The Best Herbs For Beginners To Grow

Herb gardening is gaining popularity more and more as cookbooks, television chefs and other media are touting the flavor and health benefits of fresh herbs over dried. Indeed, it is certainly true that fresh herbs have a far superior flavor, aroma and appearance over their dried counterparts, and they probably do have more vitamins and minerals. Another great reason to grow your own herbs is the lack of availability of fresh herbs in many areas, as well as the price. Some stores sell very small packages of fresh herbs for $3 or $4 per package! You could probably grow a small patch of the herb at home for that price and get dozens of bunches!

Growing your own herbs may seem like a daunting task, but it is really no more difficult than growing tomatoes or squash. And the benefits are well worth it for most people.

Basil is my number one recommendation for the beginner. It is a fairly hardy annual plant, grows fairly quickly and without a lot of special care, and has many uses in the home kitchen. It can be used to make basil pesto and caprese salad. It can be shredded in a chiffonade and sprinkled over salads, pasta or bread. It tastes wonderful in Italian soups and spaghetti sauces. It even makes a very good salad green when added whole to a salad! It will also grow in most zones, making it a very good choice for almost anyone.

Dill is another easy choice. This annual requires very little special care, grows well in almost every zone, and it remarkably hardy. Dill is most widely known for use in making dill pickles, but it has a myriad of other uses. It can be used to flavor almost any fish, especially salmon. And it is a very popular addition to scrambled eggs and macaroni and cheese.