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You are here: Home / Containers / Herbs are perfect for growing in pots

Herbs are perfect for growing in pots

By Beckie Fox Filed Under: Containers, Food

Herbs in pots (Garden Making photo)
Herbs in pots (Garden Making photo)

Herbs make ideal low-maintenance container plants, mainly because most thrive on minimal water and food — within reason, of course. In the case of mints, a pot is the only way to go unless you don’t mind them galloping through your garden beds.

Another practical reason to tend a herb garden above ground is convenience for the cook. I cluster several terra-cotta pots around the base of a fig tree near the kitchen door. It’s easy to step outside and snip a handful of whatever I need at the moment.

Many herbs are ornamental, such as variegated sage and lemon thyme. Rosemary and bay can be trained into topiaries. Purple basil adds contrast, as will a few pots of edible flowers, such as nasturtiums, calendula, violets or lavender.

At the end of the season, I thoroughly water the perennial herbs and store them in an unheated garage over winter. If I think of it, I water them again in January or February if they seem bone-dry, otherwise they stay dormant and undisturbed until spring when I haul them out into the shade to acclimatize for a few days. (The rosemaries and bay winter indoors near a sunny window; they grow year round and don’t go dormant.)

Once new growth commences in spring, everyone gets a trim and a weak dose of organic fertilizer. Then it’s back to the back door in full sun for another reliable supply of fresh herbs at my fingertips.

Published: August 9, 2010 | Updated: March 31, 2019

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About Beckie Fox

Beckie is Editor of Garden Making. She is a Master Gardener and published author in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Maggie says

    March 27, 2019 at 10:20 am

    I wish I could grow cilantro but it goes to seed so quickly!

    Reply
  2. Edrie Howell says

    September 26, 2017 at 2:57 pm

    Very helpful information, particularly regarding different preserving /drying methods for different herbs. Thank you.

    Reply

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