Growing your own herbs not only helps you feel connected to what you eat, but it’s also a great way to save money. Instead of buying herbs for every recipe, you can purchase a plant once and keep a continuous, fresh supply on hand — simply snip off what you need, when you need it!
Co-op Favorites
We’re continually expanding our herb selection at the Mississippi Market Plant Sale. Keep an eye out for beloved favorites and exciting new varieties:
Basil
We have lots of varieties of basil. You’ll find several downy mildew-resistant varieties, like Eleonora. African Blue is more tolerant of lower temperatures than other basil varieties, delicious in pesto, and loved by pollinators. You can also find Dark Opal, lemon, Thai, and Holy basil!
Lavender
We will have 18 varieties of lavender this year, with favorites like:
- Big Time Blue (full, beautiful blooms)
- Provence (tall and aromatic)
- Munstead (winter-hardy)
- French Dentata (long growing season, fringed leaves, great in pots)
- Sensational (bug repellent)
Chamomile
- German Chamomile: Makes a soothing tea and will re-seed in your garden
- Polish Zloty Lan Chamomile: A taller and more vigorous plant than its cousin, German Chamomile. Flowers are larger, more abundant, and more medicinally potent.
Mint
We will have 20 varieties this year, including some fun fruity ones like Strawberry, Pineapple, Orange, Apple, and Ginger Mint. Other favorites are Moroccan Mint (lovely for tea) and Corsican Mint, for growing in your fairy gardens.
DIY Guide
Growing
- If starting with seeds indoors, be sure to read the seed packet’s instructions to see how many weeks in advance the plant needs to be started before you can safely move it outdoors.
- Some of the tender herbs found at the plant sale, like the basil, should not be planted outside until all danger of frost is past.
- Most herbs like lots of sun, at least six hours a day — in fact, the more, the better! If you are growing them indoors, 12 hours of direct fluorescent lighting each day will provide them with what they need. Windowsills can also work, but they can be drafty when it’s cooler out, and sometimes can produce leggy plants.
- Whether in a pot or in the ground, don’t let your herbs dry out! You’ll need to be more careful about this when growing in pots. Never let them get to the point where they wilt. Mulching around the base of the plant will help keep the soil moist.
- When planting herbs outside in a garden, put them where you can access them for frequent harvesting.
Harvesting
- Harvest the leaves throughout the season to promote new growth.
- Harvest in the morning before the sun has a chance to evaporate the essential oils in the leaves, and try to harvest before the plant has flowered for the best flavor.
- Snip the branch just above a leaf to encourage new growth, and be sure to select stems without disease or insect damage.
- Don’t fret if you don’t get to harvesting your herbs before they flower. Nearly all of them are visited by and are an important food source for pollinators. Not only that, but many of them are beautiful in garden bouquets!
Preserving
- Hang dry: Lavender, marjoram, mint, oregano, rosemary, and sage are great for hang drying. Bundle each herb in bunches of 10 to 12 stems, tied with rubber bands, and hang upside down in an airy, cool room out of direct sunlight. The bundles will dry in one to two weeks, depending on the weather. (Humid weather slows the drying process.) Once dry, strip the leaves from the stems, place them in a jar, and store them in a dry, dark place. Use within three months for the best flavor.
- Dehydrate: Basil, dill leaves, lovage, parsley, and thyme don’t dry well with the hanging method — instead, remove the leaves from the stems, cut into small pieces, and lay on screens to air dry or place on a cookie sheet to dry in the oven or a dehydrator. Set the oven or dehydrator to a low temperature (below 150°F), and stir often until the leaves are dry. Store in glass jars.
- Freeze: Fill each insert in an ice cube tray about 2/3 of the way with herbs (chopped or in large pieces), then add olive oil or broth and freeze. Hard herbs like rosemary, sage, thyme, and oregano work best for this method. Now you’ll have flavorful, herby bases for soups or sautés!