Top Five Herbs for Growing and Varied Harvesting Methods

Herbs for growing are done so due to multitude of usage – medicinal, therapeutic, supernatural beliefs, culinary supplements or seasonings, cosmetics and even pest control.

Here are the top herbs with their brief physical qualities, nature of growth and harvesting tips.

Basil

In most herb articles, you would find this herb included. Its nickname, the King of Herbs, is just fitting as it has multifaceted purposes. Most of its varieties are annuals, others are perennials. Whatever variety, it generally grows up to eighteen inches in height. When full-grown, its green leaves are about 1 ½ inches in spread and about 2 inches long. Its flowers only appear when it has been two months matured. The flowers are usually white and spiky. Its early blossoms actually look like its leaves.

Basil grows its leaves really abundant. When you have seen its stems are spreading already, unravel its roots and start replanting. Too much lush growth could lessen the flavor of its leaves.

You can pick its leaves when it has been growing for a month and a half. You can use them fresh or dry.

Parsley

This biennial plant is very easy to maintain. It grows about 12 to 14 inches. This may seem small but it is only due to the horizontal spread of its leaves. Its leaves could be either curly or flatleaf. They usually grow in long stems and the leaves form clusters at the tips.

You can pick its leaves anytime. Be sure that you use scissors to cut the leaves as their stems are flimsy.

Rosemary

This is one of the evergreens that do not grow from tall trees, which makes it a rare perennial evergreen. However, it could reach up to a few feet tall depending on its cultivation. Very tall rosemary plants are usually cultivated in special lime-rich soil conditions. Some even put up a separate greenhouse for rosemary herbs only.

Its leaves are needle-like looking and are little tough. Its stems are also woody. Such strong characteristics make this herb a really strong-smelling ingredient used for most meat dishes. Also, it prefers very sunny locations.

You can pick its leaves whenever. However, cut off its tips every two to three weeks so new leaves can come out.

Mint – Peppermint and Spearmint

This genus has two species that are commonly used by many people – spearmint and peppermint. These are both perennials which require much space for growth of its roots. Their roots easily spread. Their leaves are both green; however, spearmint’s a lighter shade. They both have flowers that look like spikes. Their overall height would measure up to two feet tall.

They grow best in moist soil because their sporadic roots need a lot of water. They can grow in sunny or sheltered areas. When you have seen that they are growing like vines, you can arrange them in separate beds or pots. Put bamboo skewers, Popsicle sticks or any fencing material that could limit their expansion. However, if you prefer them really bushy, you could just regularly harvest. Just be sure that all of your mint herb plants have spacing relative to their maturity. Let the young ones have more space allotments. They may grow easily but when mature mints get in the way of their root growth, they could just as easily die.

Harvesting their leaves is allowable anytime. You would even notice that sometimes their leaves keep on falling. Do not be alarmed. They are not drying up or dying. Their leaves easily separate from the stems just to give way for new growth. So it would be best to harvest their leaves every two weeks.

All these herbs’ leaves could be dried in a very simple method. Place them inside a paper bag with at least five ball point pen holes on both sides. Hang them with a clothespin for at least two days. Be sure they are located somewhere with ample sunlight. Do not leave them outside at night. The moisture of dews could result to their rancidity. You can use these dried leaves for a couple of days.

If you had too much dried leaves, mince them and then put them in a dry glass bottle. This could last for about a week without any preservatives or seasoning like salt and black pepper.

These herbs for growing could really provide you with much convenience. You could enjoy flavorful meals, aromatic therapies and homemade remedies right from your own garden as these herbs have the most number of multi-purposes.