How to Grow an Herb Garden

June 11, 2020

Whether it’s a new interest or a lifelong hobby, figuring out the landscaping and gardens for your custom home can be a lot of fun. After all, part of designing and building the home of your dreams means you can also have the garden you’ve always wanted. If you want to try growing your own herbs at home, here are some tips on how to grow an herb garden:

1. Figure Out What Herbs You Want to Grow

There are a lot of herbs you can grow in an herb garden. The first step is to determine what herbs you want to grow. If you’re not sure, it can be helpful to think about how you plan to use the herbs.

Will you want to use them in your cooking, just practice growing them, another reason, or some combination of reasons? This can help you narrow the options down to what herbs will suit your needs best. For example, Basil is a popular herb to grow because it is delicious in food and it also tends to deter pests.

2. Determine Where Your Garden Will Be

An herb garden can be as small or as big as you want. You can keep a small one inside on a kitchen window sill, have a row or shelf of pots on your porch, or even some raised garden beds or ground plots outside.

Once you have an idea of the types of herbs you want to grow and about how many you want to start with, you can get a better idea of how much space you’ll need for your new herb garden. Depending on the herbs you choose and how they grow best, you may end up with a few different mini-gardens.

3. Pick up Starter Plants and Containers

Whether your herb garden will be indoors, on the porch, or outside, you’ll need plants and containers If you’re a more experienced gardener, you can start from scratch with seeds if you prefer that. But, if you’re a beginner or it’s a little bit past prime planting season, you can pick up starter plants instead to get your herb garden going faster.

Whether a raised garden bed, clay pot, wood planter, metal bucket, or other ideas for a new planter, just make sure whatever containers you choose match the size of the herbs you choose to grow and also have proper drainage. This ensures excess water can escape and also that there is enough room for your herbs to properly grow to their full potential.

4. Choose the Right Soil

It may be tempting to just use the dirt in your yard or gardening soil for your herb garden. You might get lucky and get some good results from this. But, potting soil is generally a better choice for growing herbs.

While gardening soil is dense and tends to trap moisture, especially inside pots or containers, potting soil is lighter and more porous. So, it allows your herbs to get the water they need while also draining the excess more effectively, which helps promote growth and prevent rot.

5. Tend and Harvest According to Plant Needs

Different varieties of herbs will grow at different rates and require more or less light and water for optimal growth. Also, it takes regular and consistent care for herbs to continue to grow and flourish. This means watering them on a consistent schedule and also harvesting them frequently in order to help prime them for new growth.

Thankfully, herbs are versatile. So, if you end up harvesting more than you can use, you can dry and preserve them for later use. You can even freeze your herbs in oil in an ice tray or a sealed bag for use in sauces, stews, etc. later.

These are just a few tips on how to grow an herb garden. Plus, there are plenty of ways to use garden herbs in your home! Whether you keep a small one indoors or have a dedicated outdoor plot, growing, tending, and using herbs from your own garden can be both relaxing and rewarding.