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University of Illinois Extension
Creating a Thanksgiving herb garden: How to grow herbs for your
holiday meals
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[November 23, 2024]
As Thanksgiving approaches, many of us start planning
our holiday meals. While turkey, cranberries, and pumpkins may get
most of the attention, herbs also play an important role in our
Thanksgiving meals. Herbs like sage, thyme, rosemary, parsley, and
chives provide flavor and a pleasing aroma to our meals. They can
also easily be grown indoors and enjoyed throughout the winter.
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 Commonly
used herbs for the holidays
A variety of different herbs are used around the holidays and can
also be used throughout the year. A few examples of commonly used
herbs include:
Sage: If you have stuffing (or dressing) during the holidays, odds
are you're using sage. Sage is a shrubby, perennial plant that can
grow to be 2-3 feet tall and tends to sprawl as it ages. Most
varieties have gray-green leaves, but purple and golden cultivars
can also be found. The leaves are slightly fuzzy and have a pebbly
texture.
Thyme is a perennial plant that forms a mound around 6 to 12 inches
tall and wide. Plants will produce woody stems and have small,
gray-green leaves. There are many types of thymes, like creeping
thyme and 'citrus' thymes with lemon, lime, and orange fragrances,
but French and English are the most popular for culinary use. Thyme
is often used in stuffing and, since its flavor and aroma aren't
negatively affected by long, slow cooking, season turkey.
Rosemary is another woody, perennial plant often used to season
poultry. Rosemary is not reliably hardy in zone 6 or colder so it is
usually grown as an annual, but it can be brought indoors and
overwintered. Rosemary grown indoors often dries out quickly, not
because of lack of soil moisture (they prefer drier soils), but
because of low humidity. During the holidays, rosemary plants can
commonly be found as Christmas tree topiaries.
Parsley is often overlooked or simply used as a garnish, but it can
be used in stuffings and in rubs for turkey, among other things.
Parsley is a biennial (it takes two years to complete its life
cycle) that is grown as an annual. Flat-leaf parsley is used in
cooking because it has more flavor, while curly parsley is used as a
garnish.
Chives can add flavor to mashed potatoes or as a garnish to brighten
a dish. They are clump-forming perennials that grow from underground
bulbs. Their leaves are round and hollow and will produce pink
flowers in the summer which are also edible.
Growing herbs indoors
When selecting a container to grow herbs, make sure it has drainage
holes. Use a good-quality potting mix, and avoid using garden soil.
Use a water-soluble fertilizer for herbs following the label
directions every two weeks, but don't fertilize more often.
Fertilizing too much can negatively affect the flavor and aroma of
your herbs.
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Herbs need at least 6-8 hours of bright light each
day. Windows with southern exposure are often a good option.
However, if your windows don't receive enough light during the
winter months, you can use supplemental lighting.
Unfortunately, supplemental lighting is not equivalent to natural
light, so they will need to be on longer. For every one hour of
natural light, you need around two hours of supplemental lighting,
meaning lights should be on for 12 to 16 hours a day.
Most herbs will grow best with temperatures between 50 and 70 °F.
Avoid placing plants near heat vents, which can quickly dry pots
out. Heated air also causes homes to be rather dry. Clustering
plants together, placing pots on a tray of water and pebbles, or
running a small humidifier can help increase humidity near the
plants.
Good Growing Tip of the Week: Plants will lean towards light, which
is called phototropism. If you are growing herbs in a window with
natural light, make sure to rotate your containers periodically to
encourage even growth.
Bonus Tip of the Week: If you use fresh herbs instead of dried herbs
in a recipe, you will need more fresh herbs than dried herbs.
Typically, you use three times more fresh herbs than dried herbs.
Source:
Ken
Johnson, Horticulture Educator, University of Illinois Extension
[Terri Casey
University of Illinois
County Extension Director]
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