Growing Herbs

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Growing Herbs
It's not difficult to grow a few useful herbs in the desert garden whether they're planted in a prepared bed or containers. This desert gardener's preference is a few herbs useful in cooking such as chives, garlic chives, basil, oregano, thyme, sage, parsley, rosemary, tarragon, dill and a couple of the mints. I've grown lavender thinking my wife would make use of the fragrant blossoms but the colorful spikes withered on the plants. I've planted cilantro (coriander) but it always seemed to go to seed before I got much use from it. I tried catnip but the plant became too large and the cat didn't seem all that interested.

My first experience with herbs was to plant them all in a well prepared raised bed (plenty of organic matter) that had a soaker hose watering system. The shaded bed received late afternoon sun. By mid summer the bed was so over run with the mints it was hard to distinguish the other herbs. After cutting everything back to a reasonable size, all the herbs were dug up and transplanted into clay pots. The plants survived over the winter, getting watered when they needed it.

In early spring the potted herbs (pots and all) were placed in another raised bed that received early morning shade but more sun than the previous bed. A soaker hose was placed over the top of each pot so the herbs could easily be watered. By mid summer the bed was over grown with herbs but in a manageable way. The mint's runners didn't get to wander through the soil. At the end of the summer the pots were dug up and the roots trimmed if they'd grown through the container's drainage hole. The plants were then trimmed back to a smaller size. Some of the plants that became too large were either divided or discarded. New plants would be started from seed, division, cuttings or purchased from the nursery for the following spring.

Herbs in pots waiting for spring.
Herb pots placed in the ground with a soaker hose running over each pot. Pots were eventually mulched with straw to help conserve moisture.
Plenty of fresh herbs for cooking and some to dry for later use.

Some herbs are annuals such as the basils, dill, and cilantro so you have to buy new plants each year or keep a supply of seeds on hand. I try to grow basil all year (in the greenhouse in the winter) so it's always available fresh for salad dressings and pasta.

Starting herbs from seeds is not difficult nor is propagating mint from cuttings. If anything the mints tend to be a bit too prolific and can become a nuisance.

These Color Spot herbs (parsley, sage, mint) were purchased from the Home Depot.
Seeds can be found at garden centers or purchased from a seed catalog.
Potted herbs need to be kept watered and trimmed. Repot or replace the plants when they outgrow their containers.

The only insects that seem to bother the herbs are aphids on the tender shoots of dill and the fall threat of harvester ants which can denude some of the plants if they decide they like the leaves.

The delicate white flowers of
garlic chives were beginning
to bloom at the end of August.

Pick the right location, allow for plenty of drainage whether planted in containers or soil, and experiment to see which herbs you like best and you might find herbs are really easy to grow in the desert garden. As an added bonus some of the herbs can produce delicate flowers like the white garlic chive flowers below. (1999)