The first time I heard of parsley, sage rosemary and thyme was when I heard Scarborough Fair by Simon and Garfunkel. I always thought they sounded pretty. I had to know what they tasted like, especially after watching Nigella and many other happy cooks on the Travel and Living channel make liberal use of herbs like basil, oregano and parsley. I also desperately wanted to sniff them and say things like 'Ah, basilico!' before I lovingly garnished food with them. And there was also the matter of trying that lovely Italian hand gesture that they use when they tasted something that was too good for words. I felt I could only use that gesture if I used herbs in my cooking.
And so began my hunt for herbs. I couldn't find them anywhere in Bangalore! I then decided it would be spiffing to have them in my garden and pictured myself picking herbs with a tune on my lips and using them in my Sunday morning omelet. Google provides no information on where I can find herb seeds. My dad found them in the Indo American Hybrid Seeds nursery. They were each around Rs. 75-100 and packaged and sold by Kraft Seeds.
Growing Thyme, Parsley, Sage and Basil
Preparing the Soil
We first collected as many pebbles and stones we could to provide better drainage for the plants. These went into empty pots first.
We used a mixture of gravelly sand, coco peat and regular gardening soil. We put the gravelly sand in after the stones and then the mix of coco peat and regular soil.
Sowing the Seeds
Then, the exciting part! Sowing the seeds. We sowed three to four seeds per pot and a little more when the seeds were really tiny. For the tiny seeds, we first mixed the seeds with sand and sprinkled them over the pots. All of them need to be covered with a thin layer of mud and then watered.
You can put in cute markers to identify the pots. Pinterest is full of awesome ideas.
Care Before and After Sprouting
You can optionally, watch over them obsessively over the next few days. I used to run to check on them the minute I woke up. Thyme took the longest to sprout and Basil was the first. They take a maximum of eight days to poke the first green leaf into the world. My dad instructed me to only sprinkle a little water over them everyday and we put them in a partially shady spot in our balcony.
We moved them into bigger pots once they started looking too big for their first homes. Dad did this by taking a wet spade and sticking it into the soil around the rim of the pot until the soil started to come away from the pot. The plant comes out quite easily once you do this and turn it upside down. He showed me how to press the soil lightly around the roots so that it forms a ball around it before planting it in its new home. I then patted the soil around it and poured some water on it.
Growing Oregano
Oregano seeds are tiny little specks that are almost invisible. We mixed them with some sand and sprinkled them over a pot containing only coco peat(they don't grow in any of the other soils we tried) and then sprinkled some water over them. Keep the pots in partial shade.
They take about three to four days to sprout and grow quite slowly.
That's all! Finitho!
Foot Notes:
1. We grew Spinach using the same soil mixture used for the other herbs and Lettuce in only coco peat. They're both strapping young lads now.
And so began my hunt for herbs. I couldn't find them anywhere in Bangalore! I then decided it would be spiffing to have them in my garden and pictured myself picking herbs with a tune on my lips and using them in my Sunday morning omelet. Google provides no information on where I can find herb seeds. My dad found them in the Indo American Hybrid Seeds nursery. They were each around Rs. 75-100 and packaged and sold by Kraft Seeds.
Growing Thyme, Parsley, Sage and Basil
Preparing the Soil
We first collected as many pebbles and stones we could to provide better drainage for the plants. These went into empty pots first.
We used a mixture of gravelly sand, coco peat and regular gardening soil. We put the gravelly sand in after the stones and then the mix of coco peat and regular soil.
Sowing the Seeds
Then, the exciting part! Sowing the seeds. We sowed three to four seeds per pot and a little more when the seeds were really tiny. For the tiny seeds, we first mixed the seeds with sand and sprinkled them over the pots. All of them need to be covered with a thin layer of mud and then watered.
You can put in cute markers to identify the pots. Pinterest is full of awesome ideas.
 |
| Herb markers Source: August Wren |
You can optionally, watch over them obsessively over the next few days. I used to run to check on them the minute I woke up. Thyme took the longest to sprout and Basil was the first. They take a maximum of eight days to poke the first green leaf into the world. My dad instructed me to only sprinkle a little water over them everyday and we put them in a partially shady spot in our balcony.
We moved them into bigger pots once they started looking too big for their first homes. Dad did this by taking a wet spade and sticking it into the soil around the rim of the pot until the soil started to come away from the pot. The plant comes out quite easily once you do this and turn it upside down. He showed me how to press the soil lightly around the roots so that it forms a ball around it before planting it in its new home. I then patted the soil around it and poured some water on it.
Growing Oregano
Oregano seeds are tiny little specks that are almost invisible. We mixed them with some sand and sprinkled them over a pot containing only coco peat(they don't grow in any of the other soils we tried) and then sprinkled some water over them. Keep the pots in partial shade.
They take about three to four days to sprout and grow quite slowly.
That's all! Finitho!
Foot Notes:
1. We grew Spinach using the same soil mixture used for the other herbs and Lettuce in only coco peat. They're both strapping young lads now.
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