Happy Herbs In The Eco-Garden

As-salam`alaykum, peace be witchu eco dudes!

Ackh vee, it's freezing here in England and winter, yes WINTER is here. No, not autumn, summer said goodbye and the rains and fog and wind and snow are on their way. Yaayyy (!)

Alhamdulillah, before the cold all set in, I snuck outside to create space for a herb garden. Large containers and small pots on the windowsill are also fine for a few home grown plants. This is fantastic for home cooking so you should grow your own - anywhere!

What Are Herbs?
Herbs are any leafy green product of plants that are mainly used to season, garnish or flavour dishes. They really are the simplest thing to grow and make for beautiful fragrant food.

I'm growing coriander, dill, mint, thyme, rosemary, sage, oregano, basil, parsley and, although more of a medicinal herb - lavender too. Pots of parsley, mint, thyme and basil are already in the kitchen as I use these the most in home cooking. You could always just buy a ready grown pot from markets but growing from seed is more interesting, especially for little people.

Herbs in cooking
You add whole leaves of herbs such as basil straight into your cooking and remove them after or finely chop them up (thyme and dill) and add towards the end. Mint and parsley work great for sauces and compliment meat dishes, while I find whole coriander leaves and dill can be eaten fresh and whole in salads.

A third of our eco-garden has been designated for herbs. I later decided to split this area up for peppers and lettuces too. I like my salads. Water for plant food is readily available from the barrels I propped next to the greenhouse and a small wall prevents any further imbalanced ground - this part of the garden is on a slope y'see.

I round up the coriander seeds from last season's plant - after coriander has flowered tiny white buds, the centres produce the individual seeds which need to be shaken off. If you're wanting to grow outside like I, you need to make rows to keep it organised or go mental and generously sprinkle them everywhere.

I used all my seeds up and bought a packet of coriander seeds which were intended for cooking. These will also grow pretty well. For cooking, these seeds are grounded to a coarse or fine powder and added for fragrant flavour. About halfway after throwing the seeds in, I notice the ground has way too many small stones and old roots (weed alert).

Take 2: using a rake, eco-mum clears up the patch with me to remove large clumps and stones. We then once again throw in the coriander, mint and others and cover it all with a fine layer of soil. Herby plants barely need any deep soil or covering - light and water is particularly key here. This is why I later found the herbs growing in cracks in the wall too.

This post was brought to you by the eco-shmexy wellies of Zaufishan and the farmers club association of Yorkshire, England. 

...and this pest. Eww. 

More eco planting:
The Amazing Benefits of the Lavender Plant
Plant A Tree For Eid
UK's Al-Maghrib Institute Plants Olive Trees for Palestine
How We Grow Chillies In England
Eco Muslim Photo Diary: Growing Veggies