Organic Herb Gardening

The organic herbs I grow for use in my cooking include basil, chives, sage, parsley, thyme, rosemary, cilantro, and dill. I grow many of these in containers, and I have some in the ground, as well.

If you plant herbs in containers, use an organic potting soil enriched with store-bought or homemade organic compost. Water your herbs frequently (here on the East Coast in the summer, this means every day unless it really pours), and mulch your containers to keep them as cool and moist as possible, and to discourage weeds. I use a product called "Sweet Peet" as a mulch in all my containers and in all my beds and I am very happy with it. It is beautiful and 100% organic.

I typically plant many of my culinary herbs in the same containers as my tomatoes. This is referred to as "companion planting", and it is said that the herbs help to keep pests away from the tomatoes. I believe it is working as my herbs (and my tomatoes) are all doing very well.

Make sure to harvest your herbs often as regular harvesting encourages the plants to make more leaves.

Organic herb gardening in the ground also works very well and many perennial herbs are incredibly hardy.

I have a huge mint patch that I inherited when I moved into my house, and it thrives with absolutely no effort on my part. Echinachea is another example of an herb that seems to do well regardless of the conditions.

If you are interested in planting a medicinal herb garden from seeds, Horizon Herbs is a great company. Their herbal seed collections are wonderful, and a good one to get started with is the Lifeline Medicinal Herb Garden: it will provide you with an excellent foundational herb garden.

Crimson-Sage.com offers many medicinal starter plants if you would rather not plant from seed. You can also check your local nurseries, of course, for plants that are native to your area.