Gardening 101: A Guide on Growing Herbs in Containers

 

Growing plants on containers has become extremely popular in gardening nowadays, and you shouldn’t miss out on its excellent benefits. Herbs can also be grown in containers and are famous for lots of reasons.

Herbs are essential ingredients needed in cooking and many other things, and it can be pretty handy to start a container garden just right outside your doorstep. You wouldn’t have to go through lots of problems with pests and weeds when it comes to container gardening. Any herb plant can be grown in containers, but it’s best not to mix them all in the same pot as some plants have their growing requirements different from other herbs.

An example of a situation would be certain herbs needing more water than others or even how much light some herb plants need. With proper practice and adjustment, you’re sure to have your herbs ready for their containers. Here’s a guide on what you’ll need to do when growing these plants in small containers.

Get Started With Planning Your Herbs

When it comes to container gardening, it’s possible that you can plant more than one type of herb in one container. The best strategy is to produce the same kind of herbs in one container, so you wouldn’t have to worry about the plant’s growth preference regarding watering, sun, and soil.

You wouldn’t want to grow rosemary in the same container as parsley, as they have different temperature preferences. Rosemary plants are some of the best choices when you want to try growing herbs in containers.

Moreover, herb plants can also serve as decoratives in a container garden, as they add a fresh and natural aesthetic to the garden. Just be sure to pair the herb plants that share similar conditions with the other. This is to make sure that the others won’t get in the way of the herb plant’s growth habits.

Choosing the Perfect Container

Any container is perfect for your next herb container garden. Just make sure that the container allows proper drainage. Some herb plants don’t have large roots, so a small container can perfectly keep them intact. 

However, always remember that the smaller the container you have for the herb plant, the less soil it holds. You can either experience having a small margin of error of having too little or too much water in your container. 

Moreover, other herbs can thrive with self-watering containers, as they keep a consistent level of moisture enough to keep the spices from drying out. While other herbs, such as basil oregano and more quickly dry out, they wouldn’t be excellent plants for self-watering pots.

Proper Care for Herbs in Containers

Boost your herb plant’s growth by mixing the right amount of soil, having access to decent sun exposure, and proper fertilizer in your container garden. Always choose the right, high-quality potting that could grant enough drainage, or else you’d end up drowning the herbs.

Furthermore, herb plants need as much sunlight as they grow. They need six to eight hours of full sun every day. However, too much exposure to heat may cause the containers to melt, so it’s best to at least place the plants under shade when you live in a state where the temperature can end up scorching hot.

Lastly, always make sure never to over fertilize your herb plants since most herbs don’t require much. Being overfed with too much fertilizer could cause them to die out and even change the taste of the spice once you start harvesting and using them as cooking ingredients.

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Fresh Harvest Time

The best part of every gardening journey is harvest time, and that goes the same for herbs.  When it comes to harvesting herbs, you have to snip carefully and pinch back the plant. This encourages the plants to branch out and increases your harvest. Avoid snipping around more than one-third of the herb plant, especially in its early stages of growth.

It’s also important for gardeners to note the type of tailoring some herb plants need. An example would be basil needing to be harvested regularly while removing flower buds, and at the same time, shouldn’t be cut all the way through.

Once the growing season reaches its end, you may bring in the rest of your herb containers indoors, so long as there is enough sunlight that can get through your home. A lot of herbs can survive more indoors, especially during the winter months. Your friends and family might even want to ask for one of your herb containers as gifts, which is another fun way to expose your loved ones to your gardening hobby. 

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Takeaway

Planting herbs in containers can be really easy and convenient, significantly if you’ve finally grown tired of buying those in the supermarket every time. With proper practice, you can continue to plant herbs in lots of numbers and start giving extra containers as gifts for your loved ones the next harvest season.