Variety is the spice of life, and nothing rings truer when you bite into a delicious dish full of fragrant, freshly cut herbs.
The great news is that growing your herb and spice garden is simple. With a bit of time and patience, you’ll have a wealth of amazing flavors on hand to brighten up any dish or cocktail.
The answer to how to garden spices is also pleasingly straightforward. A spice garden is also a fantastic way for new gardeners to understand growing seasons and care for plants year-round.
Here’s how to garden spices and herbs so you’ll never need to buy them again from the grocery store. First up, a quick guide to plant types.
What’s the Difference Between Spices and Herbs?
Herbs and spices are often used interchangeably, but they describe different parts of a plant. In general, an herb is the fresh or dried leaves of an herbaceous plant, which is a plant without woody stems. That said, some herbs come from woody plants. Parsley, basil, and rosemary are often in spice racks, but they are considered herbs thanks to their aromatic leaves.
Conversely, a spice is usually the dried seed, bark, or fruit of a plant, like cinnamon.
What’s the Difference Among Annual, Biennial, and Perennial Plants?
Lots of gardeners talk about annual herbs and biennial plants. Here’s the lowdown:
- Annual plants require planting from seed every year. They grow, produce, and die within a year or a single growing season.
- Biennial plants have two growing seasons. A biennial plant produces its roots, stems, and leaves in the first season. The second season sees biennial plants produce the prized seeds, fruits, and flowers.
- Perennial plants live several seasons and more; think trees, shrubs, and flowering plants. Mint is a perennial herb. Other examples include tuber plants like potatoes or rhizomes like ginger that survive winters underground.
How Do You Start a Spice Garden?
The first step to discovering how to garden spices is assessing the amount of space you have. There are several types of herb gardens, both indoor and outdoor. Remember that your herb garden might be outside year-round or it may need to be indoors at certain points, especially in colder climates.The first step to discovering how to garden spices is assessing the amount of space you have. There are several types of herb gardens, both indoor and outdoor. Remember that your herb garden might be outside year-round, or it may need to be indoors at certain points, especially in colder climates.
Container gardens on windowsills work well, as do small kitchen gardens inside sunny windows, particularly for urbanites short on space. Yards or patios may have room for a raised bed. A 10×12 foot garden bed should provide ample herbs for an average-sized family.
Pro tip: Check this raised bed building guide that shows how you could make a garden bed for less than $100.
It’s also important to know how many hours of sunlight your chosen location receives. South-facing areas are ideal. Remember that some fresh herbs, like rosemary and parsley, require hours of full sun while others like cilantro do well when there’s partial shade. Chives can grow with a few hours of sun daily.
Also, specific herbs grow well in particular climates. Luckily, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has a search tool that helps you determine which plants will likely thrive in your locality.
You can still grow garden spices even if you live in areas with little natural sunlight or without a south-facing window or yard. There are many excellent indoor grow lights that provide an energy boost to plants.
What Are the Best Pots for a Container Garden? 
Herb plants love well-drained soil, which prevents root rot. Containers should be around 10 inches in diameter for one herb plant or 18 inches for multiple herbs.
Plastic pots are light and easy to transport should you need to shift your herb garden at any point. The downside is they tend to crack and break.
Choose clay pots for a longer-lasting option. These clay pots do absorb water, dry the soil quickly, and are harder to move. They’re ideal for Mediterranean and drought-tolerant herbs like thyme but probably not for herbs that love moist soil, like chives or peppermint.
Fill them with potting soil that has perlite or vermiculite and light and airy organic matter. Don’t use garden soil, which can smother herb plants, unless you make a 50-50 potting mix with potting soil. Remember to plant with enough space for the fully-grown adult plant to sit comfortably in its pot without having to fight for its position with other plants.
How Do I Care for My Herb Garden?
Most importantly, water your herbs plants according to their needs, which vary. The best watering practice is adding enough water so excess comes from the container’s drain holes. Be sure to water plants at their base and not on the leaves.
Some growers like to add a liquid fertilizer during the growing season, usually around once a month. Match herb plants with similar water and sun requirements to make care more manageable.
Pro tip: For beginners, purchasing young plants at the garden store is more straightforward than growing from seed.
For outdoor herb gardens, plant pollinators attract pollinators like bees, which will help keep pests away and plants healthy. Good pollinator plants include anise, basil, cilantro, fennel, and lemon balm.
How Do I Cut Herbs from My Herb Garden?
Harvesting herbs can be a little nerve-wracking to start. But lopping off the precious leaves of plants is part of the process.
You can cut the herbs with scissors, a knife, garden snippers, or even your fingers. Harvests need to come before the plant has flowered. Find a healthy section and prune the older leaves to start with, ideally in the morning and soon after any dew has evaporated.
Need the entire plant? Snip annuals at ground level. Perennials require more care; never take more than one-third of the stems of a perennial to encourage new growth.
What Are the Easiest Spices to Grow?
There are a variety of herbs and spices that are easy to grow so it really depends on what you plan to use.
There’s no better feeling in the kitchen than grabbing some fresh, home-grown coriander to spice up a soup or caraway to a curry. What about zingy Italian basil as the base for a pesto? Perhaps your cooking reflects more Asian influence, in which case look at star anise, cilantro, cumin, lemongrass, and turmeric as possibilities.
Classic garden spices that love container garden conditions include:
- Basil
- Oregano
- Chives
- Mint or peppermint
- Thyme
- Rosemary
- Dill
- Sage
What Spices Grow Well Together?
Growing combinations of herbs can help increase growth and yields, reduce pests and diseases, and improve soil fertility. This technique is also known as companion planting.
Find out to which of these four primary groups each herb you want to plant belongs, and group accordingly.
Moisture-loving Mediterranean plants, like tarragon, basil, and parsley, like plenty of watering and irrigation. Dry-loving Mediterranean plants like marjoram, oregano, and thyme love sunlight and excellent drainage.
Lemon varieties like lemon verbena, cilantro, and dill make good bedfellows to almost all herb plants that like similar conditions but not parsley. Mint variety plants need separate planting.
Classic companion planting ideas include the dry-loving Mediterranean oregano next to moisture-loving Mediterranean plants like tarragon and basil. The oregano acts as a deterrent to aphids that like to attack basil and tarragon.
Thyme, rosemary, and lavender offer a beautiful bouquet. They also have similar growing conditions—lots of sunlight and weekly watering—and repel bugs and worms to protect your garden spices.
What Spices Should Not Be Planted Together?
Some herb plants and spices need to be kept away from others.
Fennel’s intense aromas and makeup mean it should be grown away from other herbs. Similarly, mint varieties are best planted individually. That also means keeping different mint varieties separate, e.g., peppermint and pineapple mint.
Others to separate:
- Chamomile will crowd out mint
- Keep thyme away from parsley or cilantro
- Dill’s roots can damage those of sage and lavender
- Basil and sage don’t pair well
- Maintain distance between parsley and thyme, oregano, or lemon herbs
- Chives should be kept away from marjoram, oregano, sage, thyme and rosemary
When Should You Plant Spices?
The tried and tested time to plant spices is early spring. Milder weather protects seedlings from extreme heat or cold, which can damage and kill them. Consider the local climate when choosing the perfect time to plant your spices.
When Should I Harvest Herbs from My Spice Garden?
Herb plants usually offer produce throughout the growing season until late summer.
Growers can snip herbs from herb plants once the plants reach the growing season and are hardy enough to have sufficient foliage to sprout new leaves. A final snip to harvest the herbs in late summer and early fall maximizes the yield. It also prepares biennials and perennials for the coming year.
What’s the Best Way to Store Herbs and Spices?
Some herbs and spices will go straight into your salad or sauce, like basil onto a caprese salad.
Others, once harvested, need to be dried for later use. The best practice is to tie the leaves, stems, or flowers into small bundles. Next, hang the bundles upside down in a dry and shaded location. Some people dry the leaves and flowers in a tray kept in the shade. A garage, shed, or kitchen is the perfect site for drying herbs.
Once dry, the leaves or flowers can be broken into recognizable small leaves by rubbing them between your fingers and palms. Extract seeds by putting the plant’s dry head in a paper bag while you separate the seeds with your hands.
Proper storage is critical to the herbs maintaining the aromas. Dry, airtight containers are a must. You can recycle and reuse store-bought spice jars, mason jars, or plastic containers, just be sure to label them clearly. Some people will line up their spice jars alphabetically while others will organize by flavor groupings or by what they use most frequently. Choose what works for you.
Remember to keep the containers out of direct sunlight or light and preferably in a room with few temperature changes. Preserve your herb garden’s aromas by closing all storage lids immediately after use. Most herbs will last around a year before they start to lose their aromas.
Learning How to Garden Spices Is Fun
You don’t need a home garden to grow your own garden spices. Any urban apartment with windows has the possibility to grow herbs. Even those without many hours of sunlight can use grow lights to encourage bountiful harvests.
How to garden spices is a straightforward and relatively inexpensive way to see if you have a green or brown thumb. Seeds, seedlings, basic container pots, and some potting mix are all you need to get started.
Researching beforehand about what herbs and spices you like to use means you’ll enjoy the results. Check your home’s potential growing space, sunlight hours, temperatures during the year, and possible planting sites.
Are you away from home often? Perhaps some dry-loving Mediterranean plants are best. Love mojitos? Keep that mint separate from the rest of the herbs and moisten its soil. You’ll be able to harvest it regularly and enjoy minty-fresh cocktails all summer long.
Moreover, showing your children how to garden spices could ignite a lifelong passion for nature. Kids love seeing the fruits of their labor. They will be as proud as any adult who nurtures a living entity from seedlings to a fully producing plant.
Brought to you by amigoenergy
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