A Beginner’s Guide to Growing Herbs and Vegan Herb Butter Recipe

Growing herbs is an easy way to bring fresh flavor to your cooking, even if you’re short on space. Here’s a quick guide on growing some beginner-friendly herbs, tips for harvesting, and a delicious vegan herb butter recipe to make the most of your harvest!

6 easy herbs to grow

1. Basil

A warm weather herb that needs to be planted after your last frost date. It loves warmth and full sun and needs well-drained soil and regular watering, especially in containers.

Get a head start on your garden by buying transplants from the garden center. Basil does double duty as a great tasting herb and an ally in your garden against pests. Plant it next to your tomato plants to deter the tomato horn worm.

Basil is an annual and must be planted every year.

Use basil to make sweet basil marinara sauce.

2. Chives

Chives are hardy and adaptable. They grow well in both containers and planted directly in your garden bed. They need full sun but can tolerate partial shade.

Chives are easily grown from seed, but will take longer to mature. Purchase transplants from your garden center.

Their strong smell acts as a pest deterrent in the vegetable garden, especially for aphids. Their pretty purple blossoms are edible and can be used to make chive vinegar. Chop the leaves fresh for baked potatoes, and to make herb butter.

Chives are perennial, so it may die down in the winter, but is one of the first plants that emerge in the spring.

Chives are delicious on these 3-ingredient vegan mashed potatoes.

3. Mint

Mint is a fast-growing herb that’s best contained in a pot due to its tendency to spread. Mint enjoys partial shade to full sun and moist soil.

There are so many varieties of mint, I’m sure you’ll want to plant more than one. Mint is a perennial herb and will over-winter in most areas. You can also bring the pot in and place it in a sunny window for winter use.

Along with cilantro, mint is delicious in summer rolls.

4. Thyme

Thyme is a drought-tolerant herb that thrives in full sun. It’s ideal for containers since it doesn’t need much water.

There are several varieties of thyme. I have both lemon thyme and English thyme in my garden. It is a perennial that overwinters in most areas. Purchase transplants for the garden center.

Thyme is the main star in Jamaican rice and peas.

5. Sage

Sage is a resilient herb that loves a sunny, well-draining spot and requires minimal water once established. Great for containers or garden beds.

It can grow quite large so plant in the corner of your garden bed. There is regular garden sage and a pretty variegated variety. Both are perennial and are best planted as a transplant.

6. Oregano

Oregano is a Mediterranean herb that prefers full sun and dry, well-drained soil. Oregano is an excellent container plant.

When planted directly in your vegetable garden bed, give it room to grow. Plant in the corner of a raised bed and allow it to cascade over. It is a perennial.

Use oregano (fresh or dried) to make your own tofu feta cheese at home.

Tips for growing herbs in containers or the garden

Containers:

• Use pots with good drainage and quality potting soil.
• Most herbs need 6-8 hours of sun daily, so place containers in a sunny area. Mints can tolerate more shade.
• Choose a container that will be big enough to allow the plant to grow. 10 inches is a good size and deep enough to accommodate growing roots.
• If using terra cotta pots you will need to water more frequently. Terra cotta “wicks” the water from the soil.

Garden:

Plant herbs in well-draining soil and space them to allow airflow, which helps prevent diseases.

Harvesting:

Regularly trim herbs to encourage fresh growth.

For basil, pinch off the top leaves to keep the plant bushy.

With chives, snip at the base, leaving an inch or two for regrowth.

For oregano and thyme, clip sprigs just above the leaf nodes.

📖 Recipe