Herbs to grow to save you money
We believe that growing herbs plants can absolutely save you money. A well-stocked kitchen garden or windowsill-based herb garden can reduce your weekly grocery bills and also encourage you to introduce more fresh, interesting and exciting plant-based flavours into your cooking. We absolutely suggest growing relatively expensive ingredients in small quantities to save money.
We have listed selected varieties of herb plant that we grow to save ourselves money. This list is subjective to us, as we would always suggest growing varieties of herb that you will use regularly. We all have different tastes and culinary preferences, so your list will look slightly different to ours and we think that is fantastic.
Vietnamese Coriander
This provides a hint of traditional coriander flavour, coupled with a hint of citrus and a spicy kick. It’s delicious when chopped into a home-made curry or rice dish. The primary selling point of Vietnamese Coriander is that it’s much easier to grow than traditional coriander. It’s a perennial, whereas traditional coriander is an annual. It doesn’t go to seed easily, which means that you can use the same plant on multiple occasions, harvesting the foliage regularly and saving yourself money!
Wild Rocket
We eat so much salad, and when purchasing bags of supermarket mixed salad, the costs can mount quite quickly. There are so many varieties of salad herb that are easy to grow and will quickly begin to save you significant money when you harvest them each week. Wild Rocket is one such variety that is easy to grow and very tasty, with a delicious peppery kick. Keep cutting this variety and it will keep producing regular foliage for you to harvest.
Moroccan Mint
Mint tea is such a beautiful soothing drink to enjoy early in the morning or on a warm summer afternoon and Moroccan Mint is one of our favourite varieties to use. The cost of buying boxes of herb tea blends is increasing rapidly and enjoying a couple of cups of mint tea each day could quickly add a significant amount onto your weekly grocery bill. A variety like Moroccan Mint grows so quickly that it really is easy to grow enough to keep you supplied with delicious mint tea ingredients.
French Tarragon
This is a truly gorgeous variety of herb plant with a flavour that can literally transform any meal it is added to. It’s also a variety which recipes seem to invariably require whenever we don’t have any in the kitchen cupboard. Buying a small packet of French Tarragon can be quite expensive and the cost of using this herb just a few times each year can mount up quickly. Growing a small pot of French Tarragon on your windowsill can save you lots of money throughout the year.
Burnet Salad
This is another hardy, perennial cut and come again salad herb that will grow quickly and provide you with lots of beautiful salad leaf. Burnet Salad has a subtle cucumber flavour that is perfect for chopping into a mixed salad or combining with a stronger salad leaf like Wild Rocket. Just planting a few of these amazing herbs will provide you with a year's supply of salad.
Rosemary
There are so many different varieties of Rosemary that you can grow including traditional Rosemary, BBQ Rosemary or Trailing Rosemary. They all contain that delicious Rosemary flavour that has the magical ability to make us feel hungry and enhance any meal. Once established, a Rosemary plant can last many seasons and provide countless meals with delicious, home-grown flavour.
Chives
We absolutely love the onion flavour that Chives provide and their ability to transform a meal. They are hardy and easy to grow, spreading gently each year and really benefiting from being cut back firmly. This will then provide you with a regular harvest of delicious, onion-flavoured foliage. Chives are easy to grow, either in a pot on the windowsill or in a container outside the back door. Fun fact, the bees will absolutely love the Chive flowers that appear during early spring too.
Our top tips to grow herbs to save money
Grow varieties that you use regularly, as we find that designing your kitchen garden space around your needs is a really good idea. If you enjoy eating Italian or Mexican food, Oregano ‘Hot n Spicy’ will absolutely save you money. Whereas, if you don’t really enjoy cocktails, Mojito Mint is unlikely to do so.
Manage your expectations. We all lead busy lives and being self-sufficient is beyond many of us who have other time commitments. However, growing and developing a herb garden slowly, adding and expanding it each year genuinely can save you money and we think that is magical.
Have fun. Remember that growing things is all about having fun and remember to enjoy the process. Wherever possible, share the joy of growing with family and friends. Chocolate Mint always seems to be a crowd-pleaser in that regard!
