Growing culinary herbs is a great way to learn how to garden. Not only are herbs very forgiving, but you’ll be able to use your own herbs in your own cooking, as well as save a bit of money at the grocery store. The less time between harvest and cooking, the better they taste.
However, it’s important to remember that you should look first at what you actually use before you pick plants to grow. Just because an herb is on a list doesn’t mean you should grow it. Pick the herbs that you use when cooking, and keep your herb garden close to your kitchen to make it easy to harvest and use. A kitchen windowsill is perfect, as most herbs grow perfectly well indoors in garden pots. Plus, with container gardening, you can enjoy fresh herbs all year round.
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What To Grow In An Herb Garden
#1 Basil (Ocimum basilicum)
Type: Annual
USDA Zone: 2 to 11
Light Requirement: Full Sun
Water Requirement: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Basil is one of the easiest herbs to grow, and one of the most popular. While sweet basil is the most common variety, you can also experiment with purple, lemon, and Thai basil for different tastes.
How to grow:
You can easily grow basil in a container on a sunny window or outside in the garden. For the easiest option, pick up a live basil plant at the grocery store, although basil also germinates well from seed.
When growing outside, start seeds 6 to 8 weeks indoors before transplanting. They’re a heat-loving herb, so wait until the soil has warmed up to at least 50F (10C) (hotter is better) and when nighttime temperatures stay above 50F (10C). The perfect time to transplant is actually the same time as your tomatoes. Even better, basil is a great companion plant for tomatoes because basil shades the soil around tomato roots without competing for depth or height. Some say that growing basil next to tomato plants improves the taste of the tomatoes.
Basil loves moisture, so water deeply and mulch around them to help keep the soil moist.
How to harvest:
While you can harvest the whole plant at once, it’s actually better to start harvesting as soon as they grow 6 leaves. To harvest, pinch off the stem below the second set of leaves. Pinching off encourages the plant to grow bushier, so you’ll end up with fuller plants – and much more basil to harvest. (Your hands will also smell amazing.)
While pinching can keep a basil plant going for weeks, basil has a total lifespan of 6 months. Even the best of care won’t keep it going much longer, so don’t take a dying basil plant as a lack of gardening skill. When temperatures cool or you notice that it’s slowing down (if indoors), harvest the whole plant.
How to use:
To use, simply wash and use fresh leaves on top of pasta, pizza, sandwiches, salads, or anywhere else you regularly use basil. You can also muddle fresh basil leaves in water for a refreshing summer drink.
If you have a lot of basil, make pesto. The NY Times has a great basic pesto recipe that only takes 15 minutes.
The best way to store basil is by freezing the leaves, rather than by drying. Chop up the basil, add a little olive oil, and freeze them in ice cube trays for easy use during cooking.
#2 Cilantro/Coriander (Coriandrum sativum)
Type: Annual
USDA Zone: 2 to 11
Light Requirement: Full Sun to Part Sun
Water Requirement: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Cilantro is a divisive herb. Some people love the fresh, spicy taste, while others think it tastes like soap. But even if you’re one of the latter, you may wish to grow this plant for its seed, coriander.
How to grow:
Cilantro grows best in the spring and fall, and will bolt in the summer. When it bolts, the cilantro leaves taste bitter. Sow seeds after the last frost date or during the fall. Once it’s planted, you can let it self-seed for a harvest next year.
How to harvest:
To harvest cilantro, simply pick the leaves while it grows low to the ground. Once it grows a stalk, let it go to seed and then cut down the plant.
To harvest coriander, allow the plant to go to seed. Once the plant turns brown, cut off the seed heads and put them in a paper bag. The seeds will fall off once the seed head dries, and you can store them in a sealed container.
How to use:
Cilantro is used fresh, rather than cooked. It’s used in a lot of Mexican foods, like fajitas, chimichurri, guacamole, and pico de gallo, as well as in curry and pad thai. The best way to store cilantro for long use is by freezing it.
You can use coriander either whole or ground. If you’re using the whole seed, add them in when you start cooking to give them time to release their flavor. Coriander seeds are used most in Middle Eastern cooking recipes. Allrecipes has a great roundup of coriander recipes.
#3 Mint (Mentha spp.)
Type: Perennial
USDA Zone: 5 to 9
Light Requirement: Full Sun to Part Shade
Water Requirement: Medium
Maintenance: Low
If you like sipping on mojitos during the summer, mint is a great herb to grow. Mint has been used in dishes and drinks for centuries for its cooling taste. Tasting mint can also refresh your mind when you’ve been concentrating too long.
How to grow:
Caring for mint is more about containing it than growing it. Once mint gets decent conditions, it’ll try to spread throughout your entire garden. Don’t plant it directly in the ground. Keep it in a container, or if you really want it in your garden, plant the container in the ground to keep its roots from spreading. Even in a container, it will sneak stolons into any surrounding soil, so keep an eye out.
The best way to start mint is either by buying a plant from the nursery or propagating it. Since it’s such a vigorous grower, it’s one of the easiest plants to propagate. To propagate, take a 6 inch cutting and lie it horizontally on the ground. The cutting will take root.
Keep the soil moist for best growth, or let it dry a bit to help keep it in check. If you have plants prone to flea beetles, place potted mint next to them. Flea beetles don’t like strong smells. (Except for the mint flea beetle, but these aren’t the flea beetles plaguing most gardens.)
How to harvest:
Like basil, you can harvest mint as you go, although it won’t bush up like basil does. You can also harvest the entire plant down to one inch of stem right before it flowers. This second method is best if you’re planning to dry them.
How to use:
You can use mint leaves both fresh and dried. Muddle fresh mint leaves in water for a refreshing summer drink, or boil fresh or dried leaves for tea. Add them on top of salads and Greek yogurt, or process them into mint sauce and jelly for savory dishes. Many Middle Eastern recipes use mint. Taste of Home has a massive list of recipes to use up your mint. Typically, spearmint is best for savory dishes while peppermint is used for desserts, but you can also experiment with other varieties.
#4 Chives (Allium schoenoprasum)
Type: Perennial
USDA Zone: 3 to 9
Light Requirement: Full Sun
Water Requirement: Low to Moderate
Maintenance: Low
Related to garlic, leeks, and onions, chives are an easy herb to grow and used in a lot of recipes. They’re perennial, so once started, you’ll be able to harvest for months to come.
How to grow:
Chives grow best in the spring and fall. Start seeds indoors 6 to 8 weeks ahead of time, or sow seeds outside as soon as you can work the soil. Seeds may take a few weeks to germinate. They’re also great at deterring pests, including aphids and Japanese beetles. Chives like a lot of nutrients, so work a few inches of compost into your soil before transplanting, or top dress through the season.
Chives are perennial, and will survive most winters. Every 3 to 4 years, divide the bulbs into 10 smaller bulbs to keep them productive. Remove flower heads before they go to seed as they are prolific self-sowers that will take over your garden.
How to harvest:
Once the leaves reach 6 inches in height, you can harvest its long, cylindrical leaves. Start with the outer leaves first, cutting the leaves off but leaving 2 inches from the base.
How to use:
Chives offer a gentle onion taste that’s used in a ton of recipes, including soups, dips, potatoes, fish, omelets and seafood. Whatever you’re making, wait until the last minute to add the chives as heat can destroy the flavor. You can eat them raw.
#5 Lovage (Levisticum officinale)
Type: Perennial
USDA Zone: 4 to 8
Light Requirement: Full Sun to Part Shade
Water Requirement: Medium
Maintenance: Medium
Lovage is an underrated herb. Soup recipes often call for fresh celery leaves, which are difficult to find in grocery stores. Celery is a demanding vegetable to grow. But lovage tastes exactly like celery and is much easier to grow. Use it in any recipe that calls for celery or celery leaves.
How to grow:
Lovage is a great plant to grow in containers. While in the garden it can grow to 6 feet, it’ll grow just as well in a smaller, more manageable size in a garden pot. It’s easy to grow from seed, but you can also propagate it by root division.
You can allow it to go to seed (seeds are great for meat dishes and soups), but if you’re growing it outside, remove seeds before they can drop, as lovage will easily self-seed and take over your garden. It has naturalized in many parts of the US.
How to harvest:
To harvest, you can pinch off stems with leaves while it’s still growing. Like with basil, pinching back will encourage bushier growth.
How to use:
All parts can be used in cooking. Use lovage leaves and stems as a substitute for celery or celery leaves. For tea, grate its roots.
#6 Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis)
Type: Perennial
USDA Zone: 3 to 7
Light Requirement: Full Sun to Part Shade (appreciates protection from hot afternoon sun)
Water Requirement: Dry to medium
Maintenance: Low
Another lesser known herb, lemon balm is a great alternative for lemons that’s easy to grow in your garden even if you have winter. It’s related to mint, but it’s not as aggressive. Bees love its tiny white flowers that are rich in nectar.
How to grow:
Lemon balm germinates best when cold stratified, so either sow it outside in the fall or stratify it in your fridge. If starting indoors, start it 4 to 6 weeks before the last frost. You can also start new lemon balm seedlings from propagation, either dividing old clumps or using cuttings. While lemon balm is perennial, it grows best for only 3 to 4 seasons.
While lemon balm will self-seed, and has naturalized in many places in the US, it’s not as aggressive as mint. Pinching back will help keep it from going to seed. If you let it flower, deadhead it to prevent seeds from dropping.
How to harvest:
To harvest, simply pick the top couple of inches of leaves. Pinching off the growth like this will encourage bushier growth. Use the leaves fresh or dry and store them in a closed container.
How to use:
Use fresh or dried leaves in salads, soups, sauces, vegetables, or teas – anywhere you’d like a zest of lemon flavor. You can use fresh leaves lightly crushed in water for a refreshing summer drink (experiment with basil and mint too). You can also use dried lemon balm leaves in sachets and potpourri.
What To Plants Herbs In
Most herbs aren’t terribly picky about where they’re planted, so long as they get a bit of sun and enough water. Most grow well in pots and planters, so you can grow them in your kitchen window all year round. Since most herbs can grow in small pots, you can hang them to save space.
Since you’ll be harvesting them frequently (or even daily), grow them as close to the kitchen as you can. The further away they are, the less convenient, and the less likely you are to actually use them.
Conclusion
Growing your own herbs is easy, and a great project for beginning gardeners and budding cooks alike.
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~Jonathon