A Five-Herb Pocket Garden

--- Find a spot that gets sun at least six hours a day.

--- Make your plot fit the area----about a 4 feet square area is enough for a pocket herb garden.

---Sow parsley in late March. Add dill, cilantro, oregano. Sow basil last (mid-June).

---Allow for growth --find out the size of the mature plant.

---- Water regularly and make sure the plot stays weeded.

---Harvest when there is enough of the herb that some will still grow, Snip the tips of large leaves for the flavor. Remove stems (they are usually bitter) from oregano and use the leaves from cilantro and dill.
---Rinse and pat dry; use in recipes for that fresh herb taste.

---Basil will grow large over the summer; pinch off the flowers to keep the plant growing;cilantro and dill should be sown again as cool weather approaches.

--Parsley will return for another year; oregano is a perennial, and as the season ends, so does the basil.


Have a partially shady area? Try Parsley, Chives, Lemon Verbena, Mint, and Sage.
A surprise addition is Breton Shiso. I grew seven Shiso plants this summer in my pocket garden under the trees. They had coloring of purples underleaf, dark chartreause on the upper leaf. I transplanted two of them to full sun, and each grew vigorously. I compared them to the five in the pocket garden, and the height is not appreciably different.