The easy way to grow herbs and seeds at home

Homegrown herbs and seeds can give your dishes a noticeable boost in taste, and save you money along the way. These are some things to consider before you start growing your own herbs.

You not only extend the vegetable growing season by giving seeds an early start, you can also feed your family for pennies when you start vegetables from seed. Here are some things to consider when starting from seed:

• Use the proper soil. It's worth the money to buy prepared soil mixes formulated especially for seed starting.
• Maintain the proper temperature for germinating seeds. Follow seed package directions exactly. A "cool spot" means between 12.5°C to 18°C; a "warm spot" means 21°C to 24°C.
• Give new seedlings lots of light. Put them in a south-facing window, or in a window supplemented with plant lights. Plant lights should hang 7.5 to 10 centimetres above the plants.
• It takes a bit of a knack, but seedlings must be kept just barely moist. Check your seedlings once or twice a day to see that the soil has not dried out to a depth of more than 0.5 centimetres or so.

If you don't have a bank of south-facing windows, don't despair. Indoor grow lights let you start seeds or nurture beautiful plants:

• An inexpensive starter method is a shop light fixture with two fluorescent lights, one cool spectrum, one warm.
• A more expensive, but more effective, option is high-intensity lights. Halide lights are good all-round lights. Sodium lights are good for growing mature flowering or fruiting plants.

• Most people like to start with culinary herbs to use in cooking: basil, chives, cilantro, thyme, rosemary, parsley, sage, tarragon, mint and oregano.
• Rosemary, sage and mint are perennial in many hardiness zones.
• Note that the various types of mint will take over a garden or flower bed and are best grown in containers
• Basil, mint, cilantro, chives and parsley like rich, dark, moist soil.
• Lavender, tarragon, thyme, rosemary, sage and oregano do better in thin soil with good drainage.

Here are some tips for growing herbs successfully:

• Location: Locate a small garden in a convenient location, such as near the kitchen door. You can either scatter herbs in a nearby flower bed or pot them up in containers.
• Sunshine: Most herbs need full sun, so make sure they're someplace with plenty of light.
• Picking: Pick herbs just before they're used, preferably in the morning right after the dew has dried. Pluck off the leaves and chop finely. Add fresh herbs to a soup, stew or other cooked dish just a few minutes before serving.

Growing herbs or a garden from seed is a rewarding activity to enjoy indoors prior to spring. You can taste the difference and see the savings.