Many a mickle makes a muckle, and with the ever-rising cost of living due to inflation, it will make sense and cents to find ways to save some money. One way of doing so is to create your own herb garden here in sunny Singapore and enhance the flavour of your dishes by using your own produce. A dash of fresh basil on your pasta or rosemary on your roasted chicken that is baked to golden brown perfection perhaps? And with that, you can now mark herbs off your shopping list.
Herbs in general are one of the easiest plants to grow in Singapore and fare well indoors and outdoors, so for those who reside in a HDB unit or condominium apartment fret not, for an indoor herb garden works just as fine. However, do take note of what you should do when tending to indoor plants! GreenSpade shares what you will need to do to start your own herb garden.
Pick up some Pots
One big appeal of an indoor herb garden, especially one located near or within your kitchen is that fact that it is accessible and ready for use as and when you are on cooking duty. Need some Thai Basil for your Basil Minced Pork dish or some Thyme to cook a Roasted Potatoes and Carrots dish? Just grab a few leaves of Thai Basil or a sprig of Thyme. With pots, you can position your herbs in easy to reach places such as your kitchen countertop. One thing to note which we have written in our previous blog article about Home Gardening Tips, is that the pots must have holes at the bottom to provide adequate drainage. Excess water must be allowed to flow through and not accumulate as it will cause the herbs to develop root rot.
Choosing Herbs for your Garden
If this is your first time creating an indoor herb garden, start simple. Basil, Mint, and Parsley are some of the easiest herbs to grow in Singapore. Good for growing in pots, they generally flourish in abundance and are not resistant to regular harvesting. Here are some examples of herb varieties and their characteristics.
Thai Basil
Thai Basil is sturdy and compact, and has shiny green leaves with a sweet, spice-like scent. Thai basil prefers sunny locations and thrives in well-watered soil.
Thyme
Thyme is a low maintenance herb with heavily scented leaves and does not enjoy over watering. You’ll need to give Thyme some time to grow well, through exposure to full sunlight and well-drained soil.
Oregano
Oregano has small and flavourful leaves. Just like Basil, it too requires full sunshine. Oregano is commonly use for culinary skills which it is often used for pizza and pasta sauces.
Rosemary
Rosemary has highly aromatic needle-like leaves. The herb requires plenty of sun and moist soil that is not overly wet. It is rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds.
Mint
Mint is a prolific herb and is best planted in its own pot. It tolerates shade but will thrive when under sunny conditions. Often used to flavour items such as drinks and ice cream.
We have the perfect soilless potting mix for mint plant. Check out our store today.
Parsley
Parsley is one of the easiest and most versatile herbs to grow in Singapore. Parsley is easily recognised as it is bright green and has a mild, bitter flavour that pairs well with many recipes.
Seeds or Starter?
For those who are more experienced, you can purchase seeds to start your herb garden. As for those who have just started this wonderful hobby of gardening and are wondering where to buy herb starter plants here in Singapore, we have a good selection of plants for your to kickstart your very own herb garden. With our starter plants, this will save you a good two to three weeks of growing time and boost your chances of a good harvest.
Get the right soil
We will be sharing more about getting the right soil mix for your edible plants in the next blog post, but for herbs, the general rule of thumb is to use potting soil and not garden soil, as the former is better at draining water due to its nature of being lighter and porous, while the latter is dense and retains moisture. Happy gardening and cooking!