Create your own summer herb garden

Cooking a delicious meal at home packs an even greater punch with some freshly picked herbs from your very own home-grown herb garden. Herb gardens are a wonderful addition to any home as they can be any size and can be easily adapted to your requirements. Once established your herbs can be fairly easy to grow and maintain.

Here's how you can create your very own herb garden at home:

Step 1 - plan ahead
In order to start your herb garden, you'll need to plan ahead. This involves thinking about whether you prefer pots, planters or beds, what herbs you want in your herb garden, whether you're going to plant seeds or buy seedlings, how much space you'll need to plant the herbs and what conditions the herbs need in order to grow - do they need shade or direct sunlight? Once you've got a solid plan in place for what your herb garden is going to look like and what it needs, you can begin the process.

Step 2 - Location! Location! Location!
Where your herb garden is located on your property is important. Your herb garden should be located in an area that drains well, receives lots of direct sunlight and is sheltered from the worst weather. You can either plant your herbs directly in the ground or in pots, depending on what soil you have. Herbs do well in normal soil but if your soil is clay-rich you might want to consider using pots.

Step 3 - Set up and prepare your garden for planting
Once you've chosen a location for your garden it's time to set it up and prepare it for your herbs. You might want to consider paving around the area or in between rows, so that you can access the herbs easily and without damaging your plants. Once you've paved the area, it's time to prepare the soil by digging up the top layer of the soil and combining it with compost, then watering the soil.

Step 4 - Get planting
Once you've decided where you want each different herb to be, it's time to start planting. If you're planting ready-grown herbs you will need to dig a hole that is deep enough to comfortably fit the roots. Put some fertiliser in the hole before you put the plant in and make sure to gently loosen the packing soil around the root ball so as to encourage root growth.  If you're planting a seed, make a small furrow in the soil and follow the planting instructions on the packet.

Step 5 - maintain your herb garden
Once you've planted your herbs it is important to maintain your herb garden. You will need to water them when the soil begins to feel a bit dry, but make sure not to overwater your herbs as this can cause them to die. Pruning and keeping your herbs fertilised is also important to ensure that your herb garden thrives.

Follow these five steps to create your own herb garden and you'll be cooking home-made meals with fresh herbs in no time and once you've cooked with freshly picked herbs, you'll never want to use store bought ones again.

Read our article on https://www.hamiltons.co.za/news/5-summer-inspired-food-and-wine-pairings/

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