Last week, I noticed a hint of green in my chives pot. Hello, baby chive plants!
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Do you see them? They’re the slimmest wisps of green, but they’re there and growing.
This year, I’m attempting to grow six herbs from seed: basil, chives, sage, oregano, mint and rosemary. I had originally planned to plant them in the yard, tucked in among the vegetables. Oregano and basil are beneficial to peppers and tomatoes, while sage and mint keep slugs away from tender lettuce and greens.
However, upon reading the seed packets, I found out that all but the basil are perennials. And I realized that if I grew them in pots and brought them inside when the temperatures start to dip in the fall, I could potentially have fresh herbs through at least part of the winter. And with that comes the added bonus of not having to start them from scratch next year.
So now I have basil and chive seedlings popping up in their respective pots, with the rest not far behind. During the warm summer months, I’ll still keep them outside near the tomatoes and peppers, peas and lettuce so that they can assist and protect the vegetables. But this way, they’ll be extremely portable and easy to bring inside.
Here’s how you can plant your herbs in pots too:
You will need…
- A pot or planter, preferably with a hole in the bottom for water to drain out and with a tray to catch said water
- Your herb seeds of choice
- Potting soil. Do not use regular garden soil…your plants will suffocate, and that will be tragic.
- Water.
- Plant labels.
How to do it….
- Fill the pot or planter up to within an inch of the top rim with potting soil.
- Water lightly so that the soil is damp but not soaking.
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Gently press in your seeds. Plant seeds at the depth indicated on the back of the packet. Or, as a general rule of thumb, you can plant seeds as deep as they are long.
- Savvy Tip: I typically plant seeds with 1 inch of space between them, just to make sure that enough germinate. You can always thin them out to the distance indicated on your seed packets if more come up.
- Gently cover the seeds with soil and lightly water.
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Label your pots and set in a warm place for the seeds to germinate. This may be the top of your refrigerator, near a sunny window, above a heating grate, or below a grow light. Once the seeds have started to sprout, make sure the plants get plenty of light.
- Savvy Tip: If your seedlings start to tilt, it is likely because they are reaching for the light. Rotate the pots if your herbs do this to keep them straight, tall and strong!
- Water daily, or as often as necessary to keep the soil moist but not damp.
Now I’m on the lookout for a dill seedling because I don’t want to buy a whole packet of seeds. I just haven’t found any yet!
What are your favorite fresh herbs? I can’t wait to put chives in my omelets, fried sage leaves on top of pasta and risotto, and fresh basil in my salads!
I just started herbs and vegetables for a balcony garden for my first time. Looking forward to following your garden tips more. I posted about it today, just planted yesterday.
Good luck! What did you plant?
i am planting basil, red bell peppers and tomatoes, three varieties of each. hope our heat doesn’t hurt them!
Thanks for this post- it’s my first year of gardening!
Fun! Are you planting in a yard or containers?
Thanks for this post! I need all the help I can get when it comes to planting.
My favorite fresh herb is cilantro! I am actually inspired to look into how to grow my own now, since I always forget to use it before the stuff I bought from the grocery goes bad. yayy
Do it!!!!
Good way to gauge how much water you should use is to check how much moisture reaches the bottom of the box by using a Popsicle stick. If any part of the stick comes out clean, you need more water.
Huh, I hadn’t heard that before. Wouldn’t the whole stick come out clean as it passed through the wet top soil?