5 Essential Latin Herbs To Grow At Home

For foodies who live in apartments or homes with little yard space, a lush garden seems like an impossible dream. While defiantly setting up a series of raised beds in your one bedroom apartment isn’t advisable, growing a variety of herbs on a windowsill, shelf, or countertop which receives direct sunlight is an easy DIY project you can get a lot of culinary mileage out of. And you won’t get evicted.

The benefits of growing herbs in your home are threefold. First, you’ll get the health benefits that come with eating freshly plucked herbs that are bursting with vitamins and minerals, rather than the old, rubbery produce that’s been wilting under fluorescent supermarket lights. Second, the convenience of having those fresh herbs within arms reach when you need them is a godsend if you’re perpetually pressed for time. Third, if you cook with herbs on a regular basis, you’ll save a tidy chunk of change over the long haul, which would have been otherwise spent on old, overpriced goods.  

The following five herbs are essential for those who cook Latin cuisine regularly. Grow them in the room with the most sun exposure (facing south, if possible), and you’ll be able to cover a lot of ground come dinnertime.

Cilantro

Fresh chopped cilantro is an absolute necessity in everything from salsa to mojo to ceviche (and much, much more). The first thing to keep in mind is that cilantro roots deeply; you’ll need a pot at least  6” deep, and possibly up to 12” deep. The soil in your cilantro planter should be an airy soil with good drainage, achieved through the addition of perlite, and either an organic liquid fertilizer or compost mixed in, it should be watered enough that the soil is moistened on a regular basis, but not saturated. And keep in mind that cilantro does not like being repotted, so once you've planted, you're committed.

When you're ready to harvest, remove the outer leaves first, giving the inside of the plant a chance to sprout. Cilantro only lasts for a few months, so if your plant starts to die before you’ve had a chance to use it all, just freeze what you can for later use (chop up as many leaves as possible, placing one tablespoon of diced cilantro in every compartment of an ice cube tray, filling each with a little water, and freezing for future cooking).

Annatto

Reddish brown annatto seeds, and the beautifully-hued oil made from them, impart a warm, slightly tart and earthy flavor to South American soups, sofrito, and vegetables. Ground annatto seed is also used as a dye in a wide variety of foods, from margarine to cheese to snack chips. Each individual seed pod holds around 50 seeds, so one annatto tree can keep you extremely well supplied with annatto.

And yes, it’s actually a tree. Regular annatto trees grow anywhere from 6 to 15 feet high, but growing from seeds, rather than cuttings, will usually result in a smaller tree. Unless you live in a loft with 20 foot ceilings, you’ll want to aim for a tree that’s 6 to 8 feet high. Given that this tree needs many hours of direct sunlight, as well as pollination, putting it out on a porch, patio or balcony is a better idea. Just remember to bring the tree inside on nights when a frost is possible.

You can start the seed in a standard 12” planter, but within a few months, you’ll likely need a more substantial tree planter. Soil should be loose and humus-rich, with a pH between 6.6. and 7.8. Water-soluble plant food makes a good fertilizer for the annatto tree. The tree will begin to sprout anywhere from 2 weeks to 4 months after planting, but the seed bearing fruit will not begin to sprout for at least a year.  

Oregano

Whether you’re making frijoles or carne asada, oregano is a must. Compared to annatto, growing oregano indoors is a cakewalk. Oregano isn’t an exceptionally deep rooting plant, so 6” deep planters will work just fine. Soil should be loose and airy from the addition of perlite or sand, and quick to drain moisture. A little liquid organic fertilizer is excellent for aiding oregano growth. This herb loves lots of bright sunlight, and given the smaller pot size required by this plant, it’s a perfect windowsill herb.

Oregano should be watered regularly, but not to the point of complete saturation. You’ll want to let the soil around the plant dry somewhat between waterings, to allow for proper drainage and absorption. Oregano is a hardy herb, flourishing within with a wide temperature range of 50˚F to 80˚F. Remember to pinch leaves off on a regular basis, in order to extend the life of the plant and increase the yield.

Parsley

Before you can plant your parsley seeds, you’ll need to soak them in warm water overnight in order to speed up the lengthy germination process (normally 21 to 28 days). Parsley requires a fertile, nitrogen-rich soil with roughly equal proportions of soil and perlite, and a pH between 6.0 and 7.0. The soil should also drain well. Regular watering is necessary, but so is adequate drainage. Allow the soil to absorb water and dry somewhat between waterings.

Parsley taproots grow deep, requiring a planter between 6” and 12” deep. As with most other herbs, parsley needs a solid five hours of sunlight or more to thrive, so place this one in (or as near as possible to) the window that gets the most light. 

Thyme

Wonderful in tilapia dishes and in some mojos, thyme prefers a light, airy soil with a pH between 6.5 and 7. As with the other herbs, perlite is a good addition to balance out the soil and promote drainage. Like many herbs used in Latin cooking, thyme enjoys as much full-on sun as possible, preferably 5 hours of sun, at the least. Water as you would the other herbs, being careful not to over-saturate, and letting the soil go mostly dry before watering again. Seeds germinate in 8 to 20 days, and growth is slow, so you’ll need to be patient with this herb.

Final tip: Placing an oscillating fan near your herbs when they first begin to sprout, for a few hours a day, will help develop stronger, more robust plants. Make sure the fan is set on the lowest setting, so as not to overwhelm the herbs in their infancy.