HELLO herb garden! This is how you make it (and get the most out of it)
We thought one of the nicest Barts Buiten articles was the one about permaculture. Excuse me? What? Permaculture, the name for an ecological and almost completely edible garden, can also be applied to mini gardens. You can read the article here. It will come as no surprise that herbs are the most important part of such a permaculture garden, so we (read: my mother) will discuss this in more detail. At your service!
Many herbs are perennials, so if you buy or sow them once, you can grow them for years. Nice and economical. They just grow back up on their own every spring. I dig them up every few years or take them out of the pot. I then divide the plant into pieces and plant them again. This way you rejuvenate the plant. This applies to all herbs lare the prettiest, and smell the best, just before they bloom. You didn't know, did you? Is so.
Some herbs can be allowed to bloom because you can eat or use the seeds. This applies, for example, to: dill. Dill is an annual herb that has a mild aniseed flavor. You can use the dried seeds to make herbal vinegar or to pickle pickles. Dill grows to about 1m high. If you store the seed in a dry and dark place in the fall, you can use it as seed again in the spring.
fresh coriander is also an annual, but it sows itself nicely. You can use the leaves and the seed. Okay, it is a somewhat overpowering herb so be gentle. The stems of coriander are also edible by the way!
From Chives you have to make a big cut now (April). Chives are perennial plants and may look beautiful with flowers, but they are actually tastier before they bloom.
Basil you can now sow indoors. Indoors yes, because frost can still come and it really can't handle that. There are many types of basil: Thaise, Bolloso (lettuce leaf), red, purple, small-leaved (pluto), large-leaved genovese), anise basil, lemon basil, cinnamon basil… You can simply add basil to the lettuce, but you can also make delicious pesto from it! There is also winter-hardy basil. Personally, I don't like it as much.
Rosemary is an herb that I particularly like, and it is a hardy plant. Finally, Mint, also a winner. From perennial plants to annual plants.