You Not Only Can Grow All Your Herbs Together—It's Actually Way Easier!

If you're anything like me, then you've watched countless potted herbs die slow deaths in pots that you either overwatered or under-watered. I thought herbs were supposed to be easy to grow, you think to yourself, but mine just keep dying!

This will make you feel a bit better: It wasn't you. It was the setup.

The smaller the pot, the faster the soil inside will dry out. The roots of the herbs growing inside don't have room to reach out for more water and resources when they need it. The result is a super needy plant that, at best, only thrives with constant nurturing and, at worst, dies.

Herbs actually are easy to grow, and the easiest way to grow them is to plant them all together in one large planter. You can grow loads of herbs in your very own herb container garden, and this can work for you even if you've only got a small space, even if you don't have much sunlight, even if you swear you don't have a green thumb.

I'll tell you three reasons this is a much better setup than individual pots, and then I'll walk you through how to set up an herb planter like mine. Sound good?

3 Reasons to Grow All Your Herbs Together

Reason #1: Tending Your Herbs Is Easier

Each pot you plant up is one more thing you have to nurture. I don't know about you, but between my kids, my dogs, and my business, I have enough things to take care of. I don't need to give myself five more needy little plants, you know?

When you plant all your herbs together, you can water them all at once. Your herbs will also have better access to resources in the soil around them, so they can reach for more water and nutrients when they're struggling.

Reason #2: You Can Move Your Herbs In & Out

This kind of container is so easy to keep on a porch, patio, or balcony. When you're expecting frost, you can just bring all your herbs indoors at once. You can even keep your herbs alive throughout the winter and then bring them back outdoors in the spring.

Reason #3: Your Herbs Like Growing Together

Herbs actually like being around their friends. They thrive when they're near other herbs, even when they're squeezed right next to each other.

The Best Container to Grow All Your Herbs in One Place

These are the requirements for whichever large pot or container you choose:

Food Safe

The material of your container should be as close to its naturally occurring state as possible. A few herb garden ideas include steel tubs, grow bags, terracotta pots, and wood containers made of cedar or another untreated but durable lumber. I love food-grade stainless or galvanized steel because it doesn't dry out too quickly (and yes, steel containers are perfectly safe for growing herbs). Terracotta pots and grow bags, in my experience, dry out too quickly.

When you're shopping around, look for words like "food grade" and "untreated" to ensure you're using the most natural of materials for your organic herbs.

Drainage Holes at the Bottom

Herbs hate having their roots stay wet, so the container you select has to provide good drainage.

If you grab a stainless steel tub that doesn't have drainage, you'll need to add holes every couple of inches with a drill and a fairly large drill bit, or use a screwdriver and hammer.

Grab the matching drip tray if you find one so that water won't spill out of your container.

At Least 1 Foot Deep and 1 Foot Wide

A lot of people fail with herb gardening because their pots are too small. Sizing really does matter. In fact, the larger your planter is, the better the herbs inside will be able to maintain themselves. They'll be more tolerant of too little water or too much sun than if they were squished into one small pot. So don't buy little pots, no matter how cute they are, unless you want to give yourself extra work.

Some herbs can grow in a planter just 6 inches deep, but you'll need something closer to 12 inches if you want to grow herbs like cilantro, parsley, and dill, which have larger taproots.

And then picking something at least 12 inches wide is important for growing several different types of herbs in one container. You don't want to go narrower than that unless you're just doing one plant.

I recommend those Behrens tubs you can find at big box stores. I've been using this brand for years and have loads of success growing my herbs in them. They make a 17-gallon galvanized steel tub that's perfect for growing lots of herbs.

How to Set Up Your Herb Planter

Now, I'll walk you through the steps to set up your container herb garden. It really shouldn't take very long. If you're looking for an easy garden project that'll have you cutting and bringing things into your kitchen every single day, then this is it.

(Watch me set up an herb garden in a 17-gallon tub in this video.)

Place Burlap in the Bottom of Your Planter

Once you've got your planter with drainage holes, you'll want to make sure you have a way to keep your soil inside the container when it rains or when you water. You can use weed barrier cloth, landscape fabric, or burlap. If your burlap has large holes like mine, you might want to double it up. Make sure it covers the entire bottom of the container.

Side note: If you bought a steel tub with a sticky label on the side, make sure to remove it before you fill the tub with soil. Heat it up with a hairdryer before you try to peel it off to melt the glue. That way, it doesn't leave any sticky residue behind. (I bet you've never started a gardening project with a hairdryer before!)

Fill Your Planter with Soil

The best soil to use in an herb container garden is actually a mix of coarse sand, topsoil, and compost. You can buy bags of all three at any nursery or big box store (you can find paver sand at Home Depot in the construction section), or you can keep it simple and grab a sandy loam soil blend from a nursery or garden center.

The goal is to fill your planter with well-draining soil. Most of the herbs we're growing are from the Mediterranean, so the coarse sand improves drainage and reminds your herbs of their home. Whatever you do, don't dig up a bunch of thick clay soil from your yard, okay? That's going to hold way more water than your herbs want.

You also want the soil to have some nutrients. That's why I love to mix in some compost with my garden soil.

Fill your planter up almost all the way to the top. Now you're ready to plant some herbs!

Plant Annual Herbs in the Middle & Perennial Herbs Around the Edges

One critique I get when I post about my herb planter on social media is that the herbs all have different watering needs. All you have to do to make this a non-issue is plant annual herbs in the center of your planter and perennial herbs around the edges.

Annual Herbs

Annual herbs like basil, dill, cilantro, and parsley (technically a biennial) like their soil to hold a bit more water than the other herbs. The center of the planter will hold more moisture than the edge. So planting annual herbs in the middle means they get to grow under their ideal conditions.

You can plant annual herbs by seed or plant from the nursery. They grow quickly from seed but typically only last about three months before they bolt (or produce flowers and then seeds for next year). Stick with cilantro, dill, and parsley when it's cool outside. Parsley can remain, but cilantro and dill will bolt once the weather warms. That's the time to add basil (once the threat of frost has passed).

Annual herbs grow more vertically than horizontally, so you can really pack them into your planter.

Perennial Herbs

Perennial herbs like rosemary, oregano, sage, and thyme grow year after year. These herbs prefer when their soil dries out a bit between waterings, so we plant them on the outside of the planter, which dries out much faster.

I find it easier to start with plants for perennial herbs. They're slow to grow from seed, and you'll get your money back each time you harvest from these herbs over the months and maybe even years to come.

Perennial herbs can spread wide in the ground or in a raised bed. In containers, you can keep them small by harvesting from them weekly.

I like to consider an herb's growth habit when I'm planting my container. Thyme and oregano are both creeping herbs, so I like to plant them on opposite corners to mirror each other. They'll both cascade over the side and look so pretty. Sage and arp rosemary both have more upright growth, so they're good anchors for the back of your garden. 

Add Plant Tags

If you're new to growing herbs, consider adding some cute little plant tags so you don't forget what you have. Plant tags can also be used to mark where you've planted herb seeds.

Which Herbs Should Not Be Grown with All the Others?

There are a couple of exceptions when it comes to planting all your herbs together. Some herbs, like mint, lemon balm, and anise hyssop, spread pretty aggressively. Mint, for example, sends out little runners that form roots and then start new plants. Give it enough time, and mint will take over.

Now, does that stop me from putting mint in my own herb planter? Nope! I love mint. I put it in almost all of my beverages, so I wouldn't be sad to end up with a mint container in a couple years. It's a risk I'm willing to take, but overall, I'm able to keep it in check by harvesting the leaves frequently and pruning any runners I see above the soil.

I've seen gardeners worry that mint will compete for resources and affect the growth of the herbs growing around it, but if you look at my containers, everything always looks pretty healthy growing together (except for that time I left basil out during a freeze).

If you're worried about aggressive herbs like mint, you can always plant it in its own container or even directly in the ground.

How to Care for Your Herb Planter

As long as your herbs feel like their simple needs are being met, they'll give you harvest after harvest.

Where to Place Your Herb Planter

Place your container in a sunny spot. Herbs can grow with as little as 4 hours of sun, but you'll get more leaves with more sunlight. If your container will be indoors, place your container as close as possible to an unobstructed window (ideally one that faces South).

If you're anticipating a freeze, consider bringing your herb planter indoors. Several of these herbs will survive a frost, but they might die back, which would mean you won't get more leaves until spring. Herbs will slow their production indoors, but you'll still be able to take some sprigs here and there.

How to Water Your Herb Planter

Check the moisture level in your planter frequently. It will need watering more often than a raised bed or in-ground garden (though not as often as a tiny pot). Water when the soil feels dry 1 inch down in the middle of your planter. Remove the drip tray or saucer and water until you see water running out of the drainage holes. Let your container drain for a couple minutes and then return it to the tray.

How to Prune & Harvest Your Herbs

Believe it or not, your most important tending task will be pruning your herbs frequently, and guess what? Harvesting is just pruning with the goal of eating what you cut. You can begin this very day. Overall, the closer together you plant these herbs, the more often you should harvest to make sure each plant has access to air circulation and sunlight.

You'll prune/harvest most of your herbs by cutting from the outer stems first (basil is the one exception) to rein them in. For upright herbs like sage and dill, the goal is to keep them as narrow as possible so they don't overcrowd their neighbors. For trailing herbs like oregano and thyme, the goal is to encourage them to spill over the side, instead of taking up too much room in the interior of the planter. You do that by cutting them from the back.

Herbs bush out at each point where they're cut, so it's actually helpful to harvest from them more often than not. Don't be scared to harvest your herbs. (Learn more about the best way to harvest your herbs.)

Go Ahead—Plant All Your Herbs Together

You have this gardener's blessing to plant all your herbs together, if that's what you want. My herbs always look quite happy growing together, much happier than the herbs I tried to grow in little pots all by themselves.

Really, this is a garden project anyone can do. This is how you become a gardener, even if you swear you don't have a green thumb. You can keep your little planter almost anywhere, and you're going to grow so many delicious, fresh, homegrown herbs to bring into your kitchen every single day for the whole year.

Our mission at Gardenary is to encourage everybody to grow their own herbs, and we've got tons of resources to help you get started. We've also got an herb garden kit with a galvanized container, draining tray, and gardening tools to make your setup even easier.