Family Encyclopedia >> Home & Garden

3 essential herbs for the garden:parsley, chives and thyme

As you still have a little space in your vegetable garden, you are looking to plant aromatic plants there, to change a little from the vegetables and tubers usually encountered. Parsley, chives and thyme… Take your pick!

Parsley

What I find wonderful with parsley is that this aromatic plant is not only used to season homemade dishes, but also perfumes and decorates the vegetable patch. Not to mention its many virtues. Indeed, apart from its richness in vitamin C and manganese, parsley would be particularly effective against painful periods. From the Umbelliferae family, parsley is a biennial plant that grows quickly and easily from the moment the soil is humus-rich, light and well-ventilated. Otherwise, you can go months without your parsley seeds germinating. As for the good sowing period, it is from the month of March, until August. An annual harvest is possible if you grow parsley in a sunny or semi-shaded location. Do not forget to protect this aromatic plant well from frost and cold, if planting in winter.

Chives

Also called civet, chives are found in all culinary preparations and can be eaten very well cooked, as well as raw. From the Liliaceae family, this aromatic plant is happy with any soil and grows very easily. What is more, the civet adapts very well to a vegetable garden, a pot, a container or even the rockery. Above all, do not forget to water the aromatic plant with a fine rain on a regular basis, especially the first weeks of planting. Otherwise, the sowing will generally be organized from the beginning of spring in March and continues until autumn. Regarding the maintenance of chives, apart from watering, also schedule weeding, because the civet is quickly invaded by weeds. Finally, a little tip, when I pick chives, I always use scissors, so as not to permanently tear the plant.

Thyme

Belonging to the lamiaceae, thyme is a condiment plant that comes to us from the Mediterranean basin. As a result, this aromatic plant requires good sunshine to develop well. Otherwise, thyme is not particularly finicky about soil. As proof, thyme grows without problem on sandy or stony ground. Moreover, its great enemy remains humidity. Avoid watering the thyme abundantly at the risk of rotting its roots and killing the plant. As this aromatic plant needs solar radiation to flourish, I only plant it from April, long after the thaw. I can of course opt for sowing, but to make sure that the thyme grows, I prefer young plants. Otherwise, multiplications are also possible via cuttings in July and August. With therapeutic and medicinal virtues, thyme is very popular in herbal medicine and aromatherapy.