Plant Herbs in Your Garden ازرع اعشاب بحديقتكم

Posted on November 19, 2011 by admin

I have always been fascinated when I see Chefs cooking with Fresh herbs on Food Network or Fatafeet. I’d say “Wow. I wish we had that in Kuwait”. Anyway, two years ago I started experimenting with herb seeds. I wanted to see which can live under our weather and which can’t. You can see below pictures of my herb “pot” garden and how YOU can have your own herb garden.

My Herb “Pots” Garden 🙂

Sage ميرامية

 

Sage. This plant is two years old. I started it from seed and it is living happily outside.  It has lots of medicinal benefits and also used in Italian Dishes.

 

 

 

 

 

Marjoram مرقدوش

 

Marjoram: This plant is two years old. I started it from seed and it is living happily outside. Like Sage, it has medicinal benefits and also used in Italian Dishes.

 

 

 

 

Chives ثوم عمر

 

Chives: Now this is one of most difficult to grow. I’ve tried several times to start them from seeds. Only one time it worked. The plant is also two years ago. I tried to plant Chives from seeds again this year but it didn’t work out so this two year old Chives are now cherished. It tastes like Scallion (بصل اخضر) but the great thing about it, after you eat it, your mouth doesn’t smell like Onion. 

 

 

 

 

Genovese Basil ريحان ايطالي

Italian Basil: Now most people when they look at my plant,They say it is مشموم. It is Not. The leaves look the same but the taste and the flowers are different. Italian Basil are used to make fresh Pesto. Last year, I started 3 plants from seeds. Two survived until they completed their cycle (flowered) and one is alive until now. They’re VERY easy to grow. However, their life span is short (usually 1 year maximum).

 

Mammoth Basil ريحان

 

Mammoth Basil:  Along with Italian “Genovese Basil”, this basil is also used for Pesto. It’s sweet and the leaves can grow to the size of your hand. I love them. They only last for one cycle (6-9 months) under our weather.

 

 

Thyme زعتر انجليزي

Thyme: I had one plant from last year and it lived but it is not doing so well now so I planted new ones again this year too. The taste is strong & amazing even though the leaves are tiny. By the way, what you see in our markets (جمعيات) is called Savory in English NOT Thyme so when you read a recipe and it says thyme, This is what it looks like. Don’t confuse it with what we have in our super-Markets.

 

Oregano زعتر اورجانو

Oregano: I  started the plant from the seeds again this year. I had one last year but unfortunately because of my meddling 🙁  I killed it by accident. It was living happily in its pot but I decided to re-locate it to another larger pot and it ended up in a disaster. It died. 🙁 Anyway, i believe it can live for years in our weather. I love cooking with fresh Oreganos.

 

Lemon Balm بلسم الليمون

Lemon Balm: is from mint family. It smells like Lemon and fresh morning. It’s used as tea & to flavor food, etc. It’s very easy to grow in Kuwait. Like Chamomile, It has a relaxing effect.

 

 

 

Red Robin Basil ريحان

 

Red Robin Basil: It has purple/green leaves and it doesn’t have any smell. It is used in fruit salads.  Yummy and easy to grow in Kuwait. 

Mammoth Basil ريحان

 

Mammoth Basil: This basil tastes sweet and can grow to the size of your palm. Mammoth Basil along with Italian “Genovese” Basil are used to make Pesto. It’s also yummy when you put in a salad.

Ararat Basil ريحان

 

Ararat Basil: Its taste is close to Red Robin Basil. I started growing this year. 

Now Do you want to have YOUR OWN FRESH HERB GARDEN?

Follow these steps:

Starter Seed Trays from Ace Hardware

  1. Buy starter pot and some potting soil. They’re available in Ace Hardware or مشاتل.
  2. Put soil in each square and with your Pencil, Make a small hole and put 3-5 seeds per hole.
  3. Pour a tiny amount of water so the soil can be a little bit moist.
  4. Cover with plastic wrap (that you use for food).
  5. Put next to a Sunny spot in your house.
  6. Make sure the soil is always a little bit moist until you see the seeds have sprouted.

5-10 Days later, you will notice the seeds have sprouted. Do the following:

  1. Remove the plastic wrap.
  2. Since you put several seeds, you have several plants per square. Pick the strongest and remove the rest, either buy EATING the leaves 😛 or replanting it in another pot.
  3. Continue watering daily until they’re grow to 7-10cm. They’ll grow to this height with in one month.

Now Hardening process, your plants were living inside your house..being pampered and being taken care of by You. They’re not used to winds, or insects, or outside elements, etc. so now it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to make sure they can live outside in our lovely HOT weather. 😛  If you quickly plant them outside, they will get SHOCKED and DIE. I learned that the hard way. 😛

  1. Replant your plants in a larger pot.
  2. In order for your plants to get accustomed to outside weather, take them outside for one hour during daylight.
  3. Every day add another hour until they’re spending the whole day light outside.
  4. That should take from 7-10 days.
  5. Plant them in your permanent spot.

Now they have been planted in their permanent spot, this is how you can take care of your plants:

  1. Water once daily during winter and twice daily during summer.
  2. Every two-three month, put a little bit of fertilizer.
  3. You can cut 1/3 of the plants’ leaves every week.
  4. For basil only, cut the flowers so you can extend its life.

 

I bought all of my seeds from Thomson & Gordon. They deliver to Kuwait but I had mine sent to my Aramex UK address and then forwarded to Kuwait. Any questions, email me at  website@peachbox.com

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