Growing your own herbs can be immensely fun and satisfying, especially if you’re a novice gardener or a cook who appreciates the freshest of ingredients, organically grown and personally supplied! They’re a great starting point for gardening, because they grow quickly—especially if you start them from seedlings—so you can usually begin harvesting after 6 to 8 weeks.
The benefits of fresh herbs are manifold: They deliver an aromatic quality, releasing their oils when chopped or torn, adding vivid color and depth of flavor to your favorite dishes. Apart from their culinary uses, herbs attract beneficial pollinators, like bees and butterflies, which contribute to the health of the environment. And once you master growing herbs? You’ll be ready to move on to more challenging gardening, like growing your own veggies! So let’s get started.
Assess Your Space
Planning your herb garden is an important first step in the process of growing herbs, so start with deciding where you want to grow your herb garden. Think about your cooking style and what you use most. Do you have room to add just one big pot of parsley to your patio? Or do you have ample space and yearn to be an urban farmer? If so, you might want to consider raised beds, and Epic Gardening sells customizable, easy-to-assemble beds in many sizes to fit all styles. If a kitchen window herb garden is perhaps more what you had in mind, there are ample options for that too!
Plan for Sun Exposure
Be sure to place your herbs in a sunny spot, ideally with a southern exposure, to get at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight a day. Not enough sun contributes to weak and leggy stems. Sunlight also forces the creation of the oils that give herbs their unique aromas and flavors.
Prep Your Soil
Start with a good compost soil, one that’s been sterilized to prevent weeds from growing and pests from ambushing your garden. You can buy compost, like Epsoma, at a gardening store or you can go to your local landfill and, with a little muscle, fill your own bags—usually for free!
Composting your own green clippings and veggie scraps is ideal, but you may not have enough to fill a new bed. Compost should make up about two-thirds of the soil in your garden. Amend your compost with a quality potting soil to help aerate your dirt, hold moisture, reduce the chance of disease, and add nutrients. In other words, give it an injection of health! Foxfarm and Dr. Earth are not only excellent choices, but they’re both organic, which is good for the plants you intend to eat.
How to Water
Your herbs will be thirsty when first starting out, so give them a daily drink until their roots are established. Always water close to the soil level and not on the leaves. Spray from the water, if the watering wand or can is held too high, can release dirt onto your plants, which can transfer harmful fungal diseases like mold to the leaves.
The best time to water is in the morning or evening, away from the heat of the day. When your herbs are off to a good start, water every other day. If the leaves on your plants begin to turn yellow, you may be overwatering. This can result in root rot, which will weaken and stifle your plant’s growth.
Choose Which Herbs to Plant
Once you’ve done the prep work, you’re ready to plant, so get out your trowel and start digging!
- For beginners, we suggest starting with herbs that are easy to grow, like pungent rosemary or oniony chives, which almost thrive on neglect.
- Oregano, mint, and sage grow like weeds, but beware that they need frequent pruning. Otherwise, they’ll take over your garden!
- Parsley takes a while to get its footing, but once it does, you’ll want to harvest it frequently to prevent bolting, which is a process that occurs when a plant is stressed—causing it to produce flowers and go to seed—which ultimately diminishes the quality of the herb.
- Basil prefers to either be in its own pot or planted with veggies like tomatoes. It needs its leaves pinched in the center to stimulate growth (see how it’s done here).
- Dill and cilantro will grow quickly, but they also bolt just as fast. Plan to use them as soon as they are full-fledged.
- FYI: Some herbs, like chives, produce gorgeous purple flowers that are edible!
Once your herbs start flourishing, it can be hard to keep up with their growth! For ideas on what to do with all the fresh herbs on your hands, check out our roundup of herbaceous recipes here. You can also freeze them in olive oil for future sauces, share them with your neighbors, or donate to a local community fridge!
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