Do you love the aroma of herbs of Provence? No wonder, they give a unique flavor to many dishes. They are used by famous chefs, but also each of us can reach for them when cooking. Check out what you should know about growing Provence herbs at home.
Magical Provence fires the imagination. It is a French region that is famous for its abundance of herbs. Rosemary, basil, thyme, clary sage, peppermint, savory, lebary and marjoram – you are sure to know them well and most of them you like to use in your kitchen. In stores, they are found separately or in ready-made mixtures often added to meats, soups or sauces. They also work very well as an addition to salads.
We are also happy to grow them ourselves. It is not difficult, and can bring a lot of satisfaction and undoubted savings. What should you know about growing Provence herbs on your kitchen windowsill? Check it out!
If you think that growing herbs yourself requires a lot of gardening knowledge, you’re wrong. It is really simple, and can bring a lot of satisfaction. On top of that, growing herbs, if you choose matching pots, can be a real decoration in your home. You can start an herb garden today. How to go about it?
First of all, you need to decide whether you will choose ready-made plants in pots – available, for example, in supermarkets – or bet on seeds. In the case of the first option, carefully inspect the plant before you buy it. Check whether the leaves are healthy or not rotting. However, if you prefer to buy seeds, it is best to sow them at the beginning of spring, in March. Then the days become longer and enough sunlight reaches the plants. Sow the seeds into small containers, and when they reach approx. 3 cm in height, transplant them into target pots.
For growing Provençal herbs, choose pots with a diameter of several centimeters. Also, do not forget about the holes on the bottom of the pot, so that water can drain freely.
Place the pots in such a place so that as much sun as possible reaches the plants, and so that they are always at hand when you are cooking. So the ideal option seems to be the kitchen windowsill. Deficiency of sunlight will greatly affect the health of herbs, so pay special attention to this. Watch out for drafts and don’t expose plants to standing by an open window on a windy day.
Provence herbs should be watered regularly, but be careful not to overwater them. It is not necessary to use fertilizer, but you can use a liquid organic fertilizer.
An important issue in the care of herbs is also their pruning. Only a few leaves should remain on the stem, so regularity is important here. Fresh herbs on a regular basis can be frozen or dried.
main photo: unsplash.com/Alyson McPhee
