Tips on Growing a Great Herb Garden

Choosing your Herbs

• Before you plant your herb garden, make a list of all the fresh herbs you enjoy cooking with, and buy starter plants of each of those herbs. A great herb garden includes all the herbs that you enjoy eating, and unless you live in an extreme climate, there's no reason you can't grow every herb you enjoy cooking with.

Plant Herbs Together

• If you have enough space to separate your vegetables from your herbs, it can save you problems in the long run. If you have a large garden, plant your vegetables at one end and your herbs at the other. If you have enough room for two gardens, plant each garden separately. This way, insects and other pests that are attracted to your vegetable garden might not also feast on your herbs. Many herbs act as natural pest repellents, so your herb garden should survive with relative ease.

Planning your Garden

• Before it comes time to plant the garden, choose a location in an area that gets at least six hours of sunlight each day. Herbs thrive in sunny locations, so it's important to give them enough light to keep them healthy. Before planting the herbs, ensure the garden has a mix of soil, peat, clay, organic fertilizer and sand, and has been tilled. Each element contains different minerals that help an herb garden grow. If you want to be scientific, buy a pH tester at a gardening store. Herbs typically grow best when the pH of the dirt is between 6 and 7.

Planting your Herbs

• When planting your garden, you can grow herbs from starter plants or from seeds directly. Starter plants are easiest, and can be bought at a farmer's market or grown from seed indoors. Plant herbs once the risk of frost dissipates, and when you can easily turn the earth with a shovel. The general rule for planting seeds is that the larger the seed, the deeper you should plant it. Plant your herbs in a way that makes them easy to access. If there are certain herbs you use daily, keep them at the front of your garden, while planting less-common herbs toward the back.

Other Tips

• If left unharvested, herbs will often flower, then go to seed late in the growing year. If possible, harvest herbs shortly before they begin to flower because this is when their flavor is strongest. Some plants, such as parsley and thyme, will come up every year on their own. While this seems beneficial, thyme will lose its flavor slightly with every new generation. Every three or four years, remove the thyme from your garden at the end of the summer and plant it anew in the spring.