Brimming with flavor, herbs are fun and easy to grow. I love to grow them just outside my kitchen door in a container: a few steps – snip, snip – an instant burst of flavor is added to any recipe.
Fall or spring is a perfect time to plant these chives, cilantro and parsley. They thrive in cool temperatures up to 75 degrees F and are frost tolerant. Give them 4-6 hours of sun a day, (or plant in part shade in warmer climates), and some nice, loose soil. Follow the quick tips below to grow an abundance of herbs and boost up the flavor of your food!
Chives
Onion Chives
Grass-like greenery with a mild onion flavor (onion chives) that give a little burst of flavor to salads, soups, egg dishes. Perennial in zones 3-10, they can be grown from seeds, transplants or by dividing a plant.
Their purple flowers are edible. Give them a regular haircut, they’ll reward you by growing right back!
Cilantro
Fresh lemony flavor, cilantro is used to flavor salsas, salads and, my favorite, guacamole. Sow seeds directly in your garden, but be patient, they take a few weeks to germinate. Soak seeds overnight or crush with rolling pin for quicker germination. Don’t over fertilize – too much nitrogen and your cilantro won’t be as flavorful! Harvest leaves often. Once cilantro blooms forms seed pods, let them dry and harvest the seeds (corriander) to plant again or use for recipes.
Flat Leaf Parsley
Parsley
This herb has a reputation of just being a garnish – don’t be fooled – it has so much more to offer! I love it in spaghetti sauce, homemade yogurt dip and salads. Overwintering in mild winter areas, it blooms the second year, often reseeding in abundance in my garden! Plant a transplant, or sow seeds directly in your garden or container. Patience is a virtue with parsley as seeds often take several weeks to germinate. Soak seeds overnight for quicker germination. Snip outer leaves and parsley will continue to produce for months. Dries and stores well, adds a huge flavor punch to any recipe!
My favorite container for herbs is a Smart Pots WallFlowers Saddle Planter. Made with aerated, durable fabric, it adds precious vertical growing space to my deck rail and looks pretty too! Watch “Growing Chives, Cilantro and Parsley in a Wall Planter Container” on my YouTube Channel to see exactly how to grow some for yourself!
Comment below – let me know if you are growing these three herbs in your garden and how you like to use them in your food!
See you in the garden-
CaliKim
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Fabulous guide CaliKim, I am just about to start a herb garden in pots – I have a twist to this, in that I am using them as a basis for an area in our garden as a sensory garden as well as growing to eat. Our son has multiple disabilities and I have found that joining me in creating and maintaining our garden is a real treat for him and so, smell, taste, sound are all very key. I’ve not grown from seed (but will) but have started with Parsley, Chives, Thyme, Cilantro, Mint (you have great videos on controlling Mint) and Lavender. Your guides are a great help in keeping me on the right track. Thank you. Regards Paul
Hello Paul,
Fantastic idea to use this as a sensory garden to help your son. Not only do you get to do something enjoyable together, you are teaching him do grow his own food, and simulating his senses with the scents and textures of the herbs. He can even taste them right in the garden as they mature. If you do use Smart Pots, they have a very soft, fuzzy texture, so this is could be an additional plus. So happy that the blog posts and videos have helped – keep me posted!
Hi KaliKim. Happy Easter. I only started watching you last fall due to trying to plant hydroponics, and I love watching your show, you and your family when you’re working together. My hydroponics is still giving me a headache, spent over $1100, and still only have gotten some lettuce. I tried with having some soil as well, but was bombarded with fungus gnats. Got rid of those, but ever so often I see one flying around the hydro.
Used everything that people said to use including paying a lot for some of the stuff. Thank you for all your advice..
I would love to find/purchase the deck rail containers. I have not found them on your site. Can you let me know where you have found them? Thanks so much.
Hello Karla, you’ll love growing in the wall saddle planters! They’re made by Smart Pots, here’s a link, https://amzn.to/3pQjhER. Have fun!