Introduction to Planting Your Herb Garden
There are three ways you can begin planting your herb garden. You can choose to plant your herb seeds directly into the ground, plant the seeds indoors in small containers first, or buy seedlings for replanting. The first method requires you to wait for the last of the frost to melt (if you live in a country where winter brings snow) and prepare your soil to help warm the earth. This means you will be planting your seeds around the second or third week of spring, depending on how warm it's gotten.
The second method allows you to start your plants even before the winter completely thaws. You will have to time the germination period (more on that in 'Preparing Your Seeds') so that you will have small herb plants that are ready to be transplanted into the ground by the time the frost has melted. If you live in a tropical country or in a place that doesn't snow, plant your herb seeds after the rainy season or after the worst weather season passes. This will give your plants a long stretch of good weather to grow strong.
Method number three doesn't require you to handle seeds at all, and it's a relatively popular method among beginner gardeners. You can buy seedlings (small, already established plants) of herb plants in a gardening store, and transplant these into your garden. Sometimes the germination period takes a while and can be discouraging to beginners. Buying these seedlings gives instant results, and planting with seeds can be learned during the next season.
There are three types of plants you will be planting in your garden in terms of life cycles. You can take these life cycles into consideration when designing your garden, but as a beginner, it is best to get to know these life cycles first and see which plants you like. The first life cycle is the annual life cycle. This means the seed grows into a plant, produces more seeds, and dies when winter comes. It takes one full year for this life cycle.
The next life cycle is biennial. These plants take two years to complete their life cycles. During the first year, the plant lives as a relatively small plant. In its second year, it begins growing tall and flowers will bloom. After it produces seeds, it will die, whether or not winter has begun yet.
Finally, you have your perennial plants. Able to survive through over two winters, these plants re-grow with the coming of each spring. Sometimes the plant seems to die away, and in the spring stems shoot up from the ground once more. Other times the plant maintains stems and stalks in the air, and come spring leaves reappear. All three life cycles can be grown from seeds, which will be discussed in the next article.
