How to Grow Chinese Herbs in Containers

Fill seed tray flats with equal amounts of high-quality potting soil and organic compost. Label each container with the name of the herb you are growing. For instance, red sage, sweet Annie and Chinese licorice are easy-to-grow Chinese herbs suitable for beginner gardeners.

Insert the tip of a dowel or stick into the potting medium and draw parallel lines in each tray, spaced 2 to 3 inches apart. Sprinkle herb seeds in each row and cover lightly with the mix. Irrigate the soil until it is evenly moist but not soggy.

Cover each tray with plastic. Set the trays in a warm spot with indirect but bright light or under grow lights that are turned on for six to eight hours every day. The seeds germinate in two to three weeks. Remove the plastic wrap when the seedlings grow 1 inch tall.

Water the plants regularly so the soil remains evenly moist at all times. Relocate the trays to a spot with indirect but bright light, such as a sunny window sill that receives six hours of sunlight every day. Ensure the daytime temperature of the spot remains between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit and the nighttime temperature does not drop more than 10 degrees.

Transplant the seedlings to individual pots when they grow 3 to 4 inches tall. Fill a 6-inch pot with equal amounts of compost or perlite and soil. Slide a trowel under the roots of each herb seedling and lift it out to remove the plants from each tray. Form a planting hole in the middle of each pot, as deep as the root ball of the seedling but twice as wide.

Lower the root ball into the hole and cover gently with soil. Place the pots near a sunny, warm windowsill with plenty of indirect sunlight. Water the pots regularly to keep the soil evenly moist at all times.

Fertilize Chinese herbs with a water-soluble fertilizer diluted to half its recommended strength every two weeks during the growing season. Inspect the herbs for pests such as fungus gnats, aphids, spider mites and caterpillars. Handpick the pests or spray them with a homemade soapy solution of 2 tbsp. dishwashing soap diluted in 1 gallon of water.