetable drawer for a couple of weeks. Check the towels every couple of days to keep moist (not sopping wet). Wash the sprigs before use. 

To freeze, cut the sprigs, wash, spin dry or paper towel dry thoroughly before freezing. Place the sprigs in a layer in a freezer bag and place in freezer for a couple of weeks. Take the freezer bag out and use a rolling pin, jar or similar item to roll over the bag. Most of the leaves should fall off. Pick any remaining leaves manually and return the bag to the freezer. Frozen this way, rosemary should remain usable for up to one year. You may want to double bag the herb to reduce air infiltration. Or put them up in rubber containers with an airtight seal and return to the freezer.

Thyme may also be frozen in the same manner as Rosemary.

Summer Savory can be stored loose in plastic bags in the refrigerator for several weeks. Make sure no mold is on the leaves before you use them. If you see mold, discard the entire bag. Although I have not tried any of the freezing methods used for basil or the log method for parsley, I would think the same methods should work. Just make sure you are freezing dry and not moist herbs in plastic bags.

Sage is similar to other Mediterranean herbs in that it can be stored in plastic bags in the fridge for a couple of weeks. But freezing is the preferred method other than drying. Strip the leaves from the stems. If you wash them before freezing, make sure the leaves are totally dry. Then place loose leaves in freezer bags and remove as much air as possible from the bags. Lay the bags flat in the freezer. Frozen this way, sage should last up to a year. However frozen sage will not look as attractive as fresh or dried leaves. So it will go best in recipes where flavor is more important than appearance.

French Tarragon looses a lot of flavor when dried. It is best stored as loose leaves or sprigs frozen in freezer bags.

Herb Dehydrators

http://www.amazon.com/Nesco-American-FD-80-Square-Shaped-Dehydrator/dp/B00179DCCQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325475676&sr=8-1  4.5 stars and $60 for dehydrating food, vegetables, herbs and jerky.

http://www.amazon.com/Nesco-American-Harvest-FD-37-Dehydrator/dp/B003I4F7AS/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1325475676&sr=8-3  4.5 stars and $35. Dehydrator is expandable to 7 trays. Forced air fan means no tray rotation.

http://www.amazon.com/Nesco-American-Harvest-FD-1018P-Dehydrator/dp/B001795P4O/ref=sr_1_4?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1325476153&sr=1-4  4.5 stars, 1000 watts, adjustable thermostat, 8 trays, fruit roll sheets and a How to Dry Foods book. $145 to $190. These dehydrators are all more expensive than using your oven or hanging your herbs but the drying time is reduced and you gain a lot more control over the dried herb product.

Here are some good discussions for and a few against using a dehydrator to dry herbs. Most are for them.
http://edibleandmedicinalplants.tribe.net/thread/6e733aea-ea3e-438a-aaf0-eeeb9f6202e7

General Storage Tips

Refrigerator method used for fresh herbs. Snip stems at base, do not wash the leaves, make sure leaves are completely dry. Then place the stems in a jar filled part way with water. Cover the tops loosely with a plastic bag and store in refrigerator for up to two weeks. Change the water every couple of days or if it starts to discolor.

Use the traditional methods described above or better yet a food dehydrator that is designed for drying herbs and veggies.

After drying, store dried leaves in airtight, opaque containers or freeze in freezer bags.

Chapter Six
Recipes

I have included a dozen recipes of my own that I like. And links out to some other good culinary herb recipes I found. The Kindle Store has a lot of really good cook books. If you watch for free promotion days, you can get some excellent ones for free.

Basil

Who doesn’t think of pesto when talking recipes using Basil. I like easy recipes. This one is only 2 minutes preparation time and total time to serve of 12 minutes.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-Pesto/Detail.aspx

I love a good appetizer. This Double Tomato Bruschetta - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/double-tomato-bruschetta/detail.aspx is one of my favorites.  I suggest you spend some time at the allrecipes.com website for great recipes on about anything you might want.

My Red Sauce #1– serves 4

Ingredients:
½ pound ground sirloin or 92/8 hamburger.
2 Italian sausage links regular or ½ pound mild ground Italian sausage (with fennel seed)
1 or 2 - 14.5 oz cans diced Italian tomatoes (juice contains basil, thyme and oregano) - 1 – 14.5 can stewed Italian tomatoes
1 – 14.5 oz can tomato sauce or 1 small can tomato paste. The paste will make a more rich tomato flavor. If using paste, use 2 to 3 paste cans of water to provide enough liquid to mix the paste.
1 – Slice of yellow or white onion

Spices:
1or 2 medium basil leaves or 1 full sprig of Greek Basil
1 medium sprig of fresh rosemary
2 sage leaves
1 medium sprig curled or flat leaf parsley
1 clove garlic or 6 or 8 garlic chives
1 or 2 small sprigs thyme

Instructions:

In a large 12 or 14 inch skillet, crumple hamburger and sausage into medium chunks and brown with one slice yellow or white onion chopped medium. If using sausage links cook them first and put whole into the sauce to finish. Slice when serving the sauce.

Sprinkle 1medium basil leaf chopped fine, 1 medium sprig of fresh rosemary chopped fine, 2 sage leaves chopped fine, 1 medium sprig Italian or Curled Parsley chopped fine, 1 clove garlic pressed or chopped fine and 1 or two small sprigs thyme chopped fine over the meat when it is about ½ browned and stir the seasoning in. (Since the diced Italian tomatoes have spices in the juice, you will have to adjust the spice mixture to suit your taste.)

When meat and onion is done, drain off excess oil leaving a bit in bottom of frying pan to keep meat from burning.

Pour in one of the cans of diced tomatoes and the can of stewed Italian tomatoes. Using your spatula chop the stewed tomatoes into large chunks. Then stir in the tomato sauce. Stir and taste to see if seasoning needs adjusting.

Put lid on frying pan and reduce heat to a low. Let sauce simmer for about 20 minutes before serving. Stir several times during the simmer to distribute the taste through the sauce.

Serve over penne or spaghetti with grated parmesan and Romano cheese on top. Any leftover sauce may refrigerated for up to one week or frozen for a month.

Red Sauce #2 – Serves 2

Ingredients:
4 – Medium to Mild link Italian Sausages in casings.
1 – 14.5 can of Stewed Italian Tomatoes
1 – 14.5 can of Diced Italian Tomatoes
1 – Small can tomato paste
3 – Cans water using the tomato paste can
1 or 2 Roma Tomatoes diced if desired
Thin Spaghetti, linguine or penne pasta
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Grated Romano and Parmesan Cheese

Spices:
1 – sprig windowsill basil or 2 leaves of regular basil chopped fine. Or ½ teaspoon dried basil
1 – sprig thyme stripped of leaves. Use leaves as is or just bruise with fingers
4 or 5 leaves of Italian Flat Leaf Parsley chopped fine or ½ teaspoon dried parsley crumbled fine.
Dash of dried Oregano – Be careful with this herb. While it adds a zing to a sauce, too much will make the sauce hot. Use fresh if you have it. My guess would be about ½ teaspoon of chopped fresh leaves
½ teaspoon of dried sage or 3 – 4 leaves fresh chopped fine. You will have to adjust this to suit taste.
Good grind of fresh black pepper
Usually I don’t add salt as the canned tomatoes have enough.

Instructions:
In a large skillet
Add the spices first. Sprinkling them evenly over the skillet bottom
Then add the stewed tomatoes. Chop into larger pieces with a spatula. I do it this way to avoid washing a food processor.
Add the diced tomatoes to the skillet
If using some fresh Roma tomatoes add them also
Stir the mixture to distribute the spices into the tomato sauce
Add the tomato paste and 3 cans water using the empty paste can to measure
Stir until the paste, tomatoes and water are well mixed (If more water is needed, add it using your judgment. The end sauce should be thick and rich and not watery.)

Cover and heat to a good simmer. Let the sauce simmer for at least 20 minutes while the sausages and pasta are cooking.  Stir sauce occasionally to keep the liquid that rises to the top mixed with the heavier tomatoes.

In a separate skillet, heat the oil for 4 minutes on a medium heat 5 on an electric stove.
Add the sausages and press down gently to flatten two sides

Cook for 5 or 6 minutes on one side without turning.
Turn sausages over. If not nice and brown on cooked side put the side back down and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. If sausages are nice and brown on the first turn, cook them for the same amount of time. You want to make sure they are done all the way through.

At same time as starting to heat the oil for the sausages, put 2 quarts water in a covered 3 quart saucepan on to boil at a high heat. When water has been heating for about 10 minutes, add about ½ teaspoon of sea salt to the water. When the water is boiling, I usually add about a ¼ package of Barilla thin spaghetti broken in half to the water. If you like your spaghetti long, then use more water in a larger pot. Adjust your starting time to boil the water so the pasta will be just done when sauce and sausages are ready.

If using linguine, use less pasta than with thin spaghetti. If using penne pasta, about ½ box of Barilla penne will be enough for two good servings.

When the pasta is in the water, stir with a spaghetti fork or a regular fork to stir the pasta and water until the pasta starts to soften. Stirring keeps the pasta from settling to the bottom of the pot and clumping up. It also gives the water a chance to come back to a boil.

When the water is boiling again, cook the pasta uncovered per directions on the box. If you cook covered, water boil over is the usual result. Cook pasta until it is al dente or soft your choice. I like mine al dente because the starch in the pasta remains as a complex starch. When the pasta is cooked soft the starch becomes a simple starch and is less healthy than the complex kind.

By the time the pasta is done, the sausages should be done too. The sauce will be simmered and ready to serve.

Drain the pasta, add a little olive oil to the cooked pasta and toss gently with a regular fork to coat the pasta. This will keep it from sticking together.

Divide the pasta between two plates. Add enough red sauce to each plate of pasta to thoroughly coat each pasta pile.

Add one or two sausages on top of the pasta and sauce. Then grate a good bunch of cheese down both sides of the sausage and serve. Or a good shake if using the pre-grated cheese.

Serve with a side of fresh salad and a good glass of red wine.

Herb Burgers – Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 Pair of clean hands to mix the burgers
1 pound ground sirloin, chuck or 92/8 hamburger

Spices:
If dried (from your indoor herb garden of course) – If using fresh herbs, double the dried amount
½ teaspoon dried Rosemary or 1 teaspoon fresh
½ teaspoon Curled Parsley or Flat Leaf or both your choice
1 clove garlic minced or 4 to 6 leaves garlic chives chopped fine
Pinch of salt
Good grind of fresh ground black pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons of steak sauce. Mine are Heinz 57 or Kroger 1888.
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Instructions:
If you still can get your meat wrapped in butcher paper, the mixing can be done on the paper. Otherwise put the meat in a large mixing bowl.

Using your hand, flatten the meat into a flat shape about 1 inch thick with a small indentation in the center of the big flat patty.

Sprinkle the spices over the top of the big patty.

Sprinkle the pinch salt and good grind of pepper over the patty.

Put the steak sauce and Worcestershire sauce in the small indentation in the center of the patty.

Fold over the edges of the patty on all sides to cover the sauces in the center.

Using one or both hands mix the ingredients by squeezing the meat out between your fingers. Continue mixing until you can feel the sauces, the fat in the meat and the lean parts combine into a cohesive whole. As soon as you reach this point, stop mixing.

Divide the meat into 4 equal patties about ¼ pounds each.

If cooking on the grill, cook about 3 to 4 minutes on each side with a medium flame for a medium rare. Let each burger cook on one side for the full time before turning.

If cooking on the stove. Use a medium 4 to 5 heat for electric stove. Adjust to medium heat for a gas stove if you have that kind.

Put 2 teaspoons olive oil in the pan and preheat for about 4 minutes. When you put the burgers in the pan, they should sizzle and start cooking right away. Cook about 4 to 5 minutes on one side before turning.

Cooking on one side at a time will seal in the juices and the sauces inside will keep the burgers from drying out.

Check your burger after turning it over. If it looks too rare for you, cook it one minute longer than the first round.

You can also cook the burger in the oven broiler with the broiler pan on the second slot down from the broiler element. If you have the meat too close, it will burn or worse may catch fire from popping fat.

One minute before the cooking time is expired, put a slice of your favorite cheese on top of the patty to make a cheeseburger. Or not.

When each burger is cooked to your satisfaction, serve on a toasted sesame seed hamburger bun with a good Dijon or stone ground mustard and ketchup.

Accompany with a good cole slaw, baked beans, potato salad or cooked vegetables.

This is just the way I do it. Play around with the recipe a bit. Substitute basil for the parsley or rosemary. Or try a little thyme in the mix.

Kitchen Sink Meat Loaf – Serves 8

So named because it contains a lot of ingredients:

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees while mixing the loaf.
Lightly spray meat loaf pan with Pam or oil lightly with extra virgin olive oil. Just enough oil so that the meat loaf won’t stick to the pan.

Ingredients:
1 ½ lb of 92/8 hamburger
¾ to 1 lb of mild ground Italian Sausage. I use Kroger brand which contains fennel seed, anise seed, paprika and sweet red peppers. (You could get some plain sausage and make your own too.)
1 egg beaten and reserved
½ cup dry bread crumbs or ½ cup oatmeal
1 Slice Onion chopped course (yellow, white or Vidalia)
2 -3 tbs Steak Sauce your favorite. (Mine is Kroger 1883 or Heinz 57)
½  to 1 tbs Worcestershire Sauce
Spices:
1 tbs Basil chopped fine ½ tbs if using dried
1tbs Curled Parsley or Italian Flat Leaf chopped fine Cut to ½ tbs if using dried
1 tbs Garlic Chives or 1 clove garlic minced or ½ tbs if using dried
1 sprig Thyme – Strip leaves and course chop or use ¼ tbs of dried thyme
3 or 4 leaves Sage chopped course or ¼ tbs dried sage
2 or 3 sprigs Rosemary chopped or ½ tbs of dried Rosemary
¼ tbs course ground black pepper
¼ tbs sea or kosher salt

Instructions:
Mixing the loaf
Wash Hands thoroughly especially fingernails.
Put the hamburger into a large mixing bowl along with the sausage. Using your hands press the two meats into a flat shape.

Sprinkle the spices and chopped onion evenly over the surface of the meat patty.
Using your hands start a premix by squeezing handfuls of the meat, spice and onion mixture into balls and out through your fingers. (You can use a mixer if you wish. I use my hands so I can feel when the sausage and hamburger are starting to incorporate together.)

Once the meats, spices, salt and pepper are coarsely blended together, add the bread crumbs, the beaten egg, the Worcestershire and Steak Sauce. Again using your hands mix the bread crumbs or oatmeal, the egg and the sauces into the meat until you can tell the loaf is mixed well. The feeling should be one of the meat mixture being moist throughout.

Shape the meat into a loaf and place into the preheated oven. Bake for about 45 – 50 minutes or until the top of the loaf is a nice brown. The sides of the loaf should have pulled away from the sides of the loaf pan and should also be brown or done looking.

Turn oven off and let loaf cook on retained heat for 5 more minutes if you think it is not done. Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes before cutting.

Serve a generous slice of meat loaf with mashed potatoes with a pat of butter on top and fresh green beans for a hearty and satisfying meal. Wine or a nice micro brew or plain water goes well with this meal.

Dill

Basic Lemon-Dill Butter

Ingredients:
Sheet of cling film, saran wrap or wax paper
1 small lemon
¼ cup or 1 Stick Unsalted Butter softened to room temperature. (About 30 to 45 minutes usually) Test by pressing with the back of a wooden spoon or a fork. Butter should be soft and not oily. If oily, it is too soft to work easily. (If too soft, refrigerate until it firms up a bit.)
½ teaspoon of dried dill weed or 1 teaspoon fresh dill
½ teaspoon lemon juice
Zest of the lemon
Sea Salt or Kosher Salt
Course ground black pepper or fresh ground

Instructions:

In a small mixing bowl or dish, combine the butter and the dill using your spoon until dill is evenly distributed in the butter.

Using a fine zester, scrape the outside of the lemon skin. DO NOT go into the white part as that is too bitter. When you have about ½ teaspoon of zest, stop and add the zest to the butter mixture

Roll the lemon under your palm back and forth once to break up the internal structure a bit. Cut the lemon in half. Using your fingers as a strainer to keep seeds out, gently squeeze juice of the ½ lemon into the butter mixture. This should be about ½ teaspoon. Measure the juice before adding it to the mixture if unsure of how much.

Add a pinch of salt and a good grind of pepper or a good shake if using the course ground black pepper. Mix the juice, salt and pepper into the butter mixture.

Place the butter mixture onto your film or wax paper in the middle of the paper. Fold the paper or film over the top of the mixture. Use your fingers to shape the butter mixture into a log shape. Then roll the film up and twist the ends.

Chill in the fridge for about one-half hour if using for a meal. Otherwise place the dill butter in its film or wax paper container in a one quart freezer bag and freeze for up to 2 months. When needing some to use, simply remove the log, unroll the film or wax paper and cut off the amount of dill butter you need.

This is a basic herbbutter and can be varied with different herbs and other ingredients in the butter. Have some fun. Experiment and see what winning combinations of herb butters you can develop.

http://www.recipe4all.com/dishes/contain-dill/ -- look at the dill cucumber dip recipe.

http://www.recipe4all.com/recipe/Dijon-Dill-Sauce-for-Fish-2182/ Dijion Dill sauce for fish.

I like potatoes with my steak. This new potato recipe is one of my favorites. And it is only 20 minutes to prepare.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/garlic-dill-new-potatoes/

Garlic

http://www.garlicrecipes.org/ This site about says it all.

http://allrecipes.com/recipes/everyday-cooking/seasonal/summer/fruits-and-vegetables/garlic/ It is hard to beat the allrecipes.com website for great recipes.

http://homecooking.about.com/library/archive/blv142.htm some excellent garlic recipes on this page too.

Parsley

Mediterranean Tilapia – Serves 4

Courtesy of Fresh Ideas with Leigh Ann ( I found this recipe in my grocery store and it looked too good not to include it. I added the rice pilaf and wine)
Ingredients:
1 ¼ pound tilapia fillets
1 – 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes drained
½ cup Kalamata olives pitted and sliced
¼ cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley – your choice of curled or Italian flat leaf
or 1 tablespoon of dried parsley
2 garlic cloves minced or 8 to 10 garlic chives chopped medium fine
1 onion thinly sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
Sea Salt
Fresh Cracked Pepper

Instructions:
In large skillet heat oil over medium heat
Add onion and garlic; sauté until softened. If using garlic chives, let the onion cook for a minute or so and then add the chives
Add wine, tomatoes, olives and parsley; simmer for 5 minutes
Add fish and simmer 5 more minutes or until fish turns white and flakes easily with a fork.
Season fish to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with a rice pilaf and a nice chilled white wine such as Chablis, Chardonnay or a Pinot Grigio. I like the Pinot Grigio for most white meat dishes.

Per Serving:
255 calories, 10g fat, 1g saturated fat, 70mg cholesterol, 585mg sodium, 8g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 30g protein.

Rice Pilaf
Ingredients:
Enough cooked rice for 4 – White, Brown or a Mixture
¼ Sweet Red Pepper, ¼ Green, Orange or Yellow Pepper chopped medium. 1 green onion sliced fine including the top part. Use 2 to 4 cups of stock or a stock and water mixture. ½ cup celery chopped medium.
2 tablespoons of olive oil

Instructions:
In a large skillet, heat the oil, add the rice and start to brown. Add the celery and onions and cook until the onion starts to soften.

Add the stock and bring to boil. Add the peppers, a dash of salt and pepper or cayenne pepper if desired. Reduce heat and simmer rice for a couple of minutes. Remove from heat and cover for another 5 minutes or until rice is done.

When the rice is done, the other ingredients should be cooked and crunchy. If desired, stir in some toasted almonds or raisins for a different taste.

My Tuna Salad with Parsley – Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:
1- 6 oz package tuna in water
1- stalk celery chopped fine = ¼ cup chopped (for a nice crunch)
¼ cup or slight bit more mayonnaise
¼ cup sweet pickle relish (adjust to your taste)
¼ teaspoon dill weed
½ teaspoon spicy mustard (Sweet and Hot type or Guldens Spicy Brown)
½ teaspoon dried parsley or 2 sprigs fresh parsley chopped fine to equal 1 tbs
½ teaspoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon rice vinegar

Instructions:
In medium mixing bowl combine celery, mayonnaise, pickle relish, dill, mustard, parsley, lemon juice and rice vinegar.

Using a fork, combine the ingredients until mixed well. Adjust taste using more mayonnaise or pickle relish until you get a slightly sweet and tart taste. Then add the tuna to the mix. Break tuna into smaller chunks with fork and combine into the dressing. (Since the tuna is generally salty, I don’t add any extra salt to my tuna salad. You might wish to add a bit of freshly ground or course ground pepper.)

Serve on hearty 7 or 12 grain toast.

Other Parsley Recipes
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/parsley-potatoes/detail.aspx 30 minute prep time and serves six. These kind of potatoes go good with steaks or beef roast.

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/chimichurri/ This is one of the most unique uses for parsley that I have run across. It is an Argentinean sauce or condiment, similar to pesto used as a marinade or sauce on grilled steak, fish, chicken and even pasta.

Marjoram

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1650,154173-252205,00.html  Scalloped potatoes with sweet marjoram and parmesan cheese. This recipe uses 1 tbsp of dried Marjoram but you could probably substitute 1 to 2 tbsp of chopped fresh marjoram leaf. You would have to try the fresh until you were satisfied with the taste.  Generally 1 tsp dried marjoram equals 1 tbsp of fresh marjoram.

http://www.superbherbs.net/recipies2.htm -- about half way down the page is an interesting recipe for marjoram grilled chicken breasts with dill/chive sauce, herb garden dressing with marjoram and marjoram tomatoes.

Rosemary

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/lemon-rosemary-salmon/ Lemon Rosemary Salmon. Yumm! Twenty minutes prep time.  It is hard to beat allrecipes.com for good cooking. And don’t forget to read the reviews for other insights into the recipe.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/roast-chicken-with-rosemary/

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/rosemary-roasted-potatoes-recipe/index.html -- rosemary and fresh garlic roasted red potatoes in olive oil are excellent with steak. Especially filet mignon.

My Herb Pork Chops – Serves 4

Ingredients:
4 medium boneless pork chops.
2 tbls extra virgin olive oil
¼ tbs Soy Sauce
¼ tbs Worcestershire Sauce

Make an herb mixture of
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
3 large sprigs fresh rosemary chopped fine
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme

Instructions:
Salt and pepper the pork chops.

Sprinkle the herb mixture over the chops.

Fry the chops in olive oil at a medium heat until the pan side is done (approximately 5 minutes. On my electric stove I use a 4 or 4 ½ heat to avoid drying out the pork chops).

Only flip chops once to keep most of the herbs on the chops. After turning the chops, sprinkle a mixture of soy and Worcestershire sauce on the up side allowing some to run under the pan side. Cook for 5 minutes more on medium heat. Turn chops over once more and brown the down side.

Serve with garlic mashed potatoes and green beans for a well rounded meal.

Sage

Herb substitution chart especially useful in cooking -http://homecooking.about.com/library/weekly/blherbsub.htm from this page
Sage goes especially well with fatty foods because it aids in the digestion of grease. Accessed 3 Jan 2012

http://homecooking.about.com/od/soups/r/blss158.htm Butternut squash with sage.

Summer Savory

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/warm-potato-green-bean-salad-with-summer-savory-10000000633309/

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/mushroom-lentil-barley-stew/detail.aspx -- substitute fresh savory and basil for dried. Try about 1 ½ to 2 times the dried amount.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Zucchini-Soup-with-Herbs/Detail.aspx -- substitute 1 ½ to 2 tbsp fresh savory for dried.

Thyme

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/lemon-thyme-rice/ A simple 4 star recipe that goes with most chicken dishes. Try 1 ½ tbsp of fresh thyme for the dried. If this is not enough thyme taste, increase to 2 tbsp fresh leaves. (I find thyme to have a strong taste so error on the side of too little and increase to suit your taste.)

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/zucchini_with_thyme/ Simply recipes is another good recipe site. This is an excellent looking side dish.

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/chicken-breasts-with-rosemary-and-thyme Another good chicken recipe using both fresh rosemary and thyme. I mean that is why you are growing your herb garden isn’t it.

French Tarragon

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/dijon-tarragon-cream-chicken/ Tarragon and chicken just seem to go together don’t they?

My Chicken Breasts Tarragon – Serves 4

Ingredients:
4 boneless-skinless chicken breasts about 1 lb
1 large spray of tarragon chopped fine. Use the tops of the sprigs for best flavor. Or enough tarragon to cover top of each breast
¼ tsp parsley per breast (Your choice of fresh or dried and curled or flat leaf)
Pinch of dried thyme per breast
Pinch of kosher or sea salt per breast
Good grind of fresh black pepper per breast
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ cup of dry white wine
Drizzle of soy or tamari sauce per breast while cooking

Instructions:
Heat oil in large skillet.
While oil is heating, cover each chicken breast with the tarragon, parsley and thyme. Then add the pinch of salt and grind of black pepper.

When the oil is hot, carefully add the breasts to the pan with the herb side up.
Cook for about 5 to 6 minutes on a medium heat.  I use a 4 ½ or 5 on my electric stove.
Then turn each breast over so the herbs are on the down side.

Drizzle tamari sauce over each breast so some will run under the cooking down side.
Turn heat down to a 4 and Cook for another 5 minutes, then add the ½ cup wine to the fry pan.

Continue cooking until wine is reduced by about half. Turn heat down to a simmer and cook for another two minutes if needed to cook the breasts. Each side of the chicken breasts should be lightly browned by now.

Serve with a nice garden salad with an avocado on top and homemade mayonnaise dressing.

Home Made Salad Dressing – Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients:
1 cup of mayonnaise or sour cream or ½ cup of each
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, grape seed oil, avocado oil or similar
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar or your choice of vinegars white wine, red wine or rice vinegar seasoned with sugar
1/8 cup water
Sea Salt or Kosher Salt to taste
Course Ground Black Pepper to taste
Any complimentary spices you wish (shallots, basil, garlic, parsley or summer savory for example)

This basic salad dressing recipe can be varied by using crème cheese or the crème cheese cooking crèmes and by different vinegars, spices, addition of blue cheese, parmesan cheese, gorgonzola or any complimentary cheese crumbled fine. You can also spice it up a bit with ½ to 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce.

Instructions:
In a small jar or similar, add the mayonnaise or sour cream or a mixture of the two.
Add the salt, pepper any spices you wish. Then with a fork or whisk mix the spices into the mayonnaise. Add the oil, vinegar and water.

Put a lid on the container and shake well to emulsify the mixture. When done, the dressing should be slightly thin and not real thick. You will need to shake well each time before serving. This dressing should keep in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 weeks.

I use leftover olive jars for my mixing jars. Good use for recycling and they last for years before the lids start to corrode and they have to be discarded.

Sicilian – Italiano Pasta Salad – Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:
Enough Penne Pasta cooked to serve four to six servings. About 4 to 5 cups cooked.
Six to eight Slices of Genoa Salami - stacked and quartered
½ each red and green bell peppers - deseeded and chopped into ¼ inch pieces or smaller
1 slice red onion - chopped fine
¼ cup of red wine vinegar
1/8 cup of seasoned rice wine vinegar (seasoned is with sugar)
½ cup of extra virgin olive oil, canola oil, grape seed oil or oil of your choice for salad dressing.

Spices:
¼ teaspoon dried or ½ teaspoon chopped fresh basil
¼ teaspoon dried or ½ teaspoon chopped fine fresh Italian Parsley
¼ teaspoon dried or ½ teaspoon chopped fine fresh Greek Oregano

Instructions:
In a salad mixing jar combine the spices and about ( ¼ of the chopped red and green peppers and the chopped onion), the red wine vinegar, rice wine vinegar and oil. Shake vigorously until the oil, vinegar, spices and other ingredients are mixed.

In a mixing bowl large enough to hold them, add the pasta, remaining chopped peppers, quartered salami, and the remaining onion

Add the salad dressing and toss all ingredients gently to coat the pasta mix.

This salad is more of a lunch salad or light meal not requiring much else with it. Otherwise you could serve on a chilled lettuce leaf bed.

Resources

Free Herb Information:

As a thank you for purchasing my kindle book on indoor herb gardening, you are eligible to receive a Bonus Report on How to make money with your herb garden and other free information about herbs in our members’ only area.

Register for your free membership here.
http://www.yourindoorherbgarden.com/member-downloads/

Thank you for reading my book on Indoor Herb Gardening. If you would please leave a review, I would appreciate it.

Go to here
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/B006VDN7D2/#reader_B006VDN7D2 , Click the Write a Review Button in the Customer Reviews section. Be sure to check the - Label this review so customers know you purchased this item at Amazon - before publishing your review.

Websites – Herb Gardens and Planning

Indoor herb gardens, http://www.plantcare.com/gardening-guides/indoor-gardening/indoor-herb-gardens.aspx, accessed 20 Dec 2011

Organic herb garden, http://www.planetnatural.com/site/herb-gardening.html, accessed 3 Jan 2012

Growing Herbs for the Home Gardener – Good listing of herbs, heights, spacing, light requirements, how to propagate and uses including toxicity warnings.
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8110.html, accessed 20 Dec 2011

Herb specialists – All things Herbal is what Richters.com is all about. They have a large variety of seeds, a catalog and information. They specialize in workshops, seminars and conferences. This is a recommended site just to look around.
http://www.richters.com/  accessed 15 Dec 2011

Good listing of herbs in alphabetic order - http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/1menu.html  accessed  2 Jan 2012

General Planning steps
http://www.gardenguides.com/124926-plan-indoor-herb-garden.html  accessed 2 Jan 2012

Large amount of information on growing herbs in pots

http://herbgardenblog.com/pots-containers-and-indoor-herb-gardens/ accessed 18 Dec 2011

How to do a one pot indoor herb garden - http://www.re-nest.com/re-nest/cooking/how-to-make-a-onepot-indoor-herb-garden-035198 accessed 3 Jan 2012

Recycle water bottles into indoor herb gardens - http://dornob.com/diy-seed-bottle-idea-plant-an-instant-indoor-herb-garden/ accessed 30 Dec 2011

Containers

Amazon search for terra cotta planters – NOT AN AFFILIATE LINK
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Doutdoor&field-keywords=terra+cotta+planters&x=2&y=13 accessed 20 Dec 2011

17 inch rolling planters under $45 – NOT AN AFFILIATE LINK
http://www.gardeners.com/Self-Watering-Rolling-Planter-Large/PatioPlanters_Cat,38-627RS,default,cp.html accessed 28 Dec 2011

Container comparisons from $9 for a poly window box to over $500
http://www.bizrate.com/outdoor-decor/terracotta-window-boxes/ accessed 29 Dec 2011

Transplanting Tip

When bringing your herbs home from the nursery, give them a day or two to grow accustomed to their new environment. Mix your potting soil thoroughly with water so that it is moist but not wet. Squeeze a small ball in your hand. If it feels soggy, add some more dry mix to what you are using for the transplant and mix well until the ball feels moist but not soggy wet.

When transplanting your herbs increase pot size only 2 inches or one pot size at a time to avoid shocking your herb. Give your transplanted herb time to grow accustomed to the new environment. Use soil that drains well. A 50/50 mix of cactus mix and potting soil is a mix that drains well. (See Secret 4 on Growing Mediums for other mixes that work as well or better than the 50/50 mix and why.)

Terra Cotta pots from one of the online dealers or a local nursery are a good choice. Terra Cotta or unglazed clay allows air to pass through the pot to the roots. Use a drain saucer partially filled with pea gravel or pebbles to allow the pot to drain properly. A little water in the gravel, but not where the roots will get wet, provides a nice column of humidity for plants like rosemary that need such humidity to grow well indoors. (Tip from Tia at Tagawa Gardens, Aurora, CO)

Supplemental Lighting

Good info on lighting and good prices on florescent grow light bulbs
http://homeharvest.com/whichgrowlightisrightforme.htm  accessed 22 Dec 2011

Good florescent grow light pricing and info on hydroponic growing.
http://www.plantlightinghydroponics.com/grow-bulbs-fluorescent-c-73.html accessed 3 Jan 2012

Amazon search for grow lights – NOT AN AFFILIATE LINK
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss/180-7958035-7168635?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=grow+lights accessed 3 Jan 2012

Tips for Success

1.        Rosemary is difficult to grow indoors due to lack of humidity. If there is a lack of good indoor humidity, Rosemary leaves may turn black starting at the tip and dry up back to the leaf root. Then the leaf will fall off the plant. If you mist the plant, make sure there is adequate room ventilation or use a fan to dry the leaves and prevent any powdery mildew starting. Powdery mildew is a grayish white fungus.

2.       Humidity Tip -- A good way to provide humidity for your plants is to put the pot in a drain saucer or tray with about ½ inch to 1 inch of pebbles of pea gravel in the saucer. Then put some water in the saucer but not enough the plant will sit in the water. The level of the pebbles should be enough to keep the plant out of the water. As the water evaporates, it will provide a column of humidity for the plant. This procedure is especially good for growing Rosemary indoors in the winter. (This tip was from Tia at Tagawa Gardens in Aurora, CO)

You can also cut off the bottom of a ½ gallon milk carton or orange juice carton about 1/2 to 1 inch up from the bottom. Then use the cut portion to hold your gravel and water. While this container will not last forever, it is a good recycle of a throwaway. The orange juice containers usually are a bit more colorful than the milk cartons.

3.       You can cut a 2 inch piece of a 1 ¾ thick cellulose sponge and wet it then lay it among the herbs but not touching any of them. Air moving over the sponge will provide humidity around your small indoor garden.

4.      Potting Soil Tip -- Use a 50 / 50 mix of Cactus Mix and Potting soil for your herbs. Or an 8/3/2 soil, perlite and cactus soil mix. The herbs in this book are Mediterranean in origin and like well drained soil.  A good Cactus Mix has pumice or volcanic rock in it which promotes good drainage. Avoid any Cactus Mix which is mostly sand and peat moss. The peat tends to draw the water to the sides of the pot and allow it to run down the side of the pot. Also once dried out, the peat can be difficult to correctly rewet. So read the ingredients before you purchase any Cactus Mix. (See Secret 4 Growing Medium for the 8-3-2 mix. This is my preferred mix. It drains well and does not dry out quite as fast as the 50/50 cactus/potting soil mix.

5.       Repotting your Herb -- When you repot your herbs to a larger pot. Only go up 1 pot size at a time to avoid shocking the plant. Repot when the soil is just moist before watering time but not wet. After repotting, water the plant and allow it to drain thoroughly. Put the new transplant in the sun or under the grow light to force some growth and dry out the soil a bit.

6.       Pots -- Terra Cotta clay pots are better than plastic or enameled pots because they allow air to get to the roots of the plant. They also allow water to evaporate through the sides of the pot so plants will dry out faster than with plastic. But you have less chance of root rot with clay than with plastic or enameled pots that don’t breath. Soak your clay pots overnight before transplanting your herbs to avoid the pot soaking up the soil water and drying it out too fast. A 6 inch clay pot and drain saucer should be about $3 dollars or less and an 8 inch pot and saucer less than $5 dollars.

7.       Watering Tip -- If watering with tap water, allow it to stand out for a day before use. This will drive off some of the chlorine used for disinfecting the water. Or use distilled water for watering your plant.

8.      Fertilizing Tip --When using Aged Kelp or any other liquid fertilizer, dilute it to the directions. Then water your plant a bit before applying the diluted fertilizer. Watering before the fertilizer application will buffer the roots of the plant and help avoid burning the roots. (Thanks to Suzie at Tagawa Gardens for this tip.)

9.       Overwatering -- If you overwater a plant, put it in direct sunlight and let it dry out. Or directly under the grow light for at least six hours a day for a couple of days. Getting lots of light will force the plant to grow and uptake water. This should reduce the chance of root rot.

10.    If you think you may have root rot because your plant is losing leaves and looks unhappy, gently remove the plant from the pot and inspect the root ball. The roots should be whitish on the part you can see. If all you see is black dead roots, then you have a severe problem. Depending on how bad the rot is, putting the plant in the sun or under the grow light may correct the problem.

11.     Pest Control Tip -- Try mixing in some ground cinnamon with your potting soil to drive away the little buggers.

12.    Herb Harvesting Tip -- When harvesting sprigs off marjoram or thyme, only cut the top 1/3 of the sprig. This will leave enough growth to allow the plant to bush out and produce more sprigs. I cut between the leave buds so that the new leaves will come out at the base of the left over leafs. When harvesting parsley, cut the sprig at the soil level to force more growth. Rosemary, I have harvested the larger leaves by themselves and put in my rosemary dry bag. This will allow the remaining sprigs to put out new growth and become bushier and also to grow new sprigs at the top of the existing ones. When your plant is as full as you want it to be, then cut some of the top growth off for drying. But again no more than 1/3 of the total sprig.

13.    Herb Drying Tip -- You can also carefully harvest the leaves or sprigs to avoid getting any dirt on them. Then put them in a brown paper lunch bag sack. Fold over the top and put in a dry room away from light for a couple of days to a week. Every two days shake the sack a bit to ensure the herbs dry evenly. (Tip from Tia at Tagawa Gardens) (This drying method works really well and is easy to do.)

14.   Storage Tips -- See the General Storage Tips for storing your herbs. Freezing in herbed ice cubes, leaf log rolls, freezing leaves in freezer bags or storing in the fridge for up to a week for quick use.

15.    Recycled Storage Jars -- Consider using baby food jars with a screw on lid for storing your herbs. They are big enough to hold a lot of herbs. You can put a large label on them to keep out the light and they are reasonably airtight. You could also use some small jam or jelly jars with screw on lids for herb storage.

An alternative is to go to the Dollar Tree or similar store and pick up a pack of small round or square stackable containers for a $1.00. Best deal in town.

Conclusion

So we have arrived at the end of our book journey and the beginning of your garden adventure. At this point, you should have a method to choose the herbs you wish to grow, information about basic culinary herbs, types of containers and places to purchase them, potting soil recipes, tools to use, fertilizing, pest control, some basic indoor garden plans and costs to get your basic herb garden started.

Take some time; get the family involved in planning the garden, especially the children. Gardening is a great way for kids to start learning some responsibility taking care of another living being. Then get them involved in using the herbs in cooking some culinary delights.

But most of all, have fun on your journey into the wonderful world of indoor culinary herb gardening. Enjoy the smells and peace that working with plants and the earth can bring you.

Happy Gardening

John B. Green

Disclaimer

© December 2011 John B. Green and www.yourindoorherbgarden.com

All Rights Reserved.   No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including scanning, photocopying, or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder.

Disclaimer and Terms of Use: The Author and Publisher has strived to be as accurate and complete as possible in the creation of this book, notwithstanding the fact that he does not warrant or represent at any time that the contents within are accurate due to the rapidly changing nature of the Internet. While all attempts have been made to verify information provided in this publication, the Author and Publisher assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions, or contrary interpretation of the subject matter herein. Any perceived slights of specific persons, peoples, or organizations are unintentional. In practical advice books, like anything else in life, there are no guarantees of results. Any medicinal use of herbs mentioned in this book is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. If required, all readers are advised to seek the services of competent professionals in the herbal or medical fields.

This book is written under the pen name of John B. Green. References to living or deceased persons of that name are unintentional and coincidental.

First Printing, 2012

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Dedication

Introduction

Chapter One Types of Herbs

Aromatic herbs

Ornamental herbs

Growing Medicinal Herbs

Chapter Two Why Grow  a Culinary Herb Garden?

Chapter Three 7 Secrets to Your Successful  Indoor Herb Garden

Secret One -- How to Choose the Right Culinary Herbs

Herb Summary

Secret Two – Starting with Plants and Why

Secret Three - Containers

Container Preparation

Secret Four – Use a Proper Growing Medium

Soil Mix Recipes

Video How to Mix Potting Soil

Secret Five - Lighting

Secret Six – Air Circulation

Secret Seven - Water for Success

Chapter Four Other Tips

Fertilizing

Mini Tools for Mini Gardens

Pest Control

How to Transplant Your Herbs

Transplanting Video

Success and Failures

Indoor Herb Garden Plans

Costs

Chapter Five Storing Your Herbs

How to Dry Your Herbs

Freezing Herbs

Herb Dehydrators

General Storage Tips

Chapter Six  Recipes

Basil

My Red Sauce #1– serves 4

Red Sauce #2 – Serves 2

Herb Burgers – Serves 4

Kitchen Sink Meat Loaf – Serves 8

Dill

Basic Lemon-Dill Butter

Garlic

Parsley

Mediterranean Tilapia – Serves 4

Rice Pilaf

My Tuna Salad with Parsley – Serves 4 to 6

Marjoram

Rosemary

My Herb Pork Chops – Serves 4

Sage

Summer Savory

Thyme

French Tarragon

My Chicken Breasts Tarragon – Serves 4

Home Made Salad Dressing – Serves 6 to 8

Sicilian – Italiano Pasta Salad – Serves 4 to 6

Resources

Free Herb Information:

Websites – Herb Gardens and Planning

Containers

Supplemental Lighting

Tips for Success

Conclusion

Disclaimer