Question
Hello! How strange that herbs only has a category in food and drink and not in gardening!

I have recently bought myself various herb seeds which I'm very excited about planting, the realisation though that perhaps my attempts may all lead to nothing has lead to me seeking help.

I live in Tanzania (East Africa) and run a safari camp. I enjoy cooking but the past years living mainly out of cans and packets has finally driven me crazy. I've decided to start this season with a 'fresh' outlook (no matter the time/effort it takes!) and get back to being healthy and actually enjoy the food I'm eating! Hence the herbs...

I was planning on growing the herbs in pots of some kind just outside my home (which is elevated so therefore less risk of the herbs being eaten/trampled etc). The soil there is a black clay (black cotton soil) so I am assuming that I'll be needing some kind of soil based compost to plant my herbs in? Luckily we're in a forest and I have a choice of light conditions - on the bank of the river, we have direct sunlight, further from the edge we have more shade/less intense sunlight, and further still it gets quite shaded and sheltered. We have two rainy seasons during which it can literally rain all day and all night long and very heavily so I was thinking about constructing some sort of shelter to protect the herbs - will they need this? It does also get very dry at other times in the year and very hot.

I've never grown any herbs before and have a very limited knowledge of gardening in general (everyone has to start somewhere though!) and so would greatly appreciate any advice you could give. I'll include a list of the herbs I'm planning on planting as I'm sure some of them will be go-for-its and others don't-even-think-about-its!

Rosemary, oregano, lemon balm, mint, coriander, rocket (Arugula), fennel, sage, bush basil, parsley (envy), chives, sweet marjoram and dill.

Many many thanks,
Katie
Selous River Camp

Answer
Katie:
Sorry! I have taken so long to answer.I hope my info can help you, since I have no experience in tropic growing herbs except they grow better.
herbs do well in pots with deep bottoms (18") and more. You want a east location, full morning sun first.  You might need some lime to neutralize the soil a bit. If you can get some greensand, rock phosphate and bone meal, it would be a great start. You would want to shelter the plants from heavy rain with white mesh covering. It filters the rain, but still receive enough to water the plants.The shade/less intense light area will be great for coriander(cilantro), chervil. All other need the full sunlight. Basil is a must sun & heat. It loves good composted soil and deep pot. It will not become woody as fast with a deep pot. Keep all herbs pruned. Take 1/3 off eack branch, from the top down every 3 weeks. This will cause vigorous & healthy  growth every time you prune them. Also fertilize with good liquid fish or liquid fish/seaweed fertilizer at the same time.
rosemary
Needs separate pot, add soil mix with bone meal. Must have good drainage, never receiving constant rain.loves pruning.
oregano;
plenty of growing room, likes to spread.
lemon balm.
plant by itself. Must not be near anyone. It will take over. Roots and resowing will do this.6 feet apart will start.
mint
Must be alone as lemon balm. They will cross polinate if too close.
coriander
Sow in shade/light intense area and arugula.Coriander must be sown every 3 weeks to have fresh cilantro
fennel
grow same as coriander.
sage
Grow any where in garden, need space in width.
bush basil.
Sow seeds by pressing seed into soil & press in. You may very lightly cover. All morning sun is a must.
Parsley
All morning sun, never harvest the center only outside leaves.
chives
Cover with 1/4 soil and will take a little time to germinate. Will return every year. Cut down to 2" to keep it growing.
sweet marjoram
sow seeds & cover lightly 1/4. morning sun fast grower.
dill
Treat like fennel. Will bolt seed in any kind of constant heat.
Order seeds call "slo bolt" or "santo" for best leaf production and less bolting.
Web sites
Johnny's seed
Richter's Seeds
Seed exchange
Same area. They will self sow & bolt to seed if too much sun.

Leroy