In the Garden: Growing herbs

With so much attention focused on growing vegetables right now, don’t lose sight of another set of culinary treats: annual and perennial herbs. They’re economical, easy to grow and shrug off pests and disease. You can plant them just about anywhere, from conventional vegetable gardens to upfront flower beds or containers. And, they’ll provide fresh cuttings through summer and beyond.

Annual herbs are quick. They sprout, grow and bear their pungent leaves and flowers within a few months. Most put down short roots and are content in pots. They’re less expensive than buying a comparable quantity of leaves or bunches from the market.

Perennial herbs tend to be evergreen, woody, hardy and aromatic. Many are native to the Mediterranean and fit right in with our mild climate, ordinary soil and infrequent summer water. Most are ornamental, so they’ll beautify your garden as well.

Annual herbs

These one-hit wonders typically require reasonably fertile, loose soil and heat.

Basil, borage, chamomile, parsley and summer savory bear shallow roots. So they’re fine in smaller containers. You can grow one per pot, or combine an assortment in a broad bowl.

Basil (Osimum basilicum) is a great herb for beginners. Summertime is perfect, as basil withers during cold weather. Buy a 4-inch starter plant and transplant it into a container at least 8 inches in diameter. Or, put it in the ground in fertile, fluffy soil.
Or, look for seed, which is more economical and offers greater choice, including cinnamon, sweet, lemon and Thai. Basil has a short life cycle, so sow a few seeds every few weeks for continued harvests until fall. Plant your seeds or seedlings in a sunny spot and water every few days. Keep the top layer of soil damp, but not soggy.

Harvest the leaves regularly. Snip off any flowers as they form. If the flowers mature and produce seed, your plant will bolt, crumple and die. Because it’s an annual, your basil will only live a certain period of time anyway. But by nipping the flowers in the bud, you’ll be able to prolong the inevitable. That advice holds for other annual herbs as well.

Cucumber-flavored borage (Borago officinalis) may not be as versatile. But, its fuzzy, nodding, star-shaped, sky-blue flowers are pretty in the garden. Borage tolerates most soils, including poor and dry. If it gets too cozy, it sends out multiple volunteers. You can gain the upper hand by growing your borage in a pot on a patio.

Annual or German chamomile (Matricaria recutita) sprouts easily from seed, too. Harvest the white daisy flowers. Discard the flower petals and dry just the yellow, button centers, which can be brewed for tea.

Perennial or Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile) is the one that bears pungent leaves. It grows as a low mat and is a nice, fragrant plant to squeeze between stepping stones.

Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) can be persnickety from seed. Avoid the frustration by buying transplants instead. Like basil, parsley does best with fluffy soil and regular water. It likes full sun in the morning, then protection in the afternoon.

Flat-leafed French parsley grows 6- to 12-inches tall and makes a pretty edging around vegetable or flower beds. Or, grow

it on a windowsill within easy reach for snipping.

Flat-leafed Italian parsley bears larger, more pungent leaves and grows 2 feet wide and 2 to 3 feet tall. It’s easier to maintain in the ground.

Summer savory (Satureja hortensis) is a shy little ingredient in herbes de Provence mixes, along with oregano, rosemary and thyme. Provide full sun and average soil. Harvest both the leaves and pretty pink flowers, which bloom on foot-tall stalks.

The tap root contingent of annual herbs includes caraway, cilantro and dill. Seed all three directly in the garden.

Caraway (Carum carvi) is technically a biennial, taking two seasons to run its course. The first year, it sends down a carrot-like tap root and produces a hummock of foot-tall leaves that you can harvest. The following spring, spikes of little white flower clusters rise above. By midsummer, the flowers ripen into edible seeds. The plants like full sun.

Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum) prefers a bit of shade and moist soil. Otherwise, the young plants may bolt. In the proper setting, the erect, somewhat weedy-looking plants grow 1 to 3 feet tall. Chop the leaves for cilantro. Or, let the delicate white flowers on top ripen. The tiny seeds that follow are coriander, popular in baking.

If dill (Anethum graveolens) is crowded and dry, it may bolt, too. After sowing, keep the ground moist. The seeds may take several weeks to sprout. Once they do, the tall, wispy plants like elbow room: thin them at least 6- to 8-inches apart. Harvest the delicate, bluish-green leaves to season everything from fish to potatoes. Save the seeds to pickle cucumbers.

Perennial herbs

These herbs are in it for the long haul, generally require more space and include such familiar landscape plants on the Central Coast as rosemary and thyme.

Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) are an exception, growing well in a 6- to 8-inch pot, if sustained by regular watering.

Mint (Mentha) and oregano (Origanum) are excellent prospects for medium-sized pots. Otherwise, in the ground, they’re likely to overtake unsuspecting neighbors. Use containers to corral their aggressive behavior. Just make sure the roots don’t escape through the drain holes.

Rosemary, sage and thyme have better manners, but still like to roam. They grow well anywhere in the ground with decent drainage, or in large pots, where you'll need to clip and trim them on a regular basis.

There’s just one species of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), but the named varieties include both ground covers that grow 2 to 3 feet tall and spread 6 to 8 feet, and upright shrubs that grow 4 to 8 feet tall and wide.

Sage (Salvia), on the other hand, includes dozens of species. For the kitchen, the two most popular are culinary sage (Salvia officinalis), which bears flat, fuzzy, oval, grayish-green leaves, and pineapple sage (Salvia elegans), an upright grower with small, apple-green leaves and bright red flowers that hummingbirds adore.

Thyme (Thymus) is a fragrant, low-growing ground cover that produces leaves in shades of green, gray or lime. Some smaller versions, including Elfin and creeping thyme, are great between stepping stones. Thyme does fine in ordinary soil with occasional watering. It spreads, but is easy to control.