There is nothing like using culinary herbs when preparing your own food, and picking fresh herbs from your personal herb garden is even better. Their aromatic scent fills the senses, and their flavor surpasses dried herbs from the grocery store. Learn how to grow herbs from seeds and which ones to grow indoors or outside.
You’re missing out if you’ve never added fresh basil or oregano to a marinara sauce or chives to homemade soup. Herbal plants are the easiest plants to grow at home, and there are annual and perennial varieties. Some are great for growing in an outdoor bed or pot, and others are perfect for planting indoors on a sunny windowsill.
Growing herbs is an excellent way to enjoy your favorite herb year-round, fresh or dried. While your local garden center may carry a selection of young herb plants for transplanting, herb seeds are inexpensive, and you have a wider variety to choose from for planting.
Growing Herbs at Home
If you’ve considered growing your own herbs but thought you had to have a green thumb, think again. Growing herbs from seeds is a fun experience, and most herb plants require little attention to thrive.
They only need the right amount of sunshine, watering, and TLC. If any additional nutrients are needed, Epsom salt is good for herbs. It adds vital nutrients like nitrogen to the soil and can also be beneficial to keep pests away from delicate herbs.
Discover what herbs want for germination and optimal growth, the difference between annuals and perennials, and which ones are easy-growers. Find out how to plant herb seeds indoors and outside and ways to use your herbs once they reach maturity. Since onions add flavor to food, plant green onion seeds along with your leafy herbs for a fun take on herb-growing.
What to Know About Growing Herbs From Seeds
While growing herbs from seeds seems pretty straightforward, there are some things to understand about the growing process to ensure you get the best results. Explore the difference between herbs, their growing needs, and when to plant herb seeds indoors and outside.
There are three types of herbs; perennial, annual, and biennial. Annual herbs have one growing season; basil, cilantro or coriander, dill, chervil, marjoram, chamomile, and fennel are good examples. Many consider annuals easier to grow than perennials since they take up less space and are not as invasive.
Perennial herbs grow back year after year on their own, and they’re perfect for an outdoor herb garden. Mint, sage, oregano, lemon balm, rosemary, tarragon, thyme, lavender, and garlic chives are all perennials. Biennials, like parsley, watercress, caraway, and stevia, only have a two-year life cycle.
Most herb types desire at least six hours of full sun daily, and they grow best when temperatures are 65 to 70°F during the day and 55 to 60°F at night. The best way to grow cilantro is to ensure proper spacing between plants. Many herbs thrive in most garden soil as long as it has good drainage.
How to Plant Herb Seeds Indoors
Growing an indoor herb garden is convenient for having fresh herbs in the kitchen, but not all herbs are ideal for indoor growing. Basil, mint, oregano, sage, chives, thyme, and rosemary are good candidates for indoor growing. Learn which herb plants grow well indoors and how to plant herb seeds inside the home.
Fill a container with potting mix and sow the seeds according to the seed packet directions for sowing depth, spacing, and germination rates. Avoid planting them too close when seeding to allow air circulation as they develop.
Spray the dirt lightly to moisten it without making it soggy, and cover the top with a clear plastic bag. Keep the soil moist and remove the plastic after the herbs begin germinating.
Place the pot in a sunny location where the herb receives at least six hours of sunlight, like in a south-facing window. If you do not have a spot that gets enough sunshine, consider growing your herbs beneath a grow light or cool-white fluorescent lights.
How to Grow Herbs From Seeds Outdoors
Many perennial herbs prefer growing outside, where they have space to spread their roots and leaves. Planting herbs from seeds outdoors is no more challenging than indoors. Discover when and how to sow herb seeds outside and care for your plants as they grow.
When the danger of frost is gone in early spring, prepare the herb garden in the yard where your plants get a minimum of six hours of sunlight each day.
Most herbs are not frost-tolerant, and it’s essential to wait to plant herbs until after the last frost to prevent damaging the herb seedlings. Also, avoid sowing seeds in cool, damp soils to prevent damping off, a fatal disease that affects seedlings.
Check the seed packet for sowing instructions since different herb types have varying depth and space requirements. You can also choose the best fall herbs to plant, depending on your growing zone. Otherwise, evenly distribute the seeds in a row or a defined area. Cover them sparsely with soil and gently water them to dampen the dirt without washing away the seeds.
Unlike other plants, herbs are not heavy feeders, and you don’t need to fertilize them as often. However, they benefit from occasional feeding, especially if you grow them in a container. Give your herbs a nitrogen-rich fertilizer. Make a DIY fertilizer for herbs or purchase the appropriate mixture to promote vigorous leaf growth once or twice during the growing season.
Make a Dry Herb Blend With Home-Grown Herbs
Whether you grow an indoor or outdoor herb garden, planting herb seeds and watching as they mature into an aromatic herb plant is rewarding. The best thing about growing them is harvest time. Prepare a dry herb blend to keep in the spice cabinet.
Dry your herbs before making an herb blend. There are a few ways to dry herbal plants; the simplest is to air dry them. Secure the herb stems with a rubber band and hang them upside down in a dry area or pluck the leaves from the stems and spread them on a rack until dry.
If you’re impatient, dry them in the microwave in 30-second intervals or in the oven on the lowest setting for 30 minutes, or use a food dehydrator.
Pour two tablespoons of basil, oregano, cilantro, rosemary, thyme, savory, marjoram, and red pepper flakes in a food processor and blend for a minute or until you achieve the desired consistency. Pour the herb blend into a spice jar or airtight container and keep it in a cool, dry area for two to three years.
Growing herbs at home is a simple process, and it’s not long before herb seedlings develop into herb plants for harvesting. The key is to provide your herb seeds with the right amount of warmth and moisture for germination and give your plants care as they mature.
We hope that learning how to grow herbs from seeds keeps your recipes full of flavor, and we’d love it if you’d share our herb seed planting guide with your family and friends on Facebook and Pinterest.