How to Grow Herbs in a Small Space

Determine a goal or a theme for your herb garden: herbal teas, culinary or scent. Assess your light and space availability. If outdoor garden space is not available, acquire a half-whiskey barrel for a patio herb garden, or containers suitable to fit your windowsill space.

Spade the soil in your outdoor garden plot to a depth of 12 inches. Place raised-bed edging material around the outside of the plot and turn in several shovels-full of compost and sand, enough to bring the soil level up to within an inch of the top of the edging material. If using containers instead of an outdoor plot, mix one part compost, one part sand and three parts potting soil to fill your half-barrel or pots. Place pieces of broken terracotta pot in your half-barrel or containers before filling with soil mixture, as herbs require good drainage.

Select herb varieties suitable to your space and goals. Choose easy-care tea herbs like lemon balm, mint or anise hyssop for outdoor herb plots. Remember that these tea herbs can grow several feet high and expand rapidly. Opt for smaller culinary or scent herbs for containers.

Plant taller herbs like basil in the center of your container, and tuck trailing herbs like creeping thyme along the edge of the pot or half-barrel to cascade over the sides. Give perennials like bay, rosemary or sage their own pots so you can move them outdoors in summer and bring them inside in winter. Include edible annual flowers in your plantings, like peppery-flavored nasturtium, for a bright, surprising herbal twist in salads and stir-frys.

Fertilize your small space herb garden with a mild dilution of fish emulsion fertilizer or a pinch of kelp powder every three months; over-fertilizing will make herbs grown scraggly. Pinch your herb plants back frequently, as the more you use them the fuller they will grow. Top dress your outdoor herb garden with compost once a year, and re-pot container herbs once every two years to maintain soil health. Divide overgrown plants as necessary.