A Beginner’s Guide To Starting An Herb Garden

How to start a herb garden at home:

1. Select easy herbs to start with
2. Pick between seeds or plants
3. Find and prepare an area for your herbs
4. Choose your containers
5. — or, dig planting holes
6. Water and care for regularly
7. Harvest mature herbs

Ever thought of having your own herb garden? Maybe you’ve noticed how much they can cost at the grocery, or seem to always buy way more than you need. If so, starting one is a great way to have them whenever you want, without having to spend so much every time you run to the store! The great thing is that even novice plant parents can do it at home, with the right knowledge and tools.

So, if you’re interested in getting into it, then read on. Our guide on how to start a herb garden covers everything you need to know to grow one at home!

Select easy herbs to start with

The best thing to start growing in your herb garden is, of course, herbs that are on the hardier side. These include herbs like rosemary, oregano, thyme, parsley, chives, and mint — all great options for those with little to no herb-growing experience!

Start with those so you can get the feel of what it’s like to take care of herbs. This is important because these plants require much different care than your average indoor potted plants, like your calatheas or philodendrons. Once you have enough experience and start to feel more confident, then you can branch out to other herbs.

We also recommend sticking to the herbs that you like to eat and cook on a regular basis. So, for example, if you don’t like mint, then you don’t have to get mint just because they’re easy to grow. If you’re growing the herbs you use often, then they won’t go to waste.

Pick between seeds or plants

Once you’ve made a list of the herbs you want to start growing, the next step is to decide: will you buy seeds, or plants?

It can be more economical to start off with seeds — but they do entail more care, which you may or may not be equipped to handle. Buying your herbs as young plants nurseries, like Unbeleafable, will make starting your herb garden much easier.

Depending on what you’re buying, we can also provide growing guidelines and tips for you to follow. This should make this process easier for you!

Find and prepare an area for your herbs

But before loading up your cart with your new herb babies, you have to figure out where you could grow them.

You can grow your herbs either indoors or outdoors. For indoor spaces, you want to prepare an area that gets about six to eight hours of bright but indirect sunlight. You’ll also want to place them somewhere that’s not too cold. This is generally on windowsills or any balconies you might have. You should also prepare the right potting mix so that they can drain adequately in their pots and receive the right minerals to grow well.

For outdoor areas, you’ll want to find a spot that has the same light conditions that we just mentioned. Once you find a spot, you’ll have to prepare the soil. We recommend loosening the soil with a shovel or trowel, and removing any heavy clay. You can improve the drainage of the soil by adding some compost.

Choose your containers

Next, decide which containers you’ll use for your herb garden. This step is generally only for indoor gardens. But, you can still grow your herbs in containers even if you place them outdoors.

You can use cocopots, ceramic pots, wooden boxes, or plastic containers — as long as the container you pick gives them enough drainage. Growing them in a container has the added benefit of being able to move them outdoors or indoors depending on the weather. Growing them in containers can also be aesthetically pleasing, as you can place them in a variety of customized or designed containers.

You can also decide whether to grow multiple herbs in one big container or not. If you do, we recommend planting herbs with similar growing patterns together, which makes it easier to care for them.

— Or, dig planting holes

If you’re planting outdoors, then you have the option of planting them in the ground. To do this, you need to prepare the right size holes for each of your herbs. We recommend digging each hole to around twice the width of its root ball. And, we suggest giving a few inches of space in between each hole. This gives them enough room to spread out and grow.

For taller herbs, like rosemary, you can plant them towards the back of the soil bed. For smaller herbs, like parsley and cilantro, we suggest placing them towards the front. This arrangement will make your herb garden look more organized and less unruly once your herbs start growing in.

Water and care for regularly

Once you’ve got everything planted, it’s time to water and care for them. Most herbs need some water daily, but others like thyme and safe should be allowed to dry a bit. Be sure to read up on the herbs you get so you know their recommended watering schedule!

A good rule to follow is to water your herbs in the morning, rather than the evening. This is because the sun and heat of the day will help your herbs dry out a bit, which prevents overwatering.

As for other care needs, like fertilizing, the good news is that you don’t have to do it often. In fact, you can get away with not fertilizing them at all! Most herbs, especially hardy and fast-growing ones like our rosemary and thyme, don’t need fertilizer to grow well.

Harvest mature herbs

Once your herbs have reached maturity, you can begin harvesting them. But remember to only take a little bit each time you do, or else it has a hard time growing back. We suggest taking less than a third of the plant at one time.

Every time you harvest, keep the tops of the plant pinched back — this promotes their recovery and encourages them to produce more the next time around. With the right harvest techniques, you can enjoy your herb plant without worry for the next several months.

Key Takeaway

And there you have it — you now know how to start a herb garden. With this knowledge under your belt, you should be able to grow a happy and thriving herb garden to enjoy in your cooking in no time. So, use our guide and try growing all of Unbeleafable’s herb plants at home!