If you were making a herb garden, which herbs would be an absolute must to get started with?

Similar questions: making herb garden herbs absolute started.

The ones I like and use the most I choose what to grow based on what I like and what I use the most. Another consideration might be what is NOT readily available at the grocery store. A big advantage of growing your own is that you know how much pesticide and chemical fertilizers you’ve used.

For me, the above advice translates this year to basil, cilantro, parsley, and mint. I’m thinking about adding oregano. I don’t have a lot of space for a garden, so I have to narrow it down to my favorites.

Basil is a must have. It is easy to grow and is absolutely essential and wonderful with garden tomatoes and a little sea salt, garlic, and olive oil. I use cilantro in a lot of grain-based salads, salsas and relishes, and Mexican dishes.

Sometimes I just break off a sprig and eat it. To me, if "clean" had a taste, it would be cilantro. I like to grow parsley just because so many recipes call for it and fresh is so much nicer than dried.

I grow mint in a pot because if you grow it in the garden, it will quickly take over your neighborhood. We’ve discovered mojitos which call for a fair amount of crushed mint. Plus it’s always a nice garnish for desserts.

I have one square of dark chocolate a day (it’s for my health -- honest! ) and a few mint leaves with it are nice. I keep the plants well-harvested.

I keep the leaves in a Green Bag in the fridge, but if it looks like I’m not going to use it up, I put it in a freezer bag and freeze it. I don’t wash it until I use it. Usually it is at least slightly wilted when it defrosts, but it’s still good for cooking if not garnishing.

Herbs are fun and gratifying. They’re hard to kill so they make even the worst of us look like we have green thumbs! SharonW's Recommendations Buzzy Porcelain Kitchen Herbs Grow Kit Amazon List Price: $12.99 Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 1 reviews) .

Funny you ask because...... I just put in an herb garden. My favorite herb is Italian flat leaf parsley, not the curly kind (which has no flavor). I use this more than anything else, so I put in four plants.

Besides that, I put in basil, rosemary, dill, thyme, sage, and chives. I also put in lemon thyme, summer savory, and lemon balm, but they are probably not basics. Tantalumgirl's Recommendations Italian Flat Leaf Parsley 4 Plants - Favored by Chefs!.

I have a small addiction to cilantro... It must be in the marijuana family because I can't get enough...No matter how many plants I plant, I still need more :) I also love rosemary, so good on potatoes and meat, seafood...YUM! I would add oregano and sweet basil to put in your pasta dishes. What about mint for some summer mojitos?

They have so many variations of mint now, I had some chocolate mint the other day in a drink....It was so refreshing and really did taste and smell like chocolate mint...Fascinating! Of course I love hot peppers...I know they are not an herb, but I have added serranos to my herb garden... Those are my musts becuae those are what I cook most with... Have fun with yours... gigglbx's Recommendations RSVP Woven Wire Hanging Baskets next year my cilantro is going in one of these...I am going to put some moss in the bottom, top with dirt, then add "my precious"...This way they will be closer to my kitchen and I can keep my eyes on my babies at all times :) .

My choices would be rosemary, sage, basil, oregano, winter tarragon, dill, and cilantro because... ...these are the herbs I most often like to use in cooking, and they are hardy and easy growers. Rosemary is a shrubby perennial so you can outline the garden with it and use it to establish different growing areas. It is also a wonderful plant to use fresh with lamp, pork and chicken.

You can even put cuttings on the fire to create an aromatic smoke when you barbecue. It is a very hardy plant and will tolerate lots of sun and relatively little water. I grow mine in the "Hell strip," the narrow bit of dirt between the sidewalk and the street.

Sage, winter tarragon and oregano will last several years and so could be the secondary backbone of the garden. While I never use my home-grown oregano much as it never seems as strong in flavor as the dried oregano in a jar, I love having fresh sage leaves available for special recipes such as saltimboca. The dried sage just isn't the same. I also enjoy the bright yellow flowers of the winter tarragon (aka Mexican Marigold) in contrast to the grey leaves of the sage and the furry oregano leaves.It also makes a lovely tarragon vinegar.

Basil and dill are annuals that need to be replanted each year. I absolutely love fresh basil and use it constantly as is or cooked into sauces, steamed with vegetables such as squash, or as a salad with homegrown tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. If I could only have one herb it would be basil.

It also comes in several varieties with different growth habits, leaf shapes and colors so you could have fun with it in a design sense. I also love the way the garden smells when the wind blows through the basil leaves. Dill is a wonderful herb to have fresh for specific recipes, including fish, dips and pickles.

It is also a pretty contrast to the other herbs, with its feathery leaves and Queen Anne's Lace type blooms. Cilantro (aka Coriander) is a very short-lived annual so you need to re-seed it every two weeks or so during the growing season. I do love cilantro in certain dishes and find it very convenient to be able to step outside and gather some, instead of buying a bunch in the store that is starting to spoil even as you buy it.

It isn't for everyone, though. SOme folks don't like it at all. I live in South Texas and so have had more limited luck in growing thyme and lavender.

In cooler areas you can create whole gardens just out of the different varieties of either of these two herbs. I have always been sorry not to be able to grow either of these well, especially the creeping thyme that smells so nice when planted in and among stepping stones. Lavender doesn't have as much use in cooking as the others, but the lovely smell is useful in a lot of creative projects such as making sachets or scenting soap, and the flowers are delightful as well.

I have experimented with a few other herbs, too, including: Lemon grass is an extremely hearty grower, and will take over the whole bed unless you work to keep it restrained. Cuban oregano is a very pretty plant, with thick, green and white leaves that remind one of Coleus, but with a true oregano flavor. Parsley is a nice touch and is attractive when planted next to the grey-leafed sages.

However, my husband does not like parsley, so I have never pursued it. Parsley is a biennial - it basically lives two years. Borage is an attractive plant but not much used these days.

It is sort of cucumber flavored. Catnip grows well but has to be grown in a cage if there are any free-roaming neighborhood cats. Chives, in my opinion, are best grown in a pot on the kitchen windowsill so you can simply snip off some bits as you need them in preparing food.

However, they are pretty in the garden. Fennel looks a lot like dill but has the famous licorice flavor.My family doesn't like it much so I don't plant it any longer (they don't realize that they like it in Italian sausage). Epazote is a Mexican herb that grows wild in our area.

In some areas of Mexico it is considered essential for cooking black beans. I have grown it and used it, but my family prefers oregano in our beans. The mints are a great thing to plant in moist parts of the yard.

There are many different mints and they are easily grown.In some cases, they are too easily grown and can become invasive. Hence, many folks suggest planting mint in pots to help keep them under control. One of my favorites was orange mint, which was a pass-along plant from a friend's garden.

Mints smell nice in the yard and are fun garnishes to drinks and desserts. Chamomile is a pretty and delicate plant. I would love to plant it more often but the climate is a bit too hot for it here.

There are a lot more herbs if you really want to get into herb gardening. The big advantage to growing herbs is that the same chemicals that give them their characteristic smells, medicinal properties and culinary uses also repel pests so herbs are easy to grow and can even help your other plants stay pest-free. http://www.wvu.edu/~agexten/hortcult/herbs/ne208hrb.htm has a list of commonly available herbs to grow in the home garden and their typical uses.

http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/recipes/puebla/kgyerbas.html has a list of commonly used herbs in Mexico, many of which will also grow in U.S. Gardens. Sources: Cited in answer AND my experience in planting herbs. Darwin™'s Recommendations Your Backyard Herb Garden: A Gardener's Guide to Growing Over 50 Herbs Plus How to Use Them in Cooking, Crafts, Companion Planting and More Amazon List Price: $18.95 Used from: $9.65 Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5 (based on 18 reviews) The Moosewood Restaurant Kitchen Garden: Creative Gardening For The Adventurous Cook Amazon List Price: $19.95 Used from: $8.62 Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5 (based on 2 reviews) These are both great books to help you get started with growing herbs..

My herb garden Spearmint, peppermint, dill, catnip, chamomile, chives, lemongrass, fennel, sweet basil, and anise. And that is just for starters. There are alot of holistic plants I would plant and use in the garden as well such as ginger, licorice, the plants tea leaves come from, and several others MitsuHadTheBaby's Recommendations AeroGarden Seed Kit Average Customer Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (based on 51 reviews) AeroGarden Pro 100 with Gourmet Herb Seed Kit Amazon List Price: $229.95 Used from: $139.99 Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 28 reviews) Aerogarden Salsa Seed Kit Amazon List Price: $29.95 Premium Bourbon-Madagascar Vanilla Beans - 16 beans Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5 (based on 16 reviews) 2 Oz.

Fresh Kaffir Lime Leaves-grown Organically, Natural with No Pesticides Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5 (based on 4 reviews) Culinary Herb Garden Amazon List Price: $24.99 Eggling - Herb - Mint Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5 (based on 1 reviews) The Herbal Medicine Maker's Handbook: A Home Manual Amazon List Price: $22.95 Used from: $14.58 Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (based on 23 reviews) I would love these for my bday LOL .

This really depends on your climate...different herbs are suitable for different climates. Some herbs (like mint) like rich, moist soil, and can tolerate very cold winters. Other herbs (like rosemary) can handle very poor soil, but require a milder winter to survive.It also depends on what herbs you cook with.

I had a garden in Delaware for two years, and I grew a lot of herbs for use in herbal teas. Here are four that I got excited about that were not well-known:cazort.blogspot.com/2010/03/four-herbal-... you're in a cold-winter temperate climate and you want something easy to grow, try planting mint and lemon balm. These are vigorous herbs that can easily take over your garden.

Also easy to grow, oregano. Rosemary is easy to grow if you have a lot of sun. Basil, dill, cilantro, require a lot of sun.

I find parsley can be a bit easier than cilantro to grow. Many of these herbs are annuals though. I like mint and the mint family herbs because they're perennials, you get them established and then can forget about them, they come back year after year and you'll have an endless supply.

Orange mint makes a good substitute for basil if you want a basil-like herb that is perennial. Good luck and enjoy!Html.

" "Can you use grass clippings to fertilize a garden, even if you've fertilized the lawn that the clippings are coming from" "Planting Question: Just bought a home and want to plant a vegetable garden and herb garden.

What is a good way to keep weeds out of a garden.

Can you use grass clippings to fertilize a garden, even if you've fertilized the lawn that the clippings are coming from.

Planting Question: Just bought a home and want to plant a vegetable garden and herb garden.

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