Secrets to Growing Healthy Herbs

Growing your own resources can be a great step in your sustainability journey and your garden development. Herbs are versatile and pretty easy to care for, which make them the perfect start your home harvest! Here are our secrets for successfully growing your own herbs and our 5 top picks for beginners.

Get a Head Start

Growing anything from seeds can be a tricky process that requires a bit of trial and error, which can be frustrating and discouraging for a beginner. Go easy on yourself and get some herb starters, which can be found in most garden centres and supermarkets. This should start you off on the right foot and set yourself up for success!

Pick the Right Place

Herbs are so versatile, it leaves you with many options of where to put them and how to display them. They can be grown indoors, or outside, and do well in pots, or straight into your garden ground. It’s really up to you where you want to keep them, but there are some things to consider when it comes to deciding.

Planting herbs in pots makes them moveable, which can be very useful when you’re testing the best place for their forever home. Terracotta pots are an excellent choice as they not only look great, but they’re also heavy and porous, which means they’re stable, and help to increase drainage in the soil.

Planting herbs outside can be beneficial as they have the potential to produce a much higher yield when they’re given the room to flourish. But be considerate about where you place them outside, as if uncontained they can take over surrounding plants.

Let there be Light

Most herbs perform best in full sun. When planting them outside make sure it’s in a spot that sees plenty of light. A south facing windowsill would be their preferred spot inside, but again, anywhere that catches 4-6 hours of sunlight a day should do the trick. Although it’s important to remember that not all herbs require the exact same conditions, so we recommend researching the individual needs of each kind you’re growing.

Prioritise Drainage

Something very important to consider when choose the right home for your herbs is that they need to be in well-drained soil. If they sit in water, they’re likely to drown. Make sure you know the conditions of your soil are adequate before planting in the ground. Or select a pot with effective drainage.

Keep your Herbs Hydrated

Although herbs don’t like water to sit in their soil, they need watering a small amount every day to keep them hydrated. If planted in a pot with drainage holes, sit it on a plate or saucer – you can pour water into it. The plant will soak it up as much as it needs, and will save you from overwatering.

Our Top 5 Herb Recommendations for Beginners

Mint

Mint is an extremely fast-growing herb and can do well with very little fuss. It thrives in well drained soil and light shade. However, be aware, mint is very persistent and can spread very easily if planted directly into the ground.

Thyme

Thyme grows well in 6-8 hours of full sun per-day and well drained-soil. It needs regular watering for the first year, but thereafter prefers dryer conditions. Refrain from using fertilizers as rich soil can produce large but less fragrant plants.

Rosemary

Rosemary likes to be kept warm and dry, in full sun, and very well drained soil. It needs around 6-8 hours of sunlight per day and should only be watered once the soil has dried fully. Misting daily also helps to increase humidity.

Chives

Chives are fairly low maintenance and make an excellent beginner herb. They like full sun, and moist, rich, well-drained soil. Chives grow rapidly and can easily take over a garden if you allow their flowers to develop fully. To prevent them from spreading outside remove their flowers when they bloom.

Basil

Basil is a slightly more delicate herb, and can be tricker to get right, but as such a great addition to the kitchen, it’s worth a go. Basil requires moist, but well drained soil. It likes to be kept warm and needs around 6-8 hours of sun per day