Planting Herbs

Well its that time of year..spring time and its time to start thinking about what to plant, or maybe you have always wanted to grow something.  Herbs are the simplest and most rewarding in my opinion.  And you can grow a lot, in a short period of time and use them all winter long till you start fresh again in the spring.  Im hesitant to grow anything in the soil in my yard, I much prefer to grow in containers or somthing that doesnt have connection to the soil in the yard.  Mainly because I dont know what has ever been put on my lawn whether it be, fertilizer (which will shortly be banned in B.C)  or miracle grow, or a range of other things.  One example that concerns me is part of my backyard is a retaining wall, because I live on a mountain, some yards have this, but what I noticed is there is some kind of tar or oil coming off of the wood you can even smell it if you touch it, its seeping out.  It rains here all winter and I wonder how much of this is in the soil.  My neighbours that I share the wall with grown alot of veggies I can see it growing over my fence, and I often wonder about how toxic there soil maybe that they are growinig food in,  and I get the run of naturally from the street infront of there house, so I will never grow anything in yard soil.  I do have a large wood box that I plant in. To start a herb garden, all you need is organic soil, no fertilizers need.  Herbs can grow in some of the worst conditions they really arent too fussy.  You could even grow them in a rocky sandy area, and for sun and shade they arent too demanding, however last years they had little sun due to where they were and they grew find just not as big, so I moved it this year for more sun.  You really cant go wrong.  Just know some of these herbs grow like weeds.  Mint will grow and grow so it needs to be cut back and trimmed alot.  I grow all the herbs in the same pot, just beware if you do this they may pick up the aroma's of the other herbs your growing.  Cut them as needed through the summer for food, that should be all the trimming they need, if you see them start to flower cut the flower bud or flower off and use it or continue to let it grow.

I harvest them usually end of September or October, really just depends on the weather, and just a gut feeling for me.  I also harvest on a harvest moon or a harvest day which you can find in a farmer almanac,  I dont know why I do this, I have just done this years ago when I first planted herbs I think I was about 17.  Now I love the harvest, I look forward to it every year, because it simply is the reward, but I cant say it was hard work at all even if you never did any maintance to the herbs all summer you will still be rewarded.  I like to tie some like the bundle shown, I tie them with string and then hand them upside down in a dark cool area, and let them dry then place them in air tight containers, but for the majority of the herbs I wrap them in wax or parchment paper and freeze them, that way they are fresh all winter long.  I also keep the herb sticks, and use them when I need to freshen up the house I just place them in boiling water and reduce to simmer for a few hours. 

A better way to also store garlic and ginger is also to freeze it and use it as needed, saves alot of money.