How to Start an Urban Herb Garden

Your Urban Herb Garden

A cityscape is a great backdrop for an urban herb garden. You don’t need a nearby country lane to reap the benefits of home grown organic herbs. Herbs are hearty and forgiving plants that will tolerate even poor soil and still produce a bumper crop of tasty leaves if you keep a few things in mind.

Purchase the Right Herbs

Make sure that you purchase herb plants that are certified organic.  If you start from seed there are several companies that produce organic.  Buying organic seed helps to support organic farms and ensures that there are no GMOs or chemicals added to the seeds.

Herbs Need Loose Soil

Although many herbs are famous for flourishing in nutrient poor soils, they almost all require good water drainage. Amendments that lighten the soil, like sand and peat, as well as some organic enrichment from organic potting mix or compost, will give herb seedlings a better start in life.

Most Herbs are Sun Worshippers

Herbs, like oregano, thyme, chives, and sage, need lots of light. If you have problems with shade from tall buildings, consider growing herbs indoors near a sunny window or using a hydroponic setup. Hydroponics, or soilless gardening, uses synthetic sunlight from special bulbs to furnish plants with adequate light, and the presence of instantly available nutrients in the water makes it possible to keep more plants in less space. An indoor hydroponic herb garden can be a tasty alternative in locations where no ground space is available or your garden can’t provide six hours of light daily.

Give Herbs Enough Water

Herbs, like mint, parsley, basil and dill need regular watering. If you can’t rely on nature to always do the honors, try using a drip irrigation system, or check out the feasibility of harvesting rainfall in a rain barrel. Some rain barrels have a bypass valve that will only start accumulating water after the first rains have washed the pollution out of the air.

Herbs smell great and have many uses, both in the kitchen and in your medicine cabinet. Once you have your own urban herb garden, you’ll be snipping chives for your potatoes and making pesto in no time.