Tips For Growing A Container Herb Garden

Written by Lee Dobbins

Thursday, 11 September 2008

by LeeDobbins

Opting to plant a container herb garden provides you with versatility that you do not have when you plant an outdoor garden. With containers, you can choose where your herbs grow. You could leave your containers outside when the weather is conducive for growing and bring them inside when it is not. You are also in better control over the soil that your herbs are growing in. Finally, you can ensure that your herbs get the right amount of light. You can move them away from the windows at will or even place them under a lamp.

But potting herbs in a container is not an easy task. You have to spend a bit more time making sure the soil has the right amount of water and that the container receives the right amount of sunlight for your plants.

If you intend to do container herb gardening, you have many options. There are a number of herbs that you can choose from. Dill, lavender, mint and sage are a few such herbs. Additionally, some herbs will prosper in a variety of containers. For example, basil can grow in an old teapot and rosemary can be successful in a coffee can.

The most important key to a successful container herb gardening is to begin the process with high-quality seeds. Air can cause seeds to go bad, for air contains spores that can invade and ruin seeds. A solution is to be conscious of the dates on the package and also discard any seeds that get wet.

It is very important to select the best locations for your container herb garden. To choose the best location, you need to find out what type of exposure the plant will need. While some do very well in partial shade, other plants need much more sun. For example, Basil requires warm soil in addition to dry air and is sensitive to the cold. If you choose to grow the plant indoors, it will need to be close to a window to get enough light, but be cautious not to put it near a frosty window in the winter.

Sunlight hits most of the Northern Hemisphere's populated areas from a more southern angle. Therefore, plants that do well in the sun should be located where they will have a southern exposure. Likewise, shade-loving plants would be better in areas facing northward or in shaded areas away from windows.

Prepare the soil as directed and maintain the desired level of moisture. A trick for keeping soil moist is to add clay chips to the pot, but clay may hold water for extended periods of time- the reason that clay soil should be mixed with sandy soil. One plant that does well in dry, alkaline soil is lavender.

Remember that over watering, leading to root rot, is the most common issue with container plants. Water as needed, for each individual herb; for example, peppermint grows best in moist soil while sage prefers a more arid environment.

There are different ways you can check the soil in your herb container garden to figure out if you need to water it or not. Just because the soil should be moist doesn't mean that it should be perpetually wet so be sure to keep that in mind. If the soil is dry it will be harder than when it is moist and feels a little springy. You can use a toothpick or a moisture gauge to put in the soil so tell if the soil is moist or dry also. To use the toothpick you would insert that into the soil and then pull it out to see if the soil is dry or moist under the surface. The gauge is a better choice because it will give you a more exact reading that is useful.

You will have no trouble maintaining a container herb garden as long as you take the time to do some planning before hand.

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Please visit http://basicherbgardeningtips.com/ where you can learn about different types of herbs and find out more about growing a herb container garden.

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