During the summer months, there are few things more satisfying than stepping outside onto your deck or patio and snipping off pieces of fresh herbs you are growing in containers, to add to your summer meals.  How delicious is fresh mint added to iced tea, and savory basil, sage, rosemary, and thyme, incorporated  into pasta and salads for fabulous flavor. And, as an additional bonus, you get to enjoy the pungent scents of the herbs, while those same heavenly fragrances act as a repellent to mosquitos and other annoying bugs! What’s not to like? 

An herb can be defined as “a plant that serves more than one purpose.” An herb is a plant of which some part (roots, stems, leaves, flowers or fruits) is used for culinary flavoring, fragrance, medicinal purposes, or household uses.

Right now is the perfect time to get out your neglected planters and pot up some herbs. Here are some tips to get started:  

Select large, round, pots or rectangular window box planters for your herb garden. Be sure the containers you choose have drainage holes on the bottom. (If they do not, you can drill a couple of holes yourself).

Purchase three to five herb seedlings for each large pot. Some popular, easy and compact herbs to grow in pots are parsley, basil, chives, sage, cilantro, thyme, oregano and rosemary. Different varieties of mints can be grown together in one pot, but they should be separate from other types of herbs, as mints can crowd them out.

Depending on the size of your starter plants, fill the pot approximately 2/3 of the way up with potting mix. Be sure to use a potting mix made especially for containers, rather than top soil or dirt from your own garden. Potting mix is a lighter mixture that is better for herbs to grow in, and will make your container much lighter, if you ever want to move it. Potting mixes allow excellent drainage and many contain slow-release fertilizer as well.

Take your herb seedlings out of their plastic pots and gently tease the roots out before planting. Place each herb into your containers. For a more pleasing look, place the tallest growing plants, such as basil or rosemary, in the center, with trailing or bushy plants, such as oregano, parsley or thyme on the sides. Be sure the plant stems are spaced out a few inches from each other. So you can identify what herbs you have, place the plant tag from the store into the soil by each herb. Fill around the plants with more potting soil. Water thoroughly until water starts to drain out the bottom of the pot to make sure all of the plants absorb moisture at the first watering.  Place the pots in a sunny spot where the herbs get 6 to 8 hours of sunlight per day.

Herbs like to dry out between watering. Some herbs can easily be over-watered, so water every few days, or when the soil feels dry, and don’t leave the pot standing in a tray of water. Harvest herbs often to encourage fuller growth. Don’t let herbs get tall and leggy or start to flower. If the herbs start to flower, the energy of the plant will go toward the flower and not the leaves, so the flavor may be affected. Sprinkle the pots with an all-purpose herb and vegetable fertilizer every 4 to 6 weeks to give them a boost.

Enjoy your summer meals with your own delectable herbs!