Good herbs for beginners?

What are some good beginner herbs?
What they can be used for,
And how to use them would be nice too.
I live in Northern Virginia,
just so that gives you an idea of the climate.
Thanks ahead of time!

 

I grow a lot of herbs -- just pick out what sounds interesting and give it a go. The herbs that I find to be most useful for cooking are:

Basil (try several kinds as they are all slightly different. This year I had some lemon basil that was just wonderful. I used it instead of the "L" on a BLT with avocado.)

Parsley and/or cilantro

Mint (again, try a few different ones. I grew chocolate mint this year and it had a neat flavor. I chop it up and put in ground burger meat. Also good in a salsa of peaches and mint on salmon.)

Oregano

Rosemary (deeelish on grilled meats as well as on roasted new potatoes)

Sage (yummy in scrambled eggs as well as in roasted potatoes)

Cuban Oregano (this was something new I tried this year and I just loved it. I chopped it up in everything. I'm not really sure what it is really, as I'd never seen it before.)

Catnip -- great fun to grow if you have a cat.

Good luck! BTW, I'm just up the road near Annapolis so growing conditions are the same.

 

Thyme and sage are wonder and hearty. So easy to grow as well.

 

My suggestion is as many as you can get your hands on. Herbs can give just about anything that fresh-from-the-garden taste, even if all the other ingredients are store bought.

I agree with Toni on Basil, it's awesome! I like the sweet green and purple varieties. One summer I planted 50 and still didn't have enough freezer pesto to last me through winter!

Rosemary is a definite must, very handsome and fragrant.

Salad Burnet is extremely cool if you like the taste of cucumber. For some reason it's not a really common choice, but it's extremely hardy and tolerant of most climates. It looks kind of like parsley but it gets huge!

 

For me, I prefer to plant those that are frequently use for cooking and flavorings such as thyme, basil, mint, etc. They are also easy to grow.

 

Easy Gardening

I was surprised how easy growing herbs is compared to a regular vegetable garden. Also I think herb plants are much more exciting than vegetables. I love the aromas. Sweet basil really is.

Garlic is very easy to grow. I would vote for garlic as the best starter herb. Very Happy

 

Another easy to grow herb I found is rosemary. I bought a small potted rosemary plant at the grocery store and after enjoying the aroma in the kitchen for a few days planted it outside in my garden. It did great and I have added more. It is easy and fun to just go out and pick your own fresh rosemary anytime you need it. :-D

 

surely the mint , it will grow much faster and bigger than you ever wished.

 

Sorry, from Australia so don't know what your local climate is but the ones I find I use a lot of and are versatile across many types of cuisine are parsely, mint, vietnamese mint, chives, basil, cilantro, spring onion, oregano.

Cilantro- is an annual, need to grow from seed every spring/ summer. If it is too hot it will bolt to seed. The snails and slugs l;ove this one, so beware, I find in pots off the ground works. I use in fresh salsas, with mango, on fish, with other tangy flavours like tamarind, lime, etc. Good esp in middle eastern, malaysian stirfries, and vietnamese etc. Use fresh and at last minute, it doesn't cook up so well on flavour

Parsely will also go to seed when weather gets hot, but in our temperate climate it self seeds happily. I do find that there is a parsley free lapse between seeding and new sprouted plants, so I keep some seed on hand to try and anticipate and hence have parsley all year. never had any probs with pests on this one. I use in tabouleh, in a pasta with olive oil, lemon juice and zest, crushed pinenuts and a ton of parmesan/ pecorino, voila. Belissimo

Basil is also an annual, wil need to be resown a fresh every spring. Excellent in anything tomaty. Also prey to slugs etc. A good companion plant to tomatos. Once again, keep up water in hot weather or it will take it as the cue for the end of summer and seed. Pluck out the growing tips to get it nice and bushy.

chives are a perrenial, they live on and grow from year to year (a small bulb like onion) but they die down over winter. Pest free in my experience. I love them on potatos and with eggs soft boiled yum yum.

Both the mints are spreaders, so while easy to control, best gron in a container. If you keep harvesting, it will send up more shoots. Vietnamese mint is suitable for well, vietnamese cooking, and is a bit hot and spicy, and mint is a bot more all around. (see other post on mint) Vietnamese mint grows to about 3 foot tall and tends to straggle a bit but easy to grow and well worth having. Harvest by stripping leaves backwards off stem. Mint grows to about 2 foot tall. Both are fairly pest free.

Oregano will give all year around. Left to it's own devices, it will spread but easy to control. It grows happily in fairly poor soils, but doesn't mind a bit more TLC. Pest free. I use in middle eastern, with tomato dishes, really heaps of stuff. It's a nice blend in- enhancing gflavour. I use as one of the main ingrediants ina dhukkah I make.

Herbs are awesome. There's not a day when I don't cook from the garden with them. If you go down your local nursery, see what they stock a lot of, this will give you an indication of what people buy, ie what grows in your area.

have fun

 

I find herbs are very easy to grow. They really don't need much "fussing" The ones I grow prefer dry soils, a lot of sun and no fertilizer. I like basil, rosemary, sage, lemon balm, mints of all kinds, oregano, thyme,and hyssop to name a few!

 

I grow parsley, cilantro, rosemary, lemon thyme, dill, Greek oregano, Texas tarragon, Mexican basil and Italian basil and spearmint.

I have stevia in a pot indoors. That one's iffy. I'll know more in a couple of months.

I have garlic planted and it looks okay. I put it out late. This is the first year I've planted it. I hope for the best because I love the stuff.

My rule of thumb for planting herbs has become, if it has really tiny seed buy plants. If it doesn't buy seed.I'm trying catnip for the third time, I hope it doesn't fail again.

I've yet to be successful with those infinitesimally small seeds.

Beginner Herbs? I'd say plant what grows easily in your area. That's how I started. I had basil and spearmint and oregano. Then I got rosemary and lemon thyme. I do use some in cooking. So grow what you think you'll use.

My dream is to have a tea garden in a year or two.
I can't handle much caffeine anymore. So I might just as well plant some chamomile and go from there.
Arrrgh. Another tiny seeded herb.

 

My advice is just go for it! Try as many as you can. Time and experience will help you (or some good gardneing books)

Here is a quick list:

Parsley.It´s most commonly use as meals garnish. Others uses that parsley has is as a bad breath controller. It´s also used to reduce itching from a mosquito bite once rubbed on the affected skin.

Oregano. It´s a beautiful flower one blossomed. It has a purple and white color that will definitely improve your garden landscape. Oregano should not be harvested until it has flowered because this is when the plant is most flavorful. Oregano is mostly used in sauces and pizzas. It also has a medicinal benefit, it´s antioxidant.

Fennel. This herb´s bulb, seeds and foliage are commonly used in recipes. It is a perennial plant that should be divided and replanted every few years to savor its flavor. It has several medicinal purposes. To name some: purgative, sight improvement and diuretic.

Rosemary. It´s a perennial herb. When it blossoms it shows nice-looking blue flowers. Rosemary attacks bees which is good for your garden.

Garlic. Is the most used herb in Italian recipes. It´s easy to grow since it doens´t require much attention. You can use it in most dishes. Garlic can be stored in a freezer or refrigerator. It's antibacterial, antiviral and even known for preventing heart diseases.

Sage. This herb has a peppery flavor. It's used to flavor meats, drinks, salads and cheeses. It's recommended to grow new shoots since the most flavor are in the new ones.

Happy gardening!!!

 

dear hg1992,i too am new to herb growing and i also am in virginia, further south than you but our conditions aren't much different until winter...the herbs i have tried...basil ( i don't cook with it i use it as a bee&butterfly attractent,gourmets would never let theirs go to flower and i did not know this...it was left by the back porch and during some high winds the scent wafted up to the porch what a pleasant aroma!), rosemary(mmmmooorrrreee aroma!)this herb is best located where you or your guests will rub against it and you can always cut a few stems to bring instant aromatherapy into your house...sage ( i planted a varigated variety last year b/c i liked the colors..it survived the winter..yay me!)i don't cook with herbs but i do enjoy reading about them..the historic uses for them etc..i have found them to be fairly care free, no coddling needed or wanted and to me that is a win win situation in gardening...good luck..if i can be any help just let me know as i am researching herbs all the time, tonya

 

I personally love Basil. Its so easy to grow (Ive grown it in margarine tubs hehe), and to dry. Last year I gathered up a few bunches and hung em in the garage over the winter, now I have fresh dried (kind of an oxymoron eh?) basil