Your First Organic Herb Garden

Using fresh herbs is one of the best ways to season your food, especially when you 
want to reduce sodium from salt, but attaining the herbs is something else entirely. 
Many times, when you buy them from the store, they don’t get used fast enough, or 
become expensive.

But what if you could bypass buying them, have them available to you at home, and 
even grow them organically? That is what this report is going to teach you how to do.

Keep in mind these are just the basics of what it means to have an organic herb garden, 
and some general tips for getting started. It is not an in-depth overview of the topic. But 
this provides a great start to organic herb gardening!


What Makes it an Organic Garden

One of the most common questions asked is what makes an herb organic? Just like 
with produce, it mostly comes down to the type of chemicals (or lack of) that are used 
when growing the herbs. 

Many peple and companies want those lush herb plants, so they will use fertilizer to 
help them grow faster, and much bigger than if you didn’t use it. The problem is that 
they won’t be nearly as fragrant and might even have less flavor, thanks to the various 
chemicals contained in the fertilizer.

By choosing a more organic method, what you add to your herbs and plants is going to 
be all-natural, therefore reducing this issue with your fresh herbs. 


1. Basics of Starting an Herb Garden

To start with, let’s go over some of the basics of planting your first herb garden. These 
tips pertain to any type of herb gardening, organic or not, so they are versatile and will 
help out just about any beginning gardener.

Here are some of the basics of what you will do when planting your first herb garden:



Choosing the Plot

Depending on where you live, you may or may not have a lot of options available to you. 
A person with a large yard is going to have a few more options than someone who lives 
in an apartment building, but there are ways to do just about anything these days. 

If you live in an apartment, you can choose to place your herbs in a window box by the 
window. If you have a large yard, then soil is probably plentiful, but bad soil won’t yield 
much so you might still want to elect to find a confined box that you can grow your herbs 
inside of. 

This can also be the case if there are a number of pests that can get to your young 
herbs before they have a chance to mature. 

The good news is that herbs is relatively easy to grow in many different areas, so you 
shouldn’t have too much trouble deciding on a good location.


Look for Adequate Sunlight

For herbs, you want them to have at least 4-6 hours of sunlight a day. While they don’t 
need to be outside in a garden plot (though that is a great option), you should at least 
look into a patio or indoor space with this much sunlight.

This also depends on the type of herbs you plan to grow. For example, oregano and 
lavender typically want the most amount of sunlight, and actually do best in these 
conditions. While basil, dill, and mint can go with a little less sunlight.

Do some research into each individual herb you intend on growing, as this gives you the 
most accurate information.


Consider the Soil

This is also important when deciding on where and how to plant your herbs. In general, 
herbs don’t like extremely rich soil, and instead should be lean soil. This will give you 
the best quality herbs with the most aroma and flavor, not overpowered by a rich soil 
with a lot of fertilizer.


2. Choosing What to Plant

When it comes to which herbs you want to plant, there are many things to think about. 
From where you can plant them (indoors or outdoors), to how much work is involved, 
you don’t want to rush into this decision.


Easy Herbs for Beginners

If you are brand new not just to herbs, but planting in general, these are good herbs to 
start with:

Oregano
Parsley
Mint
Basil
Rosemary

These are all easy to grow in many planting and soil conditions, and don’t require too 
much maintenance on your part.


Growing Herbs Indoors

If you are planting the herbs indoors, here are some best for that:

Chives
Mint
Basil
Thyme
Sage 
Oregano


What Will they Be Used for?

Lastly, think about why you want to grow the organic herbs. There are many reasons to 
grow your own herbs, from using them in cooking to wanting to cultivate holistic healing 
medicines. For example, if you are using them for healing, aloe and lavender are 
amazing options. For cooking, think about rosemary, basil, oregano, and mint.

3. Organic Herb Garden Planting and Caring

Once you have decided on the plots or indoor growing method for your herbs and 
chosen your herbs, it is time to do the planting and caring for your herbs. Here are some 
tips for this phase of the process:


Planting

When you are planting your herbs, as mentioned, you want to go with light, lean soil. 
This means it isn’t too rich, and instead of fertilizer, you will use something organic, like 
compost. 

You can use whether you will buy the herbs in pots at your nearby garden center that 
are ready to transfer to soil in your garden, or start them by seed. Some herbs can also 
be started from cuttings, like sage or rosemary.

Just like with any plant you buy at a garden center, there will be specific instructions for 
how to plant each one on the pot or seed packet.


Watering

Most herbs need to be watered regularly, but not drowned. You don’t want them to get 
too dry, so it is a good idea to check on them daily or at least on a regular basis. You 
also want good drainage, whether you have indoor pots or a garden in your 
background. 

Some herbs are more drought tolerant, meaning they can survive with less water, such 
as lavender and oregano. However, they still need to be watered. 

A good rule of thumb for watering: They need a drink when the soil feels dry to the 
touch.






Controlling Pests

Since we are talking about organic herb gardening, you want to be careful about pest 
control. The non-organic method is to use chemicals, but since that isn’t an option here, 
you will need to look for more natural options. Don’t underestimate the damage pests 
can do to your plants – your herbs can be destroyed by the little pesky insects.

Here are some natural and organic options:

Use Diatomaceous Earth – This is probably the most popular chemical-free option for 
controlling pests in your garden. It not only works great for an herb garden, but plants, 
flowers, and vegetables as well. Make sure you read the label, because the food grade 
version of DE is chemical-free, but other versions might have some insecticides in them.

Try Growing Catnip – There are certain things you can grow in your garden that will 
deter certain types of insects. Believe it or not, catnip is a great option. This can help 
deter many pests, including spiders and aphids. Another option is to plant onions, as the 
odor of them can deter certain insects.

Plant the Right Herbs – The types of herbs you decide to grow might also make a 
difference in how many pests you have issues with. For problems with flies, basil is a 
good option. If you want to keep ants out, plant tansies in your garden.


Pruning and Harvesting

The last thing you will do is learn how to prune and harvest your herbs, as this is how 
you will get your fresh herbs into your kitchen for cooking or using for natural remedies. 

Pruning is the process of snipping certain parts of the plant or herb that are dying or 
overgrown, in order to make room for healthy growth of the herbs. This is necessary for 
most herbs, whether they are being grown indoors or outdoors.

For herbs, you typically prune by cutting the tips of the leaves, as well as removing 
leaves or growth that is dying and affecting healthy growth of the plant. 

To harvest your herbs, you simply are removing the flowering herbs when you want to 
use them. You can either use them that same day when you are cooking, or dry them to 
store for later. Wait until they are fully developed for the best results.


4. Last Tips for Your Organic Herb Garden

Now you can go and enjoy your fresh herbs! There’s nothing like getting to eat food that 
you've grown with your own hands and efforts. As an added bonus, here are a few 
additional tips and facts that might interest you: 

1.	Fresh herbs taste better than dried herbs you buy. The flavor and aroma is 
strongest when you first harvest them. 

2.	In most cases, herbs naturally get rid of pests. 

3.	Don't let your pets play or hang out in your herb garden so they can be free of 
contamination.

4.	Herbs in the mint family need more water. 

5.	Seeds usually take a longer time to dry, sometimes as long as 2 weeks.  
