Basil
Warmth-loving and quick. Pinch the growing tips regularly and one plant stays bushy and productive all summer.
- 6+ hours
- Beds or an 8 in (20 cm) pot or larger
- Regular; wilts quickly when dry
- Pinch above a leaf pair
Herbs
Kitchen herbs you can actually keep alive
Herbs are the fastest route from garden to plate, and the easiest place to start if you only have a doorstep or a windowsill. Six dependable choices, with where to put them and how to harvest for steady regrowth.
Why herbs are the best beginner crop
Herbs need very little space, tolerate imperfect care, and give you something usable within weeks. A single basil plant by the back door will be picked far more often than a vegetable bed at the end of the garden — and being used is what keeps a herb healthy.
Start with three or four you cook with regularly rather than a full collection. Once you have kept those going for a season, adding more is easy.
The basics
Sunlight, watering, containers and harvesting
Four short sections that cover almost everything a herb needs from you.
Sunlight
Most herbs want as much light as you can offer. Rosemary, thyme and other Mediterranean herbs need six hours or more to develop real flavor. Mint, parsley and cilantro cope with four to six, and actually appreciate shade during the hottest part of a summer afternoon.
Watering
Split your herbs into two watering groups. Basil, mint, parsley and cilantro want steady moisture and sulk when they dry out. Rosemary and thyme want the soil to dry between waterings — more herbs are lost to soggy roots than to drought.
Containers
Herbs are the ideal container crop: compact, expensive to buy, and best kept near the kitchen door. Use pots with drainage holes, a proper potting mix, and group thirsty herbs together so one watering routine suits the whole set. Add grit to the mix for rosemary and thyme.
Harvesting
Cutting is what keeps soft herbs growing. Snip just above a pair of leaves rather than pulling single leaves off, and never take more than about a third of a plant at once. Pinch out flower buds on basil and cilantro to keep leaf production going a little longer.
Herb by herb
Six herbs to start with
Each card links to a full grow guide with planting times, common problems and harvesting notes.
Mint
Vigorous to the point of spreading underground. A container is not a compromise for mint — it is the right home for it.
- 4–6 hours; tolerates part shade
- Container, ideally on its own
- Likes steady moisture
- Cut stems back by a third
Rosemary
An evergreen Mediterranean shrub that can live for years. Sharp drainage matters far more than rich soil.
- 6+ hours
- Sunny bed or terracotta pot
- Let soil dry between waterings
- Snip soft green tips
Thyme
Low, spreading and drought-tolerant once established. Perfect trailing over the rim of a pot or edging a path.
- 6+ hours
- Well-drained soil or shallow pots
- Sparingly
- Trim sprigs before flowering
Cilantro
Fast but short-lived — it runs to seed in heat. Sow a small batch every few weeks instead of one big sowing.
- 4–6 hours; part shade in summer
- Sow direct; dislikes transplanting
- Even moisture
- Outer leaves, young
Parsley
Slow to germinate, then reliable for months. Flat-leaf types generally carry the stronger flavor.
- 4–6 hours
- Beds or deep pots
- Consistent moisture
- Cut outer stems at the base
Herb care
Six habits that keep herbs productive
- Keep mint in its own pot — its runners will colonise a bed within a season.
- Harvest from the top of a basil plant downwards, never by stripping the base.
- Refresh the top few in of potting mix each spring rather than repotting everything.
- Sow cilantro and parsley in small, repeated batches for a steady supply.
- Trim rosemary and thyme lightly and often; hard cuts into bare wood rarely reshoot.
- Bring tender herbs like basil indoors before the first cold nights arrive.
Growing in pots? Read the best herbs to grow in containers or check how often to water.
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