Herb Container Gardening Information

The herb container garden is an attractive and useful advantage to terrace, balcony, or doorsteps of the people with less or no gardening space. These gardens can be moved whenever necessary. The container gardening herbs can beautify the surrounding and are very convenient.

The herb container gardens are easy to grow and require less maintenance. Water requirements are different for different herbs. Following points should be considered for a good container garden:
�Selection of site for container herb gardening
�Container selection
�Soil selection
�Selection of herbs
�Planting methods
�Maintenance and harvesting methods

Site Selection for Herbs:
Generally, herbs require at least six hours of sunlight. Whenever you grow herbs, it is necessary to place it in the area where sunlight is received for maximum time of the day. As the containers are movable, herb gardens can be grown both indoor and outdoor and placed in sunlight or shed according to the requirements. Container herb gardens should be placed near the water source and next to the kitchen door, where it will be easy to collect the herbs for cooking.

Container Selection:
Select any container with good drainage system. The herbs with small root systems can be grown in smaller containers. Small containers require less soil and space and should be watered more frequently. Large pots are more suitable for gardens. Window boxes can be used in container gardening herbs. Large containers in square and rectangular shape can also be used to plant herbs.

Container Soil:
Use high quality potting soil because most herbs require superior drainage. Also make sure that your container has holes so that you don’t drown your herb garden. Potting soil should retain moisture and allow aeration. You can use the mixture of vermiculite, moss, perlite and sand with the raw soil for making good quality potting soil.
Selection of Herbs:
The commonly used herbs in container gardening are mint, sage, thyme, rosemary and basil. You can grow perennial herbs for indoor container herb gardening. Select the herbs that grow in limited habitat.

Planting Techniques:
Put the herbs in the pot to correct depth. You can plant variety of herbs in same container. Only keep in mind that all the herbs share the same amount of sunlight, water and soil type. After planting the herbs properly, water the pot thoroughly until water drips through bottom drainage holes.

Maintenance and Harvesting:
Watering is the most common problem with container gardening herbs. Over watering may cause root rot, fungal infection and fungus gnats while under watering may result into wilting and scorching. Most herbs are resistant to pests but take care of spiders, aphids and caterpillars. Harvesting results in good and controlled plant growth and production is good. Harvesting is best in dry morning or after dew dries.
The container herb gardening is beneficial for the homes with less or no garden spaces. The above described information on herb container gardens provides you the tips to grow the herbs and maintain your herb garden in your available area.