How to Grow a Barbecue Garden
The words fire up the grill are all too common as we connect with nature outdoors spending time with family and friends on special occasions especially during sports season as we cheer on our favorite teams. But what is a barbecue without those pleasant aromas and mouth-watering flavors that excites our taste buds?
I just love the aromas of grilled smoked meats which are made possible by the many herbs that are used to produce marinades that tantalizes our senses. We will be looking at such herbs that you can grow from your home garden to accomplish this, it’s all a matter of mapping out a space in your garden or turning that area you’re not utilizing into a herb garden. Even if you don’t have the space but want a garden of this sort to create that delicious marinade you can still have this garden type by growing herbs from containers.
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Herbs for a Garden
Lavender: Lavender is a garden herb that’s popular for its amazing fragrant aroma, this herb produces beautiful flower blooms. Lavender is easy to care for which means growing this herb is a breeze. Lavender loves hot dry conditions reaching heights of 20-24 inches with the seem in width. This herb belongs to the mint family, lavender can be used to flavor lamb, turkey, chicken, and fish. For more on how to grow lavender refer to growing lavender plants.
Dill: Dill is an annual and is a very easy herb to grow, dill is a member of the parsley family, this garden herb can reach heights of 2-4 ft with the seem in width. Dill will enhance the flavors of your food and is popular for complementing other herbs, both the leaves and the seeds are favorable. Dill loves a well-drained slightly acid soil, give dill at least 6-8 hours of sunlight. Dill is often used in seafood to flavor tuna, shrimp, and salmon. Other meats to flavor with dill are lamb, veal, chicken, and beef. For more on how to grow dill refer to growing dill plants.
Parsely: Parsely is a popular garden herb that’s used to garnish dishes, there are two varieties of this biennial which are curly and falt leaves also known as Italian Parsley. This herb can reach heights of 6-12 inches or 1-3 ft with a spread of 8-24 inches, the leaves of parsley are known to have strong flavors and can be used to season beef, shrimp, lamb, lobster, steak, chicken, turkey, salmon, duck, tuna, sardine, clams, etc…
Parsley grows best in soil that’s well-drained and loves to be exposed to the full sun, a challenge you may have when growing parsley however is they are a favorite of the Swallow-Tailed Monarch Butterfly. For more on how to grow parsley refer to how to grow parsley.
Mint: The mint herb has a unique aroma and flavor, this perennial herb which is a hardy plant is popular for making mint tea. When installing mint however give them plenty of room to grow because mint is very invasive and if left unchecked has the ability to take over a garden bed. The mint plant thrives best in soil that’s loamy, moist, and well-drained. Mint can survive in shady conditions but performs their best when grown in the full sun.
Mint is used to flavor meat such as lamb, veal, pork, goose, turkey, chicken, beef, salmon, cod, sauces, and duck. For more on how to grow mint refer to growing mint plant.
Basil: Basil is one of my all-time favorites, I love the aroma and the flavors that basil has. This herb is an annual and will wake up your food recipes. Basil is cold sensitive and will become tall and leggy if not pinched constantly. Pinching the flowers of basils when they appear will encourage basil to become busy. Basil thrives best in soil that’s moist and rich with a pH of 6-7.
Basils can reach 1-3 ft with the seem in diameter, basil prefers 6-8 hours of sunlight to grow healthy and vibrant, basil is used to flavor meats such as pork, seafood, chicken, beef, steak, turkey, veal, and lamb. For more on how to grow basil refer to how to grow herbs.
Sage: Sage is a hardy perennial herb that also brings its flavors to the table. As the leaves of sage get older or mature the flavors are more enhanced, sage will perform well in loamy, sandy, and well-drained soil with a pH between 6.0-7.0 is ideal for optimal growth.
Plant sage in the full sunlight, sage can reach heights of 1-3 ft and a width of 2-3 ft. Sage will flavor pork, roast beef, sausage, chicken, ham, and cured meats. For more on how to grow sage refer to how to grow sage.
Thyme: Thyme is another one of my favorites, in fact, this was the most used herb in my home as a child, my father loved cooking with thyme. The aroma and flavors of thyme are mild but are so pleasant. This garden herb prefers a well-drained neutral soil along with a hot sunny dry location, thyme is an herbaceous perennial that can reach heights of 2-3 inches tall with a width of 8-12 inches.
Thyme will flavor meats such as chicken, fish, pork, lamb, turkey, beef, veal, Jamaican jerk chicken, soups, stews, and steamed foods. for more on how to grow thyme refer to thyme plant care.
Tarragon: Tarragon is a herb that grows tall so if you’re planting with other herbs you may want to install this plant at the back of your garden. Tarragon likes soil that’s well-drained with a pH of 6.5-7.5, for this herb to thrive plant in an area that gets full sunlight and can reach heights 0f 2-3 ft with a spread of 12-18 inches.
Tarragon will flavor rabbit, chicken, salmon, veal, and egg dishes, for more on how to grow tarragon refer to how to grow tarragon.
Rosemary: Rosemary is one of my favorite herbs that has a strong flavor and aroma. Rosemary well grow best in well-drained, loamy, slightly soil with a pH between 6.0-7.0. This herb thrives best with 6-8 hours of sunlight, rosemary if not harvested once mature can become very busy.
Rosemary can reach heights of 1-3ft to 3-8 ft with a spread of 2-4ft, rosemary flavors meats such as fish, chicken, pork, beef, lamb, veal, goose, duck, and turkey. For more on how to grow rosemary refer to growing rosemary herb plants.
Cilantro: I love cilantro because of its aroma and flavors, cilantro is family to parsley, you can eat the entire parts of this plant which includes the stems, seeds, and leaves. This herb prefers moderately fertile loam or sandy soil that’s light and well-drained, with a pH of 6.2-6.8.
Cilantro thrives in full to partial sun and reaches heights of 6-12 inches and 1-3 ft, with a 4-10 inches in width, cilantro flavors meats such as steak, chicken, pork, turkey, lamb, bacon, shrimp, clams, salmon and swordfish. For more on how to grow cilantro refer to growing and harvesting cilantro.
The final word on herbs for a garden
There you have it, with these herbs you can grow a barbecue garden to season your meats as you spend time with family and friends as the grill is fired up. I love barbecues I believe they are so great. The flavors and the aromas are just out of this world so why not consider planting some of these herbs. You will be so happy with the results as you fire up the grill for that special occasion which can create memories that will last a lifetime. What are you waiting on let’s get started,
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About the author
Norman loves being in the garden, both at home and for his job....
he is 'Natures Little helper' being outdoors, growing his vegetables and flowers from an early age.
Now having spent over 22 years in the profession he want to give some of his knowledge to others...
his vast array of hints and tips you will find scattered over this site will help you no end growing plants in your garden.
Thank you for this useful article! I have a big stone pot filled with soil on my balcony and I was looking for some herbs I could grow there. Lavender is a great choice for me because I live in a hot climate and I like lavender scent and the flower, everything! Keep up the good work!
You are welcome and I am so happy to help, all the best with your garden project.
Hi Norman,
Great article! I love most of these herbs, especially dill and parsley. I love using dill to add flavour to my seafood dishes, especially salmon. Parsley is a pretty versatile herb that goes with many different dishes.
I had no idea lavender could be used to flavour meats as well, I usually use it as a fragrant herb in my garden to keep pesky mosquitoes away. Now I know that I can cook with it as well.
Thanks for sharing.
Jenny.
Hello so good to meet you and it is good to know you are using herbs to flavor your recipes. I am so happy to help. All the best to you and have a good day.