Herb Gardens for Beginners

Starting an herb garden, for beginners, can be as simple as starting with a windowsill planter. Growing an indoor herb garden away from the harsher outside elements can provide you with easy access herbs year round. Whether growing medicinal herbs, herbs for tea or a cooking herb garden, it’s an economic way to benefit from herbs. Aesthetically, herb garden designs can also add beauty to your everyday surroundings, making this a worthwhile hobby to pursue. Following an herb garden for beginners plan can be a great way to learn the easy steps on how to get started with your very own herb garden.

First, decide which herbs you would like to grow. Would you like to have many different varieties of herbs or would you like to use the herbs you grow more for cooking, making tea, medicinal purposes, or making crafts? While herb garden ideas are endless, determining which herbs you will likely use will make it easier on you while you plan and take care of your garden. If you’ve decided an indoor herb garden is for you, the next step is to decide on the actual herbs you’ll be planting. For cooking, there are many to choose from depending on your culinary preferences: tarragon, fennel, parsley, chives, basil, marjoram, thyme, dill, coriander, rosemary, sage, and oregano, are just some of the ones you might like to plant. Within these major category names there are many specialties, for example, there are several types of basil, including purple basil, Italian basil, sweet basil, Thai basil, lemon or lime basil, Greek basil, and the list goes on. If this seems a little overwhelming, don’t worry, your local home and garden center will provide the most commonly used herb seeds for those just starting out.

Starting an herb garden in a windowsill is ideal because there is usually plenty of light and sun to grow healthy plants, however, if you have other rooms or nooks in your home where you can place a potted plant here and there, consider what a beautiful addition a plant in those spots could make. For example, you could choose aromatic plants such as lavender, lemon verbena, mint, or rosemary to place throughout your home.

Also think about how the plants you’ve chosen will grow. For example, nasturtium can grow as a vine, in which case, it can grow up to six feet. In contrast, thyme grows as a little shrub with many little branches. Bay leaves, often used in cooking soups and stews, can grow up to five feet in a pot.

After you make a list of the herbs you’d like to grow and find out about their growing needs, for example, how much space, light, and other growing conditions they need to have, plan the design of your herb garden. Some plants need to have their own containers, while others can be combined in the same pot. Keep in mind how tall and wide they will grow and which containers will be best for them as well as enhance your décor.

While the seed packets will inform you of the type of soil your plants will need, you may wish to further learn more specific details for each plant. Some need well drained more alkaline soil, whereas others do better with gritty or moist soil. To fully reap all the benefits of your hard work, you’ll have to find out what the best time for harvesting your plants is, and when to collect the seeds the plant produces to use as your next crop, as well as the best way of preserving the bounty you’ve helped grow.