There are many benefits and options to starting a small herb garden
If you are like me, that small herb garden will grow to your max capacity quickly
Herbs are just so much fun to grow because you can use them when you cook!
Starting an herb garden starts with what you want to grow, the needs of those plants, what kind of garden you want to keep, and how you want to grow your new plants. For some people, most of these decisions are made for you because of their life circumstances. But there are still a few decisions
I live in an RV at the time of writing this
So that cut down my choices a lot when I decided to start my garden
I wanted to bring up many different choices so you can look at each one and decide what the best option for you is!
What are herbs and why is a garden useful?
An herb is a plant with a green and tender stem
Some herbs have more wood stems, like roses
While others and always pretty flexible, like Oregano
Herbs are used to flavor food, add scent to perfume and other products, in spells, and more
There are so many uses because there are a lot of different herbs to choose from
Think about why you want an herb garden
If you want one so you have fresh herbs to cook with, then think about what you often cook with and grow those
For me, I wanted herbs for my cooking and spellwork
Then later decided to add candles and soap to what I make
I chose parsley, lavender, oregano, peppers, and rose for my starter garden
Choose the best plants that match your lifestyle
And try not to get caught up in wanting them all even though you don’t use them!
Different options for your garden
There are so many options for your garden
Nine of my favorites are:
- Indoor garden
- Outdoor pots
- In-ground garden
- Raised garden beds
- Greenhouse
- DIY garden
- Scraps garden
- Indoor greenhouse
- Foraging
There is a huge range of needs here so you should be able to find an option that matches your life
Indoor garden
Indoor gardens are potted plants hanging or sitting in the widows
They could be sitting next to a sliding glass door too
But they are always inside and in a pot
So being next to a window is important
You can also get a grow light to replace the sun if the windows are not an option
This type of garden is great for people in apartments because they often don’t have any outdoor space for planting
These gardens are a great choice for cooking herbs because you don’t have to go far to get fresh herbs for your meals
You can literally hang them in the kitchen window and grab what you need whenever you need it
They do take up a lot of space inside your home sometimes
And they aren’t always safe
Animals like cats often eat indoor plants and kids can get into them too
They are also a little more difficult to take care of if your pots don’t have good drainage
Herbs don’t like a lot of water
So without great drainage, potted plants can get root rot very easily
Outdoor pots
Outdoor pots are very similar to indoor gardens except you keep your pots outside
I chose this one because I wanted to be able to move my plants if needed, but I didn’t have the space inside to keep them healthy
A good thing about outdoor potted plants is that I can move them to the perfect place in the yard at any time
If they need more sun, I can move them where they need to go
It is important to remember to drill holes in the pots so they have great drainage
You can have the same root rot issues no matter where you keep your pots
You also need to keep in mind that there are wild animals outside
We get wild deer in our yard a lot, so I fenced an area to keep my pots safe until we get the whole yard fenced
Cats can eat or knock over plants that are outside too
So pay attention to potential dangers so you can avoid them!
In-ground garden
When you think of a garden, you probably think of in-ground gardens
These gardens are directly into the soil
One of the major benefits is that you don’t have to upgrade a pot for your plants to keep growing
They have a lot more freedom and room to grow
But they also can overgrow if you aren’t careful
Herbs like Mint like to overgrow and take over the garden, so in-ground is not a good option for them because they will kill all the plants around them
But most plants do just fine in the ground
Raised garden beds
Raised garden beds are really nice
They are more protected than in-ground gardens without having each plant in a pot
It is a nice middle ground for outdoor plants
The plants are protected and contained like they are in a pot, but they have more room and aren’t mobile like in-ground plants
They can be very tall so you don’t have to lean down when pulling weeds
Or they can be laying on the ground
Greenhouse
I have always wanted a greenhouse
I haven’t had the space or funds to build one yet but I am looking forward to building one
Greenhouses give your plants the protection of being indoors without having to have them in pots or in your house
You can have your plants in pots or in the ground inside the greenhouse
The plants stay a lot warmer and happier in the winter months
The negatives of a greenhouse are the cost and space that they take
You need space in your yard to keep them and they could cost a few hundred dollars to make or buy
DIY garden
If you are a Pinterest fan, you probably know more about DIY gardens than you think
A Do-It-Yourself garden is a garden that you put together with things that are not meant to be for a garden
The first example to come to mind is making a planter out of an old car tire
You can create a very creative garden when things that are considered trash
I grew some of my seeds using a greenhouse effect with plastic bottles
It saves a lot of money and looks very unique
The problem is that DIY gardens take a lot of time
You have to come up with or find ideas, get the materials, and then make the items that you need
If you are making a planter out of tires, you probably want to clean and paint them so they look a little nicer
You can also do an indoor DIY garden
You can use teacups as pots or other fun things
Just keep in mind that without drainage, the plants can get sick very easily
If you want a unique garden and have the time, DIY gardens might be a great choice for you
Scraps garden
A scraps garden is when you grow things with your kitchen scraps
Maybe you are using seeds from your last watermelon or growing onion with what you trimmed off for dinner
A good thing about this type of garden is that you are not wasting anything that you cook with
Scraps are not thrown away, they are used to grow more food
Some downsides to this are that getting your plants going will take time and depend on what you have for scraps
Every plant will have a different process to regrow so research will be needed
You can always combine a different style of gardening with this one so you have what you need without waiting months for your scraps to grow
Indoor greenhouse
Indoor greenhouses are so cool
They take up a lot of space so you would need a nice sizes house, but they are so pretty and they keep your plants contained in the house
An indoor greenhouse is a lot like an outdoor one except they usually look a lot nicer and are smaller
You can also make your own indoor greenhouse out of a cabinet or other furniture
They will need a grow light inside or will need to be next to a large window
This is a beautiful way to keep your herbs inside without having them hanging in every window
Foraging
If you don’t have the indoor or outdoor space for a garden, you can always learn to forage
Foraging is learning what plants grow around you and taking some for food
You can also make sure to help those plants spread their seed so there is plenty in the future for you and the animals that live around you
It is important to be responsible if you go this route
There are plants that only last one year
If you overharvest annual plants, they will not be back next year
Take your time to learn about the plants that you are foraging with and learn how you can support future growth of those plants
That way they are there for you and others in the future