Planting a container herb garden provides advantages that cannot be achieved through growing herbs in your garden.
Container herb gardening provides the mobility necessary to protect your herbs from harsh outdoor weather and seasonal conditions, as well as predatory animals and insects.
You will enjoy cultivating your herbs year-round in a more stable and forgiving environment than can be achieved through outdoor planting.
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.
Many herbs are not picky about the pots that they are grown in and this is fortunate for those of us starting a herb container garden.
Basil and rosemary can be grown in an old, chipped teapot or an empty coffee can.
Thyme can grow in a small terracotta clay pot.
Other herbs that love containers are dill, mint, sage and lavender.
The most important item to consider are your seeds; seeds must be of good quality and in good condition- remember like any organic substance they are subject to decay.
Airborne spores may also contaminate seeds, and oxygen reacts with compounds in the seed.
Safeguard against problems with your seeds by following the freshness dates on packages and avoid using any damp packages.
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.
When choosing where to place your plants, keep in mind that in the Northern Hemisphere, sunlight enters in at an angle more from the south.
Therefore, plants that need a lot of sun will benefit from being placed where they will have southern exposure.
For the plants that need partial shade should be placed on the northern side or you can position them in an area away from the window that is more shady.
It is just essential to prepare the soil with a proper mix of sand and clay.
In order to keep it at the most suitable moisture content as much as possible, specially in a container, it is advisable also to apply clay chips, although it may perform its job so well by absorbing and holding water for longer periods than what is necessary.
It is important to water the correct way.
Container plants commonly develop a problem called root rot from too much moisture.
Some plants like to be wet constantly, but most herbs prefer a dryer soil.
Sage, for example, likes a dry soil, whereas peppermint likes it moist.
Remember that to be moist is not to be soaked.
Moist soil should feel springy, while dry soil is hard.
Next, you can use a toothpick or a moisture gauge to stick in the soil.
When you remove the toothpick you will be able to tell if the soil is wet or dry.
The gauge's reading will be more useful and more precise, though.
Some thoughtful planning prior to planting, will enable you to have a container herb garden that is easier to grow and maintain.