Motivation to grow herbs can be precipitated by the cost of them in the supermarket, a love of cooking with fresh herbs, or the lovely aroma that they provide in the garden.   My favorites are Basil, for mixing with Thai foods and making fresh pesto; Cilantro, to include in fresh garden salsa; and Oregano to put in sauces.  My recession garden is going to include several herbs this year.  It hurts to fork over cash for herbs in the market, when they are so easy to grow at home!

So many herbs can be grown successfully in containers on a patio, balcony or fire escape.  I prefer to grow my herbs in containers because they are more accessible when I am cooking.   In my experience, Basil does well in a small plot.   However, I have tried growing basil in containers, and it does well if it stays well pruned which is easy if it is used often!  Herbs do well in containers with good drainage.  Basil goes well next to tomato plants because it is supposed to enhance the flavor of tomatoes.  I am not sure if this is true, but do it every year anyway!

Any container can work for growing herbs as long as it has a drainage hole.  I like window boxes, but they tend to dry out quickly.  Large pots can fit several types of herbs in one space. Parsley, Cilantro and Basil work well together in large pots. Remember that the plant will really only grow as big as the pot that you put it in.  So, if you want bigger and bushier plants, snip often, and give your herbs growing room.

 loose and well-drained. A mix for container grown herbs can be made by mixing equal parts of potting soil, peat moss, and vermiculite.   My herbs have also done just fine in regular potting soil with a good mix of mushroom compost at the beginning of the season.  I also line the bottom of the container with pebbles or small rocks from the yard to ensure good drainage.

As I have mentioned in other posts, watering is the most difficult part of container gardening. Plants in containers dry out faster than in the ground. On a hot sunny day, a container garden may require water once or twice daily. You can also try to use the bottle irrigation system that I gave instructions for in the vegetable section.  Water plants when the top of the soil feels dry.   Pour enough water to allow a small amount to come out the drainage holes in the bottom of the container.  Throughout the season, be sure to pinch off leaves (use the herbs!) to keep them bushy and compact.  Remove flowering shoots to maintain the supply of fresh leaves on the plant.  Like most plants, too much water can deprive your plant of oxygen. Yellowing of the leaves is a sign of over watering.

I did not pinch off the flowers on the mint pictured above.   I left my mint for the bees since I don’t use mint past May, when we make Mint Julep’s for the Kentucky derby.