Herbs for Thai-Inspired Gardens
While some components of a Thai-inspired garden may already be growing in your vegetable patch or readily available at your local grocery store, there are quite a few Thai herb plants and spices that may be more difficult to find. These plants offer a distinctive flavor to soups, curries, and other recipes. Growing a Thai herb garden will ensure that you’ll have everything you need, freshly picked and ready to use. Most herbs and spices used in Thai cooking require a warm, frost-free climate to grow well. However, many of these plants thrive when grown in containers. Even gardeners in temperate climates are able to enjoy growing many of the same herbs from Thailand.
Popular Thai Garden Plants
Various types of basil are frequently used in Thai cooking. Notably, Thai basil and lemon basil are excellent additions to the herb garden. These varieties of basil offer distinctly different flavors which complement many recipes. Chili peppers are another common plant for Thai-inspired gardens. Bird’s Eye peppers and Thai chilies, for instance, are very popular. Although the peppers themselves are quite small, they do offer quite a spicy kick when added to dishes. Root crops like ginger, turmeric, or galangal are essential to Thai cooking. Often, these can be grown from rhizomes found at your local organic food store. Roots can be grown outdoors in tropical climates, or in containers elsewhere. Most of these crops require at least nine months until they reach maturity. Other Thai herb plants and spices to include in the garden are:
Cilantro/Coriander Garlic Kaffir Lime Lemongrass Spearmint
