Some herbs grow better from seeds. These seeds can be sown right in the ground or in pots or window boxes and then transplanted into our outdoor herb garden when they are well established.
Choose the seeds that you will begin with. An earlier section of this guide offered a sampling of some of the herbs that might be included in a beginner's herb garden, depending on the purpose for the plants (eating or medicinal).
Sowing seeds outdoors - Soak them in water overnight before planting them. Slightly wet the soil and make sure that it is loose in your hand. Be careful not to sow the seeds too deeply. Fine seeds like marjoram can grow better when mixed with some sand. Larger seeds can be covered with up to an eighth of an inch of soil. Use fine spray mist to water the seeds while germinating. Cover them with wet paper to preserve moisture until seedlings appear.
Sowing seeds indoors - Use clay pots or even paper cups to sow your seeds. Be sure that there are holes in the bottom for proper drainage. For window boxes or pots you can use commercial potting soil that has a good mix of solids for proper nutrition and drainage. Fill the containers to the top with the soil. Sow your seeds sort of shallow, only three times deeper than the size of the seed.
Add water to your seeds and cover them with plastic wrap. Put your containers on a flat surface and place them in an area with full sunlight for at least five hours a day. Check your soil daily to see that is remains moist. Once the seedling pokes through, remove the plastic wrap from your containers. At this point you can also begin watering them from the bottom to avoid damping off - a disease caused by over watering in which the leaves begin to fall off and the plant dies.
Transplanting seedlings - Wait until at least two sets of leaves are present on the seedling. If it is winter, continue to maintain your seedlings indoors and then move them to an outdoor bed in the spring. As spring approaches, you can set the pots outdoors for a few hours so the seedlings become acclimated to the cooler temperature. Pinch off the lower set of leaves. Turn the pot upside down to remove the seedling and its soil. Be careful not to pull on the leaves or the stem. Dig a hole in your herb garden deep enough to cover the seedling up to the area where you pinched off the second set of leaves. Cover the seedling with soil and water once a day the first week and twice a week thereafter. As the plant grows, cover the beds with mulch to help with discouraging weed growth.
Some herbs like rosemary, thyme and chives can be bought as mature plants. They can be nurtured indoors in harsh weather and then replanted outside in the herb garden in warmer weather.
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