Herb Gardening In Containers

Herb Selection

Herb gardening is relatively less time consuming as compared to fruit or vegetable gardening. Planting and maintaining an herb garden may not return as much product for the gardener. However, the family, and even friends and relatives, are guaranteed with constant availability of their fresh, delicious favorite herbs to flavor their cooking all summer long.


Herb gardening begins with the selection of the herbs to plant. This is the most difficult task as there is huge scope of herbs available. The simplest selection is to look at what is needed in the kitchen. This will ensure that the fresh herbs are always available for the family. Most herb gardeners also start with common herbs such as rosemary, sage, basil, dill, mint, chives, and parsley among others.

Water Drainage In Herb Garden

Herb gardening requires the soil to have extremely good drainage. If the soil gets watered and stays completely saturated, there is virtually no chance of ever growing a healthy plant. One of the best ways to fix the drainage problem is to dig a foot deep in the soil and put a layer of crushed rocks down before replacing the soil. This would allow the water to escape. Another great way to grow herbs is container gardening. Herbs can be grown without needing a lot of space.

Herb Gardening

Compared with other plants, herb gardening is easier as most herbs grow from seed. Some herbs grow at a dangerously fast rate. For example, a mint plant in an open space will take over the entire garden in a matter of days. For this reason it is always good practice to plant the more aggressive herbs in pots or containers. Always remember to provide holes at the bottom to allow drainage.

Harvesting The Herbs

While the best part of herb gardening is harvest, be sure not to take off too much of the herbs. It is even fatal to take any leaves from herbs that are not well established. A wait of several months would be good before taking off any leaves. Once established, the herbs would produce healthily for years to come.