It's really very easy to grow your herbs from seed!

Many herbs such as chives can be propagated by division, and many are grown from cuttings, such as mint, but most herbs are grown from seeds.

There are a couple of options when growing herbs from seeds, in the ground where the plants are to grow, or in seedling tray and punnets.

If seed is to germinate, it must have moisture, oxygen and the correct temperature. Seeds cannot germinate if they are covered to deeply, or get waterlogged. For larger seeds like nasturtium, they should be just pressed into the soil, smaller seeds should be covered lightly with soil up to twice the their own depth.

Herbs with large roots such as horse radish, ginger, tumeric, or amarinth are often better sown direct into the ground where they are to grow.

Many herbs are planted in small pots or punnets, then transplanted into the herb garden when they are of sufficient size. Some herbs such as coriander do not take kindly to transplanting however, and are best grown direct to the garden. They can be thinned out when they get to an appropriate size.

If planting seeds direct into the garden, cover them with very fine soil or vermiculite.

When planting into punnets or seedling trays, it pays to put the soil through a sieve. The finer the seedling mix is the better. It should be a good loamy soil that will allow the seeds to breathe.

Transplanting into the garden is a shock for young plants. There is no doubt that planting direct will give quicker growth. However that’s not always possible, especially for very fine seeds. In the case of rare seeds, such as some medicinal herbs, you will need to be very careful about germination, so planting seeds into a punnet or tray is usually better.

It really is very important to minimise transplanting shock.

Also its important not to plant out into direct hot sunlight. If you do have to plant out in such weather, you may need to shelter the new transplants with a small bushy branch stuck into the ground next to them, or a small barrier of shade cloth.

If you can give the small plants a few hours full sun gradually increasing the time in the sun, before you plant in the garden, they will have a much better chance of survival. Plant into moist soil, and careful mulching around the roots after planting will also help them survive the transplant shock.

Also there is the matter of getting an early start with herbs in cooler districts. If you can plant inside, even under lights, you can get a head start and have good strong seedlings ready to plant out when the weather warms up sufficiently.

For more info click here to go to our plant propagation page!

Click here for your Free newsletter, and Free Lifestyle eBooks!