A Potted Herb Garden is A Great Time and Space Saver

A potted Herb Garden was another great idea that I acted upon.

If you’ve been reading through this site you’ll know that I have a vegetable garden with a few herbs in my backyard. I wanted to grow more herbs than I already have but I lacked the necessary space.

So I’ve been using other methods to plant herbs and potted herbs are just one of those techniques.

I like the idea of a herb pot garden because it allows me to grow herbs of different kinds all in one pot. So I save space and time to get this job done.

So Here’s what I do:

How to Grow a Potted Herb Garden

Firstly I got a large gardening pot that would hold a number of herbs. Then I lined the pot with newspaper. The newspaper help keep the soil in the pot. Remember the pot would have holes to the bottom and the soil can be washed out. So the newspaper prevents this.

Secondly I placed the pot of newspapers at a site where it would receive at least 5 hours of sunshine each day. Herbs require this amount to be successful. The site I choose was on the eastern side of the house.

Unfortunately this site was away from the kitchen. Nonetheless it was the best spot.

Next I added soil to the pot. I didn’t fill the pot up to the brim with the soil though. I filled it about ¾ of the way. The next quarter would be filled by the herb plants.

At this point I was ready to add the herb plants.

Again, if you’ve been reading you would know that I don’t like starting herbs from seeds. I think it’s too time consuming and requires a lot of patience. I prefer buy the starts from my local nursery. And that’s exactly what I did.

I identified which plants grew tall because these would be placed in the middle of the potted herb garden. The reason for this is to prevent the shadow that they cast from shading the rest of the herbs for long periods.

So herbs like rosemary were set in the centre of the pot, while the smaller herbs were planted around the rosemary.

I also bought oregano and mint. These 2 herbs are known as runners. They spread very quickly once planted and are known to colonize gardens. These could choke the other herbs and take over their designated spaces in the pot.

So, to prevent this from happening, I left both the mint and oregano herbs in the container I bought them in. In other words I inserted the herbs into the pot while keeping them in their containers.

This ensured that their roots weren’t given chance to spread and destroy the other herbs in the herb pot.

Next I took all other herbs out of their containers and loosen their roots before I placed them into the pot. (Loosening the roots of the herbs help the roots to quickly attach themselves to the soil in the pot).

So now I had a pot of herbs. All I had to do was use soil to fill out any space that were still present between the herb plants and add water.

I used a watering can to add a gentle spray of moisture over the herb pot garden. This also helped in making the soil sticky so the roots would be able to cling easier to the soil.

Watering also provided the herb plants with moisture. (Remember to water your potted herbs regularly. This may be the main source of water they get.).

The next steps were easy. I kept watering the potted herbs and picked their leaves once they began to grow.

I almost forgot...I did get a few weeds trying to grow in the pot. Their seeds may have been brought in by the wind. Nonetheless I did have to dig them out with a knife. But this wasn’t frequent.

Final Word

I enjoy owning a potted herb garden. I have all the herbs I need for cooking and I also feel a sense of accomplishment.

If you’ve been thinking about growing a potting herb garden, then try the steps I used above to ensure that your herb garden is successful.