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What’s the next best thing if you don’t have room or time for a large garden? Container herb gardening! Let me walk you through the steps to planting your potted herbs, and offer 3 tips for continued growth and success.
*Be sure to make it to the bottom of this post to see my friends ideas for Summer Outdoor spaces.
Watch this video, and/or read on to learn all about our minimalistic and tasty patio decor. I’ll share all I know about container herb gardening!
My husbands finds it very amusing whenever I mention “Hey, I want to grow something”.
I think we have both learned from experience that my thumb is more black than green. But in my defense, I have 4 growing children whom I feed and water very well.
Something sparked in me this year, and I am bound and determined to keep our herbs growing all Summer long, because it has been so fun to involve the kids, watch them grow and use our clippings in the kitchen. And what would you know, it’s been 3 weeks since we planted them, and they are alive and well!
WHY PLANT HERBS IN CONTAINERS OR POTS
I’ve found the best thing about container or potted herbs is that it is not overwhelming to care for them. Weeds are non existent or minimal, they are close to our kitchen where I can remember them and you don’t need a huge area to enjoy this form of gardening.
So like I mentioned before, I am no pro at gardening. What I share with you is not necessarily based on years of experience, rather hours and hours of research I did before hand.
HERBS FROM SEED OR PLANT?
We did not plant from seed, rather we just picked up some of our desired herbs already started at the supermarket. We went this route mainly for ease and also it is a little late in the growing season.
I found these darling Ivory pots sitting outside of Smiths Marketplace and knew they would be perfect for this minimalistic garden look.
I can’t find these exact ones online, but here are some similar planters that I rounded up.
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I’ll talk about what kinds of herbs we planted, but first, I want to share with you our planting process and 3 main tips for successful container herb gardening.
HOW TO PLANT HERBS IN CONTAINERS OR POTS
After selecting your pot or container, you’ll want to ensure good drainage. If necessary, drill a few holes at the bottom, and fill the bottom with rocks, about 1/4 the way full.
Next up, fill your pot almost full of fertilized, organic soil. This will give your plants a great start and the best chance for success.
Prepare a place for your plants by digging a spot a few inches deep.
Remove your plant from the container, and break up the roots just a bit.
Place into the hole and gently cover with more soil.
Repeat the process for any additional plants you will be placing inside the same container, but be careful not to overcrowd.
After they are planted, go ahead and give your herbs a good drink.
So there you have it. That is all it takes to get your herbs planted. Now here are 3 tips for continued growth and success.
MUST KNOW TIPS FOR CONTINUED GROWTH AND SUCCESS
1 – DON’T OVERWATER
Generally speaking, most herbs don’t like to be too wet. In almost every resource I came across, it said to let the soil go dry and then water. Our biggest concern with overwatering comes if the roots start to rot, then it is game over. This is also why having good drainage is very important.
2 – FULL SUN
Herbs seem to love the sunshine! I’ve learned that they need at least 6-10 hours of full sun a day. Our patio is facing the West. It’s shaded most the morning and then in full sun until dawn. This spot seems to be serving them well.
3 – TRIM AND HARVEST FREQUENTLY
Herbs love a good haircut! Everywhere I read, it said the more you prune and harvest, the more the plants will produce for you.
My plants are still pretty young yet, but I’ve already been able to see more growth if I take some clippings. Each time I harvest this cilantro and parsley, it gets another burst of growth.
My basil needs to get a bit taller before I start to harvest, but it should really take off once I begin.
Speaking of Harvest
I’m not going to go too much into harvesting, because, well, I’m still learning. If all goes well, fingers crossed, I hope to follow this up with full plants and show you how to harvest and ideas for using your herbs.
What I have clipped so far, I’ve done after spending some time online and on YouTube learning how the pros harvest each type of herb – because they are all different. Clipping in the wrong spot can often stop your progress completely, so I am careful to learn how each plant likes to be harvested for continued growth.
THE 6 VARIETIES OF HERBS WE PLANTED
To wrap things up here, let me show you each herb that we planted.
I had 6 pots and the perfect spot to keep them close to our kitchen, on our little back patio.
Over here we have planted basil (personal favorite), parsley (growing fast!), and oregano.
On the other side we are growing lavender, cilantro, and rosemary.
Both the lavender and rosemary will get very large and we intend to transplant them to the flower beds when they are ready.
I’d love to know in the comments below if you’ve tried your hand at herbs before, and any other tips you might have for us.
My husband often speaks of the beautiful and plentiful herb gardens his mother would plant, and all I can say to him is, “baby steps, dear.”
I hope you’ve enjoyed this post, learned a few things, and I’d love to hear what you have growing in your gardens this year or your favorite outdoor project. Do you know something about herbs that I didn’t mention here? We would love to know!
This little herb garden has almost been therapeutic for me, since we are in a rental home and I can’t do much for changes. Watching them grow is such a joy!
Now, are you ready for some more amazing outdoor inspiration? These bloggers will not disappoint!
Welcome again to another round of the Seasonal Simplicity series, and we are doing outdoor spaces today!
The Happy Housie / Inspiration for Moms / Rooms for Rent / Bless’er House
Shabbyfufu / Summer Adams / Making it in the Moutains / TIDBITS
Confessions of a Serial DIYer / Clean and Scentsible / Just a Girl and Her Blog / Stacy Risenmay
Zevy Joy / Finding Silver Pennies / Deeply Southern Home / A Pretty Life
Southern State of Mind / Amber Tysl / Newly Woodwards
I love to cook with herbs and an herb garden myself. I can’t imagine cooking without herbs
We try a garden every year. Last year our garden did terribly. This year it is looking ok but we shall see. My kids love the digging, planting, watering and harvesting but they aren’t fans of weeding! This year my kids each got their own garden pot to plant whatever they wanted in and there is no weeding involved because we bought clean dirt
Ok Cami, you have inspired me once again and I’m totally doing this! It’s been on my list to do and now I know how. Thanks for sharing! XOXO
What a brilliant idea to fill those beautiful planters with something you will actually use too! LOVE it!
Thank you for the tips, Cami! I have a black thumb, so I can use all the help I can get! 🙂 Hope you’re having a great week!
~Abby =)
Black thumbs unite 😉 . Thanks Abby dear!
Great tips! Love the pots you chose!
Thank you! They were perfect for my vision. Yay when that happens!
Your herbs are proving you do have a green thumb! I love the herbs in planters close to the door-I find I use more if they are closer to the kitchen! I put my basil in a flower pot this and am already regretting that. We have always planted in the ground and have had tremendous crops and I think the pot is now too crowded. I don’t know if I can still plant it in the ground or not so this will be a teaching/learning year for me on that one. I have always had more rosemary than I need just keeping it in a good size pot. I would plant parsley in the ground also but the rabbits would eat all of that so in the pot it stays!
In case you didn’t know it, many of your herbs also discourage mosquitoes and bugs-another good reason to leave at least some of them in pots by a door. Good luck on your herb growing adventure! Nothing like fresh herbs in your cooking.
Vickie! Thank you for the suggestions. It sounds like you have a lot more experience than I do. I’m excited to learn more this year and see how it all goes. I did start to notice some bugs eating the leaves of my basil, and I am distraught! If you have any suggestions for that I would love to hear. But yay for keeping other bugs away! That’s a win!
I’m not real experienced either-just have “practiced” a few years longer than you! I don’t remember having problems with bugs eating our basil. If you could capture one, or take a close up photo, I would take it to your local feed and seed store to see if they could identify it and lead you to solutions to solve the problem. Your county ag department might also be able to help. The only critter I have noticed feeding on my herbs is the parsley-not just the rabbits, but a rather large caterpillar=lots of them. I tried to kill them as they literally ate the pot of parsley faster than the rabbits. Upon investigation, I found out that there is a species of butterfly that loves to eat the parsley. The suggestion was to leave the caterpillars alone as they would not kill the plant. Of course I had no parsley for awhile but eventually the caterpillars either moved on or became butterflies and the parsley returned. -lots
Those pots are the sweetest shape! I love them! They look great – and are practical, to boot.
Cami, this looks so pretty, and so practical, too! You are doing a great job making your temp rental sparkle! Truly! Love your tips and tricks, too! Thanks for sharing!
Hugs Julie! Pretty and practical. That’s always my goal. Thanks again dear friend! I get to meet you soon, right?!
Absolutely! I’m looking forward to meeting face-to-face, and so many other things about the weekend! 😀
I ADORE those pots!!! I had herbs on my kitchen porch last year and loved it 🙂
Oh good. I’ll drill your brain on how to keep them alive. I agree – love those pots! I decided to garden after I saw them 😉
I love this! Those white pots are so pretty! I struggled with growing veggies, but I can manage flowers and herbs okay… oh, and I guess children;) So glad you could join in on this hop today, Cami!
Thanks Krista! A mama can only grow so much, right??!! Thanks for having me!
I just have to say the lavender looks beautiful in that pot ? I am enjoying your site very much, thank you for sharing ?
Thanks Alicia! The lavender is my fav! How can you not adore the beauty and smell?!
I couldn’t agree more ? Continue sharing all your pretties, I love your ideas ❤️
I am no expert,by any means!But it looks as if you have certainly done your homework!!Your pots n plants are beautiful!!
One new herb that I’m trying this year,is called Sweet Herb..it’s stevia! I’ve picked off a leaf n put it in a cold drink,glass of sweet tea,morning coffee,etc.Love it!Some people put a leaf or 2 in a qt jar while canning peaches-no sugar needed!Or cook a few leaves with apples,put through strainer,n boom ?,sugar free applesauce!There is a way that you can dry the leaves to make your own stevia..I just haven’t gotten that far in researching yet!One tip-keep using the leaves,it’s very important that your plant does not “go to seed”,if you still want to harvest leaves!
Loved your photos!
Rosanna
Thank you Rosanna! Glad to have someone confirm I am on the right path 😉 . I was totally going to grab Stevia instead of rosemary, and now wish I had! I just had no idea how I would use it, but your suggestions sound divine! I haven’t even ever had it right off a plant. And thank you! My cilantro started to seed a bit and I snipped it as soon as I noticed. I hope I didn’t hurt it badly. Thank you for your suggestions!