Best Way to Plant Herbs in Container

Low-growing or trailing herbs generally grow well in containers, and containers make it easy to ring the changes and replace spent herbs quickly as you use particular plants or different varieties become available during the season.

The most convenient containers for kitchen herbs are window boxes placed just outside the kitchen, so that you can harvest foliage and flowers easily and quickly without having to step outside, or large ground-level containers on a patio.

If any of the herbs in a container dies, or you harvest them so completely that they are no longer attractive, it is simple to remove and replace them. In addition, if you are going to be using and replacing the herbs regularly, you can leave them in their individual containers, all set into a sturdy wooden window box, which then becomes a cachepot for the various small containers. You can replace any herb that is not growing well without having to replant the whole box.

There is a range of different containers suitable for herb growing. Terracotta and plastic are popular choices, but you can use almost anything – from large olive-oil cans to half-barrels – to create a particular style and house your herb collection.

There are two things you need to be sure of when planting up a container with herbs. First, it should have a depth of at least 25-30 cm (10-12 in), to give the roots adequate space to make strong root runs. Second, larger containers are heavy to move once they are filled with moist compost, so you need to site them carefully before you plant them up. If you are planting up a window box or hanging basket, make sure that it is securely fixed in position. When full of moist soil it will be very heavy, and if it became unsecured it could fall and hurt someone passing underneath it, especially if you happen to live in an apartment.

Remove the individual herbs from their pots and place them on a drainage layer of broken terracotta and a layer of soil-based compost. Fill the spaces between the herbs with compost and firm the plants in with your hands. Water the soil and cover its surface with a layer of grit to hold the compost in place and to act as a water-absorbent mulch.

There are a number of herbs that will thrive growing together in a container in a sunny situation. Avoid tall-growing plants – especially for a window box where the window opens outwards – because they will flop over the edge and may be damaged by wind.