Growing and Propagating Culinary Herbs In Your Planetary Garden

When it comes to growing herbs, you have three main choices to get started.

Make friends with someone who already has an herb garden; if you’re lucky, they’ll furnish you with a selection of plants.
Buy established pot-grown plants from your local store or nursery.
Grow plants from seeds, either shop-bought packets or seeds collected from established plants.

Each option comes with its own benefits and challenges. We’ll look at the pros and cons of each option.

But before starting, it’s best to decide what you want to grow and to understand the difference between annuals, biennials, and perennials.

What Herbs Should I Grow?

As we are mostly talking about culinary herbs for your planetary recipes, any list should start with herbs you’ll use in your cooking. Here are ten herbs to get started with.

Basil: Adds a fresh, aromatic flavor to dishes like pesto, tomato sauces, and salads.
Oregano: Essential in Mediterranean cuisine, particularly in Greek and Italian dishes like pizza, pasta sauces, and grilled meats.
Rosemary: A fragrant herb often used with roasted meats, potatoes, bread, and in marinades.
Thyme: Offers a subtle, earthy flavor that pairs well with a variety of meats, vegetables, and sauces.
Parsley: Adds a fresh, bright flavor to dishes and is commonly used as a garnish or in tabbouleh, salads, and sauces.
Mint: Refreshing and aromatic, mint is used in savory and sweet dishes, such as salads, tabbouleh, and desserts.
Dill: Known for its delicate flavor, dill is frequently used in seafood dishes, salads, yogurt sauces, and pickles.
Sage: Provides a warm, slightly peppery flavor and is often used with poultry, stuffing, and pasta dishes.
Bay Leaves: Imparts a subtle, aromatic flavor to soups, stews, sauces, and braised dishes.
Cilantro (Coriander): Commonly used in Mediterranean dishes, especially in salsas and salads, and as a garnish for various dishes.

Not everything you grow needs to be useful for cooking. Some are simply pleasant additions to your garden and will attract bees, butterflies, and other interesting insects.

Lavender: Known for its aromatic flowers, lavender is often used in aromatherapy, cosmetics, and for its calming properties.
Echinacea:
Lemon Balm: This fragrant herb is commonly used in teas and aromatherapy for its calming effects on the nervous system.
Feverfew: feverfew produces daisy-like flowers and aromatic leaves.
Arnica: this is a perennial herb.

Understanding the Differences Between Annual, Biennial, and Perennial Herbs

In the world of gardening and herbalism, understanding the plant lifecycle is crucial for successful cultivation. Herbs, in particular, come in various forms based on their lifecycle patterns. Three common categories are annual, biennial, and perennial herbs, each with distinct characteristics that influence their growth, maintenance, and utility.

Annual Herbs:

Annual herbs complete their life cycle within a single growing season. All stages, from seed germination to flowering and seed production, occur within one year. Examples of annual herbs include basil, cilantro, and dill. These herbs are often favored for their quick growth and ability to provide fresh flavors and aromas during the growing season. However, they require replanting each year as they typically die off after producing seeds.

Biennial Herbs:

Biennial herbs have a two-year life cycle. They focus on vegetative growth during the first year, establishing roots and leaves. It’s usually in the second year that they flower, set seeds, and then die. Common biennial herbs include parsley, angelica, and caraway. Gardeners often sow biennial herbs in one season to harvest the following year, understanding that they won’t produce usable parts until the second year.

Perennial Herbs:

Perennial herbs have a longer life cycle, persisting for multiple years once established. They may go dormant during winter but resprout from the same root system each spring. Examples of perennial herbs include thyme, sage, and rosemary. Perennials are prized for their ability to provide a consistent harvest year after year with minimal effort once established. They often require less maintenance compared to annuals and biennials, making them popular choices for herb gardens.

Just to make life a little more complicated, some perennials can actually behave like an annual. This is particularly noticeable when you live in a climate with very cold winters. Many naturally perennial herbs simply will not survive freezing conditions. You’ll soon figure this out.

Key Differences:

Lifecycle Duration: Annuals complete their life cycle within one year, biennials within two years, and perennials persist for multiple years.
Replanting Requirement: Annuals require replanting each year, biennials require replanting every two years, while perennials persist without the need for frequent replanting.
Harvest Timing: Annuals can be harvested within months of planting, biennials usually require waiting until the second year for harvest, and perennials provide harvestable yields each growing season once established

Plants from Friends, Garage Sales, and Church Bazaars.

You can’t get better than free from friends and family, especially if they are experienced gardeners. Seeing them dug from their growing location will help dispel one of the risks I’ll mention below.

I’m not a fan of buying plants from church bazaars or garage sales or grabbing plants free from random roadside locations. The price may look attractive, and the plants large, but my experience is that they come with a couple of negatives. The plants aren’t always labeled correctly, but the big negative, in my experience, is that they can come with the strong possibility of unwanted perennial weeds. Yes, I have fallen into this trap, and I’m still dealing with the consequences.

Grow herbs from Seeds.

Annual and biennial herbs have to be grown from seeds. The question remains: should you do it, or is it best to leave it to professional nurseries and buy the pot-grown plants from your local store, garden center, or nursery?

Growing your own herbs from seed can be a lot of fun, with the bonus that if you grow too many, then it’s a pleasure to share them with family and friends. If you use a lot of any herb, it can also make it more economical to buy a packet of seeds rather than individual plants.

When growing herbs from seed, you also need to factor in the extra time involved. There’s a strong possibility that your first harvest will be later than if you bought your plants.

Finally, think about the cost of pots, compost, and other tools, not just the cost of seeds. This can be mitigated if you direct sow into your garden each spring.

Buying Pot Grown Plants

If you only need one or two plants, this can be the best choice, especially if you have limited space to propagate your own herbs and vegetables. We have quite a lot of space but often run out of room as the plants develop.

Some herbs can be quite finicky to grow from seed and require fresh seeds to be successful.

You will also discover that propagating many perennial herbs is much simpler when done vegetatively. Simply divide the plants or take cuttings. I’ll discuss how to do this later.

Then there are some plants, variegated sages, and thymes that can only be reproduced vegetatively. Lawn chamomile doesn’t produce seeds, so again, vegetative propagation is your only choice. Still others, like garlic and tree onions, are best grown from bulbs.

Factors to Consider When Deciding Whether to Buy or Self Propagate.

Whether you should buy herbs or propagate them from seed depends on various factors, including your time, space, resources, and personal preferences. Here are some considerations to help you decide:

Time and Patience: Growing herbs from seed requires more time and patience compared to buying established plants. Seeds need to be sown, nurtured, and cared for until they germinate and grow into mature plants. If you’re willing to invest the time and effort, growing from seed can be rewarding.
Variety: Buying herbs gives you immediate access to a wide variety of plants. However, if you’re interested in specific varieties that may not be readily available for purchase, propagating from seed allows you to grow exactly what you want.
Cost: Generally, growing herbs from seed is more cost-effective than buying established plants. However, you need to consider the initial investment in seeds, soil, pots, and other supplies.
Control: Propagating from seed gives you more control over the growing conditions from the very beginning. You can ensure that the plants are grown organically, control the soil composition, and monitor their growth closely.
Challenges: Growing from seed can be challenging, especially for beginners. Factors such as temperature, humidity, watering, and pest control need to be carefully managed to ensure successful germination and growth.
Availability: Depending on the season and your location, it may be easier or more convenient to buy established herb plants from a nursery or garden center.
Sustainability: Propagating herbs from seed can be more environmentally sustainable as it reduces the carbon footprint associated with transporting and packaging plants.

Ultimately, the decision boils down to your preferences, gardening experience, and the specific herbs you want to grow. If you enjoy the process of gardening and have the time to invest, propagating herbs from seed can be a rewarding experience. However, if you prefer convenience or lack the time and resources to grow from seed, buying established plants may be the better option for you.

What’s Next In the Planetary Herb Garden?

Over the next few articles/posts, I’ll take you through

Sowing seeds outdoors – everything about preparing the seedbed, germinating the herb seeds, and how to look after the herb plants.
Sowing seeds indoors – seed selection, seed compost, equipment, germination, growing on, and transferring to the main garden.
Vegetative propagation – in this post, I’ll show you cuttings, layering, dividing plants, offsets, and growing plants from root cuttings.
What to look for in nursery-grown stock – a short but important guide to what to look for when buying plants from garden centers, big box stores, and nurseries.

You might also be interested in the following articles in this series of creating an organic herb garden for your planetary diet.

Step 1: Cultivating a Planetary Herb Garden: A Journey to Organic Success
Step 2: How to Prepare Your New Herb Garden Ready for Planting.
Step 3: Growing and Propagating Culinary Herbs In Your Planetary Garden.
Step 4: How to Effectively Water Herbs and Vegetables.