Herbs: help me grow them

[Villanelle]

Okay, I've never really grown anything.  I've had a few succulents, which I killed, and have a few small cacti that miraculously are still alive.  That's it.  I've never had a yard or much outdoor space.

Now, I do have that and I really want to grow some basic herbs.  I'd like cilantro and basil, and maybe rosemary.  These would be in large pots (left by previous owner, currently with dirt and overgrown plants I can't identify and weeds), not planted in the ground.  Is there anything I need to know?  Is this a terrible time of year to start this?  How the heck do I know when to trim or cut back or... whatever one does with plants?  Are these plants that will give me herbs every year, or will I need to replant?  Last weekend I saw that home depot had small basil and cilantro plants, and some other choices (several mint varieties, and likely others). 

We only have so much deck space to choose from, but I can offer them either nearly full sun or partial sun. The deck is tucked into the southeast corner of the house so they'd get sun most of the day until evening if I put them furthest away from the house, or limited sun if I tuck them into the small shadow of the house.  (Plan was to look at the tags from the store and see what prefers what level of sun, or google it if the store tag doesn't provide that info.)

My plan is to pull up every thing in the pots, add more dirt (regular potting soil?) stir it all up, and then stick in the plants.  Unless that's not right?

I need you to tell me how to do this using very small words, as though I was a clueless child because I basically am, and I'm super intimidated by this for some reason.  I don't know why this seems so hard, but it does!  Tell me I can do this, and talk me through what I may need to know besides "shove them into dirt this weekend, water as needed, and clip off leaves/bits to use whenever you want them".

[yachi]

Posting to follow.  A month ago, I planted 9 different herbs in two planter boxes.  All of them are dead except the chives, that don't look healthy, and the rosemary that seems to be doing OK.  I split them into 2 groups, ones that liked sandy soil got half mortar sand, half compost, and ones that liked more moisture got 100% compost.

[dougules]

Most Herbs are pretty easy to grow, so no need to worry. 

(Full disclosure, I've only grown herbs in-ground.  A lot of it should translate to growing in pots, though.)

You could buy basil and cilantro plants, but I've never had much trouble getting those to grow from seed.  They're both annuals so you have to replant them every year (not sure about in pots), but a lot of times they will reseed themselves.  Just spread them on the soil in the pot and cover them with a small amount of soil.  Keep it moist until they sprout. 

Basil is fine to start now.  You could start cilantro now, but in hot weather it bolts (goes to seed) really quickly. 

Rosemary, you'll probably want to buy a plant for that and put it in a separate pot for it.  Rosemary will grow into a big bush if planted in the ground. 

Mint is pretty easy.  Buy a plant and put in the pot. 

If you buy plants and transplant (move) them into the pots, make sure you water them well for the first few weeks until they get established.  Transplanting them causes stress, but all the things you want to grow are troopers than can take it if they get enough water while they're recovering. 

I don't really have an idea on how often to water potted herbs because the rain here is more than enough for my herbs.  I do know that none are really sensitive to dry conditions, though. 

Are those four the only ones you want?

[Villanelle]

Most Herbs are pretty easy to grow, so no need to worry. 

(Full disclosure, I've only grown herbs in-ground.  A lot of it should translate to growing in pots, though.)

You could buy basil and cilantro plants, but I've never had much trouble getting those to grow from seed.  They're both annuals so you have to replant them every year (not sure about in pots), but a lot of times they will reseed themselves.  Just spread them on the soil in the pot and cover them with a small amount of soil.  Keep it moist until they sprout. 

Basil is fine to start now.  You could start cilantro now, but in hot weather it bolts (goes to seed) really quickly. 

Rosemary, you'll probably want to buy a plant for that and put it in a separate pot for it.  Rosemary will grow into a big bush if planted in the ground. 

Mint is pretty easy.  Buy a plant and put in the pot. 

If you buy plants and transplant (move) them into the pots, make sure you water them well for the first few weeks until they get established.  Transplanting them causes stress, but all the things you want to grow are troopers than can take it if they get enough water while they're recovering. 

I don't really have an idea on how often to water potted herbs because the rain here is more than enough for my herbs.  I do know that none are really sensitive to dry conditions, though. 

Are those four the only ones you want?

Thank you!

I'd consider others, but those would be the ones that would get the most use.  Conveniently, I have 4 large pots.  I also have some smaller pots, currently empty, and I could certainly have more than one thing in the larger ones.  So I'm not set on those 4 and only those 4. If you have other suggestions, I'm happy to hear them.  Some of it may depend on what is available though.  Seeds seem more intimidating than plants, so I'll probably limit myself to whatever I can find this weekend in plant form. 

[Ecky]

My experience with herbs:

Last year my partner dropped a sage plant they pulled out of the trash into our sand-pit that was once a flower bed. Not only did it thrive, but it came back after winter.

Nearly all of the herbs, cilantro, rosemary, basil, etc. that we planted in a raised bed have all basically taken care of themselves. We just put them in the ground, and now they're thriving.

My understanding of what herbs like:

-Warmth
-Abundant sunlight, but many don't like constant full sun exposure
-Humidity

Where I've always gone wrong with potted plants is water. Herbs (to my knowledge) can be killed if their roots ever dry out, and can be killed if they drown or if they're too wet and get an infection. Plants in the ground seem to better regulate moisture level. The soil ideally stays damp, never dry and never waterlogged for more than a few minutes after watering.

[ministashy]

Yay, finally a question I can actually contribute to!

A lot of herbs can be pretty forgiving once they're settled into a pot, as long as they get some sun and semi-regular watering.  Recommendations for the herbs you listed:

Rosemary:  very very easy to grow.  Likes to stay dry, so be sparing on the water.  (Not cactus dry, but maybe water once a week at most, depending on how hot/dry the weather is where you are.)  I have a rosemary plant that is at least 15 years old; if you live in a climate with mild winters, you likely can have fresh rosemary year round too.  Otherwise you will either need to bring rosemary in for the winter or just buy a new plant every spring.  You can start them from seed, but it's a bit of a pain in the ass, so I wouldn't recommend it for a beginner.

Thyme:  also very easy to grow, though likes more water than rosemary.  To keep it nice and green and under control, give it a good haircut (prune back) in the fall.  Again, it should survive through the winter if you have mild winters, otherwise see above.

Chives:  I have no personal experience with this one, but my Youtube research seems to indicate it's another easy grower.  Once it gets going, make sure to keep clipping it back before it flowers.

Cilantro:  easy to grow, very opportunistic, will take over your garden if you let it.  Definitely suited for pots.  Personally I'm not a huge fan of large amounts of cilantro, so I've never grown it.

Basil: pretty easy to grow from seed, but that does take some time, so if you want instant gratification, buy a plant from a nursery.  One or two basil plants will give you a LOT of basil, depending on how big a pot you put them in.  Keep them well watered (a couple times a week).  After a certain age they will try to bolt (flower and go to seed)--if you keep pinching off the flowers then they will keep producing leaves for you.  They will not overwinter, so I usually dry my excess basil from summer to use the rest of the year.

It's hard to give specific recommendations without knowing the climate you live in, but my best advice is to treat your herbs like (hopefully) you do your portfolio--check up on them every now and then, but don't obsess over them on a daily basis.  Get a good idea of what they look like when they're healthy, so that you can recognize when the leaves start curling or wilting and they need water.  If leaves turn yellow, then that means you're giving them too much water and you need to let them dry out a bit.  If the leaves have gunky stuff on them, something like spiderwebs, or look like something's been chewing on them, then you have a pest problem and it's best to go to the internets for specific remedies.  Thankfully this is usually less of an issue for outdoor potted plants.

Most of the herbs you mentioned like full sun, so keep them in the sunniest part of the deck you can.  If you live in a hot climate, keep them away from walls or other surfaces--these can reflect heat and fry your plants.  My herbs manage to survive on 3-4 hours of strong sun in the summer, though, so don't angst too much about where they are unless they're obviously unhappy about it.  (See above about wilting, etc.)

Fertilize with a slow release fertilizer like Osmocote or the like a couple times a year, and you should be good.  No need to repot unless the plant is obviously struggling (or it's rootbound, but at that point you would need to put it in a bigger pot or root-prune it, and the latter is a bit advanced for a beginner).

Hope this helps!

[Rosy]

Yay - a new gardener:) welcome to the club!

OK first off - we have a dedicated Gardening section right here in MMM Land
https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/gardening-diy/

It's a bit hidden so I'm glad to promote it to help other gardeners find it. Stuck underneath the DIY thread as a childboard.
The Grow your Own 2021 is the most popular - we like to show off our garden pics too.

Anyway, herbs are great for newbie gardeners.

1. Find out what gardening zone you are in.
I'm in zone 10 so all the heat-loving herbs like the perennial Rosemary will do fine. Perennial in my zone means it will be green all year around and like in all zones it will live several years.

Every plant tag will usually indicate the zone and the general conditions your plant baby prefers to become fat and happy, lush and green.

#1 Newbie mistake
2. Do not mix different herbs in one big pot because it looks oh so cool - unless - they all like the same conditions.
You got this already - since you are looking into what each one of your plant babies likes and wants.

It's simple do not put dry conditions, heat-loving, doesn't mind poor soil Rosemary in with Chives who may need some shade if you live in the south and love rich dirt, compost and plenty of water.

#2 Newbie mistake
3. Know how tall and wide your plant will get - it might be a good idea to give your Rosemary its very own pot and select say a couple of lemon thyme or English thyme to plant underneath. The thymes like the same conditions have a lovely scent, will have pretty blooms if they like it there and protect/mulch the rosemary in the heat of the summer and in my area in the cool winter.

4. Chives are some of the hardiest plants, they live a long time no matter what zone you are in. We have some incredibly flavorful garlic chives that are wonderful in an omelet. All chives spread via new bulblets - they will be fat and happy green all year around.
Give them their own pot - they do like compost and enough water.
If you are lucky enough to live in zone 7 there are some beautiful giant flowering types, non-edible - but a few ornamentals in your herb garden are fun to have.
TIP
Pick up Society Garlic at your local nursery or HD.
They look identical to regular chives except that all summer long you will have pretty purple blooms, like little stars.
For the longest time I thought it was ornamental only but it is edible (tastes the same as garlic chives) including the pretty purple flowers:)
 - the flowers make great salad and plate decoration. ... and the butterflies approve too:).
Same taste as our regular garlic chives.

5. Basil - can be tricky and like someone already said the seeds take a long time. Just buy a small plant in the spring or early summer instead.
Pinch off the top leaves and it will become bushier.

Basil is an annual that comes in many different varieties, with purple or black leaves and licorice scent like the Thai basil (yuck - looks great but I prefer the Italian Genovese for its flavor). There is an African Blue variety that turns into a big bush and smells heavenly - always hard to find, but in my area it will live in the ground and produce all year long for about three years.

TIP
In general, all I repeat all, new plantlings you bring home will do better if you give them plenty of TLC for the first two weeks.
If it's very hot you might need to water once a day - stick your finger into the dirt to see if two inches down the earth is still moist.
You want the roots to become strong as your newbie plant gets established - that will go a long way towards a healthy, happy plant that is strong enough to survive an insect attack or the occasional neglect later on.

It is true that Rosemary does not need as much water but your baby plant does need time to build a good root system first. So struggling in the heat for three or more days is not good for it.

6. MINTS like shade and lots of water - that's it:) EASY! They do need to be cut back occasionally.

I love all mints - we have Mojito Mint (for Mojitos:), Spearmint - lovely summer tea, Orange Mint - smells terrific, good w fish and chicken and for a strong afternoon tea, Chocolate Mint - the best culinary mint - awesome with carrots, caramelized cane sugar and butter. Morroccan Mint - the best for tea, period... My mints rarely survive the summer and I've never given up hope that one day one of them will spread and grow wild.

If you like mint and it sounded like you do - you might like Lemon Verbena - sweet lemon taste, great for cooking and for tea.

7. FERTILIZER
Most herbs don't require fertilizer from the store - but a slow-releasing fertilizer like Osmocote every three months or twice a year is fine.
Don't over-fertilize any of your herbs.
Don't waste your money on cheap fertilizer that forces growth or blooms it will exhaust your plants.
Mostly I just add more fresh soil or change it out completely.

8. SOIL
The right soil makes all the difference. I recommend that you empty out all your pots and scrub them once with a bleach solution just to get rid of any soil-borne diseases. DO NOT reuse soil that is riddled with weeds it will have self-seeded itself like crazy and your plants will have to fight them for survival and water.
Start fresh with your soil - buy good container soil - not the cheap kind and definitely not the garden soil.
You never ever cheap out on your soil.

I'm in the south and the only soil that helps my potted plants survive is Moisture Soil for containers, I mix in some Jungle soil or sand depending on the plant and layer the bottom of the pot with about three inches of leaves to help keep the moisture in and feed the plant as the leaves slowly rot.
I garden organically so no chemicals and no neighbor's leaves that might have been sprayed with weed killer.

TIP
Visit your local nursery and buy what they recommend. You can always ask them and then buy the same stuff cheaper at Home Depot, but I find that my local nursery people are nice, helpful and very knowledgeable so I don't mind supporting those local businesses at all.

Here is a great Herb Book
https://smile.amazon.com/Grow-Herbs-Jekka-McVicar/dp/0756664276/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=grow+herbs+jekka+mcvicar&qid=1625059674&s=books&sr=1-1

It discusses everything you could possibly want/need to know about growing herbs and has a dedicated section with great detail about each plant.
One of those books you come back to time and again.
I got it used on Amazon for five bucks - worth it!

There are some fantastic herb books out there but this one stands out for practical information, great pics and the top 100 herbs section.

Hope this helps - come see us in the garden thread!:)
HAPPY GARDENING - you got this!:)
Love your garden and it will love you back ...   

[GuitarStv]

I found Rosemary was very easy to grow in a sunny window sill or sunny area outside.  They will get pretty big, and the main stem will be very woody after a while, but the rosemary leaves are still good and the new shoots will be soft/green.  Just don't overwater them, and don't leave them outside when it snows.


The easiest herb I've ever grown was green onions.  I planted a bunch from the store that were going bad in the back of the fridge, and they were super easy to take care of.  Just water them and clip regularly.  After about 6 years they were very rootbound in the pots and weren't growing as well so I stuck them in some dirt outside.  They recovered really well, and then spread from the garden all over the lawn.  Now a good portion of our lawn is actually escaped green onion.

If you're planting mint, be careful to keep it in a pot.  That stuff will also spread aggressively if you just stick it in some dirt outside.

[dougules]

I'd consider others, but those would be the ones that would get the most use.  Conveniently, I have 4 large pots.  I also have some smaller pots, currently empty, and I could certainly have more than one thing in the larger ones.  So I'm not set on those 4 and only those 4. If you have other suggestions, I'm happy to hear them.  Some of it may depend on what is available though. 

Are rosemary, mint, cilantro, and basil the herbs you actually eat or cook with most?  I would start with what I already was using. 

Seeds seem more intimidating than plants, so I'll probably limit myself to whatever I can find this weekend in plant form.

For basil and cilantro, why not do both?  Get a plant or two of each, and then spread some seeds in extra space.  With cilantro specifically, you can plant seeds around existing plants because cilantro will do just fine all clumped together.  For me personally, I need several plants because I use a lot of cilantro and basil.  Buying plants would get expensive.  They also are annuals which means the plants only last one season.  You'll have to get new plants each year (more often if you plan to grow them inside in the winter).  Learning to grow them from seed, especially saved seed, is going to be much cheaper.  They might even do the work for you, and reseed themselves like they do in my garden every year.  No need to be intimidated by growing these two from seed.

About cilantro, I'm not sure what your winters are like, but if you rarely get temperatures much below 15F/-10C, you probably can probably have it all winter.  I'm not sure about in pots, but it's generally fairly cold hardy. 

The biggest thing if you're a beginner, remember this is a learning process.  Herbs are great for beginners, but even if they die, just figure out what went wrong and try again.  Failure is part of the learning process, and plants and seeds are cheap with herbs.   

[herbgeek]

Most of the things I would say have already been said, but want to stress 2 points:

1) as a gross generalization, herbs are either Mediterrean and like hot/dry/sunny or soft herbs that like regular watering and may or may not require full sun.  Examples of the first are rosemary, thyme, sage.  Examples of the second are basil, mint, parsley.  Parsley and mint can take partial sun.  Basil really does better with full sun.  Don't put dry herbs in with non dry herbs, they'll both be miserable.

2) Good drainage is a must.  Even herbs that like water don't like sitting in it.  Make sure you have good size holes in the bottom of the pot, and its helpful if you can put some big chunks of things in the bottom of the pot before you add your soil so water can easily get out.

[Villanelle]

I'd consider others, but those would be the ones that would get the most use.  Conveniently, I have 4 large pots.  I also have some smaller pots, currently empty, and I could certainly have more than one thing in the larger ones.  So I'm not set on those 4 and only those 4. If you have other suggestions, I'm happy to hear them.  Some of it may depend on what is available though. 

Are rosemary, mint, cilantro, and basil the herbs you actually eat or cook with most?  I would start with what I already was using. 

Seeds seem more intimidating than plants, so I'll probably limit myself to whatever I can find this weekend in plant form.

For basil and cilantro, why not do both?  Get a plant or two of each, and then spread some seeds in extra space.  With cilantro specifically, you can plant seeds around existing plants because cilantro will do just fine all clumped together.  For me personally, I need several plants because I use a lot of cilantro and basil.  Buying plants would get expensive.  They also are annuals which means the plants only last one season.  You'll have to get new plants each year (more often if you plan to grow them inside in the winter).  Learning to grow them from seed, especially saved seed, is going to be much cheaper.  They might even do the work for you, and reseed themselves like they do in my garden every year.  No need to be intimidated by growing these two from seed.

About cilantro, I'm not sure what your winters are like, but if you rarely get temperatures much below 15F/-10C, you probably can probably have it all winter.  I'm not sure about in pots, but it's generally fairly cold hardy. 

The biggest thing if you're a beginner, remember this is a learning process.  Herbs are great for beginners, but even if they die, just figure out what went wrong and try again.  Failure is part of the learning process, and plants and seeds are cheap with herbs.

Yes, these are the thing I use most frequently.  Well, maybe not mint, but I think I might use that if I had it around. 

Thanks to this thread, I looked it up and I'm USDA zone 7. (Northern Virginia). Hot (rarely more than low 90s, often high 80s), humid summers, and cold but not severely so winters, I suppose would be an accurate description.   We rarely get much below freezing and I it's never been anywhere near 15F in the two years I've lived here.  (Recently moved, but only about 45 minutes away so it shouldn't be drastically different.

Going back to soil, if I'm replacing all the soil, what specifically should I look for the bags to say? 

Thanks everyone!  I've already learned a great deal and feel somewhat more confident.  Since I'm starting late I'm going to buy plants this year, but next year I may try to do at least a few things from seed!

[Rosy]

Go with Moisture Soil for "containers".
Miracle Grow brand Moisture Soil at HD but if you can get Schultze Moisture Soil for Containers that's even better.
Soil in containers really dries out quickly in the heat of summer and it stresses the plants.
You'll be watering less and the plants will be happier.
Good Luck:)

[the_hobbitish]

I'm also in Virginia. Rosemary and lavender happily overwinter for me here. The previous owners of my house planted mint in the back garden so I'm in a constant war to weed it out before it takes over everything.

Basil loves our climate as long as you keep it watered. I do ok with cilantro until about May when it starts bolting.

[dougules]

Basil loves our climate as long as you keep it watered. I do ok with cilantro until about May when it starts bolting.

Cilantro is a winter thing for me.  I just bolts almost instantly in hot weather for me, but here in Zone 7 I'll have plenty of cilantro all winter long.  A really deep cold snap will set it back a lot, but rarely kills it.   

[Villanelle]

I've planted basil, mint, cilantro (though it sounds like I might not keep that long before it bolts), mint, thyme, and oregano.  (I'm not sure I'll use the oregano much, but figured it was worth a try). 

I can't seem to get the smell of the bagged soil out of my hands.  It's *not* pleasant. I was wearing gloves but the smell got through.  I'm Lady Macbeth.  I wash, and it seems gone and then resurfaces and I wash again...

I've watered, even though the soil seemed every moist out of the bag, and plan to water daily over the next few days.  Then cut back to "when the soil a couple inches deep seems dry", as a rough measure. 

I did all plants (no seeds) but next spring, I'm ready to try seeds, assuming this goes relatively well!  Thanks for all your patience and tips!