Gretchen Scalpi, RDN

The small garden in my yard has just enough space for the vegetables I grow each year: tomatoes, squash, peppers, etc., so I’ve never been able to have an herb garden.  When a recipe calls for a fresh herb, I usually don’t have it, and buying fresh herbs at the store can be a bit costly.   I really like the idea of having growing fresh herbs, so this year, I planted some herbs in a stacking pot, and so far have had really good results.

A stacking pot is simply 3-4 plastic planters that set on top of one another, with a small space for each type of plant you wish to put in there.  Right now I am only using 2 levels of the stacking planter for all of my herbs, but there’s room to plant even more if I want to.

Here’s what I’m growing so far:  Lemon thyme, lavender, oregano, French tarragon; I’m also trying baby lettuce and baby bok choi (toy choi).

The lemon thyme has just started to flower a bit, so I decided to harvest some of it yesterday.  I used it in a lemon thyme vinaigrette dressing that is perfect for green salads or potato salads.  It’s very to make:

Lemon Thyme Vinaigrette Dressing

Whisk together:

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Tb. fresh minced lemon thyme

Juice of 1/2 fresh lemon

2 Tb. rice wine vinegar

Pinch kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

1/2 cup canola oil plus 2 Tb. olive oil (for extra flavor)

Herbs are very easy to grow, so you don’t have to be a seasoned gardener to have success!  It’s not too late to buy a few small plants at your local nursery.  You don’t need a lot of space to have a small “herb garden.”  Patio containers or the stacking pot like I am using are perfect.

The flavors that you can add to your cooking far surpass the dried versions of any herb or spice, plus you get the satisfaction of having grown it yourself!

Tags: fresh herbs, garden, gardening