In-depth and easy to understand information about herb growing.
Growing Herbs
How to plant and grow herbs from the different herb types to preparing your garden.
Growing Herbs Indoors
In a pot or a window sill, all you need to know about growing herbs indoors
Outdoor Herb Garden
Everything you need to know about growing an outdoor herb garden
Herb Growing Accessories
All the tools and accessories you need to allow your herbs to flourish!
"There's nothing better than the fragrance of freshly grown herbs"
Growing Herbs is Easy!
Whether you are new to growing herbs or an old hat, growing herbs for the most part is easy and the perfect first step into growing edible plants.
Welcome to Growing Herbs Guide, here we are passionate about growing herbs. We love the fact that you can grow something you can use, that there are so many different varieties and that you really can plant herbs anywhere.
Growing Herbs Guide aims to give you all the information you need about growing herbs so you too can have a wonderful herb garden for years to come!
Getting Started Growing Herbs
Herbs really only need three basic ingredients, water, sunlight and soil. However, when thinking about growing herbs it is a good idea to think about where you want to grow them, inside or out, how much sunlight is available and how much water is accessible.
Different herbs have different requirements of the three basic ingredients so knowing what you have available will lead to healthier, flourishing herbs.
Choosing Which Herbs To Grow
It is easy when wandering around a nursery to get carried away with the variety of herbs on offer. Before you buy all of them, think about the herbs you use often. What herbs do you like the taste of? What do you use most in your cooking? There is no point planting herbs if you aren’t going to use them so think about this first.
For instance if you do mainly Mediterranean cooking you may want to consider sweet basil, oregano, rosemary, bay, and sage. Or, if you cook more Asian style then consider coriander, ginger, lemongrass, Vietnamese mint, and Thai basil.
Alternatively, if you only have limited space or location to plant herbs, you may want to select herbs based on what they need to grow. Some need full sun, others part shade, some are thirsty and others less so. It is best to group herbs together that have similar requirements.
For example basil, parsley, chives and mint are thirsty. Whereas, rosemary, lavender, marjoram and oregano are dry-tolerant.
Different Types of Herbs - Annual, Perennial etc
Knowing the basic nature of herbs is important when growing herbs. There have been times where I’ve thought I killed some herbs only to find out they were annuals. Knowing what to expect is the best way to have a long-living herb garden.
Here’s what they all mean:
- Annual: typically last a year, annuals, have a short growing season that’s generally aligned with the seasons.
- Perennial: are plants that live longer than two years. Rosemary is an example of a long-lived perennial herb.
- Biennial: when grown from seed these take two years to reach their full flowering and seed-producing potential, and then either die or become non-productive.
- Herbaceous: Herbaceous plants are plants that die either at the end of the season or after flowering and fruiting.
- Herbaceous annual: die completely at the end of their season, and if naturalised they’ll regrow from seed.
- Herbaceous perennial: leaves and shoots die back after their growing season, but will regrow from their roots or other underground parts next season.
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Recommended Herb Growing Accessories
Premium Organic Potting Natural Soil Mix
ALL-NATURAL MIX: Burpee Organic Premium Potting Mix is formulated with plant food & coconut coir to promote seed & root growth and healthy flower, vegetable & herb plants. OMRI Listed for organic use. This premium mix releases essential nutrients immediately.
Original Huge 8 Layers Herb Drying Rack
Each layer is 8 inches tall, with a 24-inch diameter giving you the functional freedom to lay those herbs on thick. Wide-area, breathable, polyester mesh layers provide the perfect ventilation for quick drying.