Tag Archives: kitchen herb garden

8 Herbs to Start from Seed this Winter

February 10, 2026 Jordan Charbonneau Leave a comment

Late winter is seed-starting season for many gardeners. We check our planting calendars and start pushing tiny round cabbage seeds and flattened tomato seeds into trays of seed-starting mix. While vegetable crops take the spotlight, it’s also a good time to start several slow-growing herbs. Here are a few of our favorite herbs to start indoors and tips to grow them successfully.

Keys to Success When Starting Herbs from Seed

Herbs can be more challenging to start from seed than most vegetable crops. Here are a few quick tips for success.

Herbs don’t tolerate soggy soil. Use containers with good drainage and a proper seed-starting mix.
Follow the sowing instructions carefully. Some herbs need light to germinate, while some require complete darkness. Many herbs like warm soil for germination, while a few prefer cool soil or may even require cold stratification.
For seeds that need light to germinate, gently press them into the soil surface. You don’t want to bury them, but they need good soil to seed contact.
Keep the soil consistently moist but not drenched. A mister can help with this.
Many herbs need a lot of sunlight to form compact, healthy transplants. You may need to supplement your plants with additional lighting.
As herbs can be tricky, we usually sow more than we need, which can lead to crowding. Thin your seedlings as needed.

Herbs to Start Indoors This Winter

There’s a variety of culinary and medicinal herbs you can sow indoors, but these are a few of our favorites to start in winter.

Chives

Starting chives this winter will provide you with harvests for years to come. Chives are perennial to zone 3. You can direct-sow chives or start them indoors during the winter.

Chives germinate best when soil temperatures are 60 to 70°F. Chives also need consistently moist soil and darkness to germinate. In ideal conditions, they take about 7 to 14 days to germinate, but may take up to 20 days.

Shop chive seeds here.

German Chamomile

Medicinal and downright tasty, chamomile deserves a spot in more herb gardens. Start your chamomile indoors this winter.

Chamomile seeds need light to germinate, so you want to gently press them into the surface of the soil. Mist the surface constantly to keep the seeds moist. Typically, it takes 10 to 14 days to germinate. Chamomile will germinate well when the soil is 55 to 60°F.

Shop German chamomile seeds here.

Lavender

Lavender is one herb that will test your patience. The seeds can take 30 days to germinate, and the seedlings grow slowly. For best results, use slightly alkaline seed starting mix. They do best in warm soil, about 70°F. The seedlings need protection from wind and good drainage.

Lavender seedlings need plenty of light to grow well. Like rosemary, they can quickly get leggy without enough light.

Shop lavender seeds here.

Rosemary

Perennial in zones 7 through 10, rosemary is a splendid choice for gardeners in the Southeast creating an herb garden. Unfortunately, it’s challenging to start from seed. Rosemary typically has low germination rates, and seedling growth is slow.

Rosemary thrives in alkaline soil, so for best results, sow your rosemary in seed-starting mix with limestone added. The seeds also need light to germinate. Gently press the seeds into the surface of the soil. Mist the surface regularly to keep the seeds moist. Keep your soil between 55° and 60°F during germination. Rosemary will germinate in 14 to 28 days.

Once your rosemary has germinated, let the top of the soil dry out between waterings, but never let the plants dry out completely. Use supplemental light if possible; rosemary will get leggy quickly without enough light. You can transplant it out after all danger of frost has passed.

Shop rosemary seeds here.

Sage

Sage can be tricky to get started, but it’s well worth the effort. It’s a hardy perennial in zones 4 through 10 once it’s established.

Sage seeds take between 7 and 21 days to germinate and need constant moisture and warmth during germination. Keep the soil around 70°F. Sage seedlings need plenty of light to grow healthy and sturdy, so you may need to provide them with supplemental lighting.

Shop sage seeds here.

Thyme

Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) seeds are difficult to work with because they’re minuscule. Planting thyme feels like you’re sowing dust. The seeds need light exposure to germinate, so spread them over the soil and gently press them into the surface.

Thyme seeds will germinate when the soil is 55 to 60°F. They’re incredibly slow and may take 14 to 30 days to germinate. The seedlings also grow slowly. Your other herbs and plants will grow much faster, but don’t worry. Thyme will take off later once it’s established outdoors.

You need to keep your thyme seedlings moist, but it can be tricky because they’re so small and delicate. Use a mister while they’re germinating. For small seedlings, you can continue with a mister or switch to bottom watering.

Summer thyme is a perennial in zones 6 through 9. German winter thyme is perennial in zones 4 through 10.

Shop thyme seeds here.

Parsley

While you can direct sow parsley, some growers like to get a jump on it in winter. Parsley is slow to germinate, taking 3 to 4 weeks even in ideal conditions.

Unlike many Mediterranean herbs, parsley needs plenty of moisture. Soak the seeds overnight before sowing and keep them watered well while the seeds are germinating and in the seedling stage. For best results, keep the soil between 65 and 70°F.

Shop parsley seeds.

Growing herbs from seed can be tricky, but with a little patience, you can add some amazing flavors to your garden and table. Try starting these eight herbs indoors this winter.

Garden Advice

Herb Garden: Spring Maintenance

February 21, 2023 Jordan Charbonneau Leave a comment

Spring is an exciting time! It’s easy to get caught up in the rush of starting annuals, building new gardens, and adding new plants to our spaces. It’s also important to remember to care for our existing gardens. Spring is an excellent time to look at and refresh our kitchen herb or medicinal herb gardens.

Tidy Beds

While it was once common practice to tidy herb garden beds in the fall, many of us now hold off on this chore. Various pollinators and beneficial insects use our gardens’ dead leaves and plant materials as winter habitats. Insects like solitary bees, butterflies, and predatory beetles depend on these materials to overwinter or as a place for their eggs or pupae.

It’s best to wait until temperatures are consistently above 50°F to do your cleanup to help support these garden helpers. Then you can remove any dead material and trim perennials like lemon balm.

It’s also an excellent time to go through and pull any early weeds before they get a chance to take hold. A stirrup hoe can be a handy and quick way to remove small weeds.

Add Compost to Your Herb Garden

Compost improves your soil by adding nutrients and structure. Adding compost can help heavy soils drain better and help sandy soil to hold more moisture. For most gardens, adding 2 to 3 inches of finished compost is a good idea once you have everything tidied up. This will allow you to get new annuals off to a good start and give perennials essential nutrients to put on good spring growth.

It’s important to know your plants. Some herbs, especially those from the Mediterranean, like lavender and rosemary, don’t generally need or enjoy rich soil. Around these types of plants, you may only need to add compost every couple of years.

Compost should be spread on top and gently raked in. Be sure not to disturb the roots of perennials or cover their crowns with compost.

Divide Perennial Herbs

Early spring is an ideal time to divide many perennials. Spreading herbs like hyssop are good candidates for this. Take a sharp shovel and cut a clump in half or smaller sections. Try to damage the roots of each section as little as possible. Fill in around any section you leave with compost or good soil.

Dividing is easy but is a lot like transplanting annuals. There are a few essential steps to make sure your plants thrive. The first step is to stress your plants as little as possible. Avoid sunny days and transplant on cool, overcast days if possible. Transplant them into loose soil and add compost if needed. After transplanting, water your plants thoroughly and keep them moist while they get established.

You may also need to move plants to rearrange your garden or those that have self-seeded in less-than-ideal spots. Moving plants is very similar to dividing. You want to use a sharp shovel or trowel and try to get all the roots and disturb them as little as possible.

Your divided or moved plants may wilt initially but will quickly recover if you’ve followed these steps.

Mulch Your Herb Garden

We use mulch in all of our gardens, and it has many benefits. Mulch can help suppress weeds, keep the soil moist, and add organic matter as it breaks down. You can use whatever type of mulch you wish, but it’s best to avoid using dyed ones, especially around edible plants.

Generally, you want your mulch to be about 2 inches thick, but some find 3 inches works better with coarser material. Don’t use too much mulch, as it can block air from the soil. Avoid putting mulch directly over the crowns of plants, as this can prevent new growth and cause crown rot in some species.

Carefully Plan Any Changes and Additions

While completing your spring chores, taking stock and making a plan is a good idea. Did all of your perennials make it through the winter? What annuals did you enjoy most last year, and which did the best? What herbs did you run out of this winter?

Careful consideration can help you maximize your gardening efforts this season. When adding new beds, drawing them out on paper is a great idea. You can also use stakes and string to mark out their location.

Spring is fun, but we must remember essential maintenance. Completing these five tasks can help ensure you have a beautiful herb garden this summer.

Garden Advice

Create a Kitchen Herb Garden

December 30, 2021 Jordan Charbonneau Leave a comment

Kitchen herb gardens pack a lot of flavor and value into a small space. Growing herbs is a great way to make your meals more flavorful and save money. Herbs can be planted right into vegetable gardens and make great companion plants. However, you’re more likely to include fresh herbs in your meals if you can step out your door and clip a few while dinner is on the stove.

Planning Your Kitchen Herb Garden

Herbs are good candidates for various planting styles, allowing you plenty of flexibility for designing a garden that works for you. As I mentioned above, selecting an easily accessible site for your herb garden is my biggest recommendation. Being able to grab a few quickly will encourage you to use them more.

Permaculture enthusiasts may be familiar with planning your property in zones to maximize efficiency. In this layout, zone 1 is the closest to your home and typically includes herb gardens.

You should also consider sunlight when choosing a location for your kitchen herb garden. While a few herbs will tolerate some shade, most herbs thrive in full sun. If you have a partially shaded spot, you’d like to try herbs in consider parsley, mint, or lemon balm.

Here are a few ways to incorporate a kitchen herb garden into your landscape.

Herb Spiral

Using soil and stones, bricks, or another similar material, you build a spiral-shaped bed with the center being the highest. These spiral beds are both beautiful and efficient. The key idea is that the design allows water to flow down from the top of the spiral. Herbs that love it hot and dry like rosemary, lavender, and thyme can thrive at the top, while herbs that need more moisture, such as lemon balm, cilantro, and parsley, are planted near the bottom.

The rocks or bricks of the soil also help retain heat. It also creates little micro-climates, with some spots being more sheltered or shaded than others.

Knot Gardens

Knot gardens are formal herb gardens that were first established in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Herbs like rosemary, lavender, marjoram, thyme, and lemon balm are planted in intricate patterns to create beautiful designs. You can use whatever herbs you choose; remember that some like lavender will retain their shape more readily than those like mint, which will tend to spread. Try to create your own design or gather inspiration from the internet.

Raised Beds

Raised beds are often good for herbs because they tend to heat up quickly in the spring and drain well. Additionally, they can be set up on any soil type and are typically easier to keep weed-free. If you’re considering building raised beds, we’ve discussed the pros and cons in more detail in a previous post.

Container Gardens

If you don’t have a lot of space, you can grow herbs in various containers. Even some window boxes will afford you a small herb garden. Herbs generally do pretty well in pots as long as they have proper drainage and receive full sun. Various pots or containers can be used, including ceramic, terracotta, or even upcycled plastic containers.

Soil

Most culinary and medicinal herbs will do best in well-drained, rich soil. Broad forking your garden and adding a couple of inches of finished compost each year can significantly improve your soil health and herb garden yields.

You should also consider having your soil tested. Most herbs will thrive in neutral to slightly acidic soil. Amending your soil so that the pH is between 6.0 and 7.5 is ideal.

If you’re growing in containers, it’s generally best to use a potting mix. These mixes are designed to hold moisture and avoid compaction in container conditions. Without any additions, ordinary garden soil doesn’t provide optimal conditions for plant growth in containers.

Selecting Varieties for Your Kitchen Herb Garden

There are many herbs to choose from, whether you want to make soothing herbal teas or make your favorite dishes a little more fresh and flavorful. If you’re struggling to make decisions, the best advice is to start with herbs you already use or know you will use and add a couple more experimental varieties each year. Here are just of few of the many culinary and medicinal herbs you may want to include in your kitchen herb garden.

Culinary Herbs

Basil
Thyme
Oregano
Chives
Sage
Parsley
Cilantro
Rosemary
Dill
Lemon Balm
Borage

Medicinal Herbs

Note that many of the previously mentioned culinary herbs also have medicinal uses and vice versa.

Astragalus
Feverfew
St. Johnswort
Chamomile
Echinacea
Calendula
Catnip
Horehound
Valerian

Starting Herbs from Seed

Like flowers and vegetable crops, the requirements for starting herbs from seed vary from species to species. Some herbs like borage require light while germinating and should be pressed lightly into the soil. In contrast, others like echinacea have to go through a cold stratification to germinate properly. Be sure to carefully read each variety’s requirements for best results starting herbs from seed.

If you have other friends or neighbors that garden, you can also barter for starts of perennial herbs. Some like lemon balm and chives are easy to divide and transplant, saving you the work of starting them from seed.

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange