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July 12, 2018 by Joy Kincaid 18 Comments

How to Grow Herbs: A Beginner’s Guide

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How to grow herbs in a home herb garden for beginners.

how to grow herbs

Maybe you’re fairly new to gardening and want to start off with something small, or possibly you’ve grown vegetables in a home garden and are now ready to try something new.

Either way, here are some helpful tips for how to grow herbs in a home herb garden.

Benefits of Growing Herbs

There are several reasons to start a home herb garden.  Here are just a few.

1. Herb Gardening is Simple

For one, growing herbs at home is in some ways simpler than growing vegetables such as tomatoes or cucumbers.

This is because herbs are generally less prone to diseases and insects than vegetables.

Although many herbs are like vegetables in that they are annuals (meaning they will only grow one year and not come back again), other herbs such as chives and rosemary are actually perennials and will grow back year after year.

how to grow herbs in a home garden

If your soil is not very rich, herbs are very forgiving, as they tend not to be as nutrient-hungry as vegetables and can often grow in soil where vegetables may not thrive.

While soil type is not as essential, you will want to keep young herbs well watered to encourage root growth and prevent drying out.

2. Herbs are Beautiful

One of the primary assets of herbs is that they’re beautiful (some of my favorites are lavender, sage, chamomile, and comfrey).

Herbs like lavender and bee balm produce gorgeous blooms that can attract butterflies and hummingbirds.

Other plants such as chamomile, thyme and rosemary have a lovely fragrance that fills the summer air with the pleasant scent of fresh herbs.

3. Herbs are Delicious

Herbs can greatly enhance the taste of your food.

Add a handful of fresh thyme or basil to pasta sauce. Make your own mint tea with peppermint or spearmint.

Sprinkle on some rosemary before roasting a chicken and let the fragrance waft through your kitchen.

how to grow herbs at home

4. Herbs Have Health Benefits

One final benefit to having a home herb garden is that herbs can sometimes be used medicinally to treat a variety of health conditions.

Herbs are great for treating minor skin irritations or conditions like insomnia.

Got a bug bite? Rub some crushed lavender on it for quick relief.

Have a child with an upset tummy?  Brew up a pot of fresh chamomile or peppermint tea to soothe your little one’s digestion.  (This book is one of my all-time favorites for how to use medicinal herbs at home.)

How to Grow Herbs

When thinking about starting a home herb garden, there are several things you’ll need to evaluate. The following are a few tips for how to grow herbs at home.

First, how much space do you have?  If you live in the city and only have a small space to devote to an herb garden, consider growing plants such as thyme, chives or basil that don’t take up a lot of room.

Be aware that anything from the mint family (peppermint, spearmint, etc.) can be quite aggressive in terms of spreading beyond the area where you originally planted it.

Try a Container Herb Garden

If you are really tight on space, you could grow herbs in pots.

Many herbs will thrive in containers unless they have deep roots and need a lot of moisture.  Arrange one or several pots on your back deck or patio and try your green thumb with some herbal favorites.

One advantage to containers is that you can move them around to sunnier (or less sunny) spots as needed, or even move them inside if frost threatens.

how to grow herbs in containers

Herbs in the Garden

Some people like to grow herbs in a separate area in their garden away from vegetables while others like to “companion plant” with herbs interspersed with veggies.

If you go the companion planting route, try growing tomatoes with chives to help repel pesky aphids.  Plant dill with cucumbers to drive away aphids and spider mites.

Are you limited in not having open, sunny areas for growing?  Parsley, mint and cilantro don’t require full sun and can do well in more shaded spots.

You may want to plant perennial herbs such as rosemary and chives together in one area of your herb garden, with annuals like basil and summer savory in another spot.

It can also be fun to create a “cottage garden” look by interspersing different types of herbs all in one location and then watching the gorgeous show of different and brightly colored flowers that results.

Which Herbs Should I Plant?

Try growing culinary herbs like oregano and basil, as well as some medicinal herbs like chamomile and calendula (also known as pot marigold).

However, you will soon find there is a lot of overlap between culinary and medicinal herbs.  For example, rosemary adds a delicious flavor to dishes but also has some amazing health benefits such as fighting inflammation!

The herb sage gets its name from the fact that it can actually help with memory and cognitive ability, and may even fight off dementia. It’s a great one to include in your garden.

How to Preserve Your Herb Harvest

To preserve your harvest, you can dry herbs to use during the winter when fresh herbs are unavailable.  While many herbs are suitable for drying, rosemary, sage and thyme are some of the easiest to preserve.

How to Dry Herbs

To preserve your herbs, cut off a section you wish to keep, rinse lightly under cool water, and shake off excess moisture.

Use a rubber band to secure the herbs together, or tie up the bunch of herbs with string.  Find a suitable dry and well-ventilated spot in your home for hanging the herbs.

Herbs can be hung on a rack, from clothes hangers, or any other suitable spot that is out of direct sunlight.  Once dried you can use as any other dried herb.

how to grow herbs

Grow Your Own Herbs

Growing herbs can provide many benefits in terms of beautifying your yard and garden, as well as providing delicious flavors and even promoting your family’s health.

If you already grow herbs, why not try a few new ones this year?  If you’ve never grown herbs before, now is the perfect time to get started!

6 Simple Tips for Herb Gardening

To condense it down to the basics, here are 6 basic tips for how to grow herbs.

  1. Determine which herbs you want to plant. Some great ones to start with are basil, chives, or rosemary.
  2. Find a suitable location for planting, whether it be in a garden or in a container.
  3. Buy herb plants or start your own from seed (we get many of our seeds from here).
  4. Plant your herbs and keep them watered and weeded.
  5. Preserve the harvest by drying, freezing, etc.
  6. For more information, you may want to consult this book, as it’s my absolute favorite for learning how to grow and use herbs.

I hope these tips for how to grow herbs have been helpful! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Pin This Post for Later:

How to Grow Herbs for Beginners

Related Post:

Tips for Growing Organic Tomatoes in Your Home Garden

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Read my full disclosure here. Sharing here.

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Comments

  1. Ann @ Live The Old Way says

    June 10, 2020 at 7:56 am

    This is a fantastic “get started” article! Thanks for sharing it with us at the Homestead Blog Hop, please come back again soon!

    Reply
    • Joy Kincaid says

      June 10, 2020 at 3:16 pm

      Thank you, Ann!

      Reply
  2. Ann says

    June 8, 2020 at 7:45 am

    I also grow my own herbs and I love how you show how easy it is to do! Thank you for sharing at Party In Your PJ’s, you are being featured on my blog Tuesday evening.

    Reply
    • Joy Kincaid says

      June 10, 2020 at 3:04 pm

      Thank you, Ann!

      Reply
  3. Deborah Davis says

    June 3, 2020 at 7:15 pm

    Hi, I’ve been planning to grow an herb garden so you beginner’s guide was just the article I needed to read! I hopped over from Homestead Blog Hop to check it out. I’m pinning and sharing this.

    Reply
    • Joy Kincaid says

      June 4, 2020 at 10:15 pm

      Hi Deborah! So glad it was helpful, and thanks so much for stopping by!

      Reply
  4. Sarah @ The DIY Mommy says

    May 29, 2020 at 5:13 pm

    Thanks for all the great tips.

    Reply
    • Joy Kincaid says

      June 3, 2020 at 3:16 pm

      Thanks so much for stopping by, Sarah!

      Reply
  5. Donna Reidland says

    July 27, 2018 at 10:25 am

    I’ve got some herb seeds I need to get planted. I keep them on a sunny windowsill in my kitchen. Ready for snipping!

    Reply
    • Joy Kincaid says

      July 28, 2018 at 1:06 pm

      I love keeping some on my windowsill too! Right now I’ve got English Thyme, which is such a cute little plant as well as useful.

      Reply
  6. Kippi says

    July 27, 2018 at 8:58 am

    I just pinned this post I love the ideas. Happy Summer, Kippi

    Reply
    • Joy Kincaid says

      July 28, 2018 at 1:06 pm

      Thank you, Kippi!

      Reply
  7. Amy @ The Quiet Homemaker says

    July 22, 2018 at 7:44 am

    I love herbs! The smell of fresh basil makes my heart so very happy! I have a little parsley growing this year, but that is it for right now. I want a nice herb garden someday when we finish building our house! Oh and I have some comphrey as well! I love this wonderful herb and use it in a healing salve that I make.

    Thanks so much for this post! And for linking up @LiveLifeWell!

    Blessings,

    Amy

    Reply
    • Joy Kincaid says

      July 23, 2018 at 9:01 am

      Oh, yes, basil is a favorite! Somehow I haven’t planted any this year. I love comfrey too! It’s so hardy and easy to grow, and I also use mine for salve! 🙂

      Reply
  8. Create With Joy says

    July 21, 2018 at 5:15 pm

    What wonderful tips these are Joy – thanks for sharing at Inspire Me Monday at Create With Joy – we’re happy to feature you at this week’s party!

    Reply
    • Joy Kincaid says

      July 21, 2018 at 11:02 pm

      Thank you for the feature!

      Reply
  9. Donna Reidland says

    July 16, 2018 at 10:12 am

    I have some seeds reading to go, but you inspired me to get it done! 🙂

    Reply
    • Joy Kincaid says

      July 18, 2018 at 3:01 pm

      So glad to hear!

      Reply

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Hi, I'm Joy. I'm so glad you're here! I believe creating a beautiful and nurturing home is an art worth cultivating. Read more here...

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