Introduction to Mini Herb Gardens
When most garden enthusiasts talk about a mini herb garden, they usually refer to herb gardens that come in small containers, or those small container herb gardens that are commercially sold. While these herb gardens are undoubtedly mini, the more correct term for them is small container herb gardens. A true mini herb garden is still found outdoors, it just isn't in as grand a scale as more traditional herb gardens.
A mini herb garden can still play around with design, but the rows of herbs design is usually the most practical. It uses small bits of land, anywhere from three by four feet to just slightly bigger can be considered a mini herb garden. Three rows is usually a good way to section off the plants in this mini herb garden. Off the bat, though, you will not be able to grow mint in this mini herb garden because mint has a tendency to take over the area it is planted in, and your garden is too small for a plant as aggressive as mint. If you want to keep mint, pot your mint plant and place it somewhere else. By the door of the kitchen or somewhere on the patio are good ideas.
Choose about three or four plants per herb. Unlike a large herb garden where you can have rows and rows of the same herb, your mini herb garden will only allow you so much. If the garden is truly small, choose two plants per herb. The point of having more than one plant, and hopefully more than two is that you can harvest leaves from two of the plants, and leave the other plant or plants to go on to flower and seed so that you have what you need to start your garden again next year. Do this if you want to be able to harvest flowers and seeds. If you intend to buy new seeds from a store every year, though, then this is not necessary.
Like a large herb garden, your mini herb garden will have the same rules in terms of water, fertilizing, and good soil. Mini herb gardens have a perk, though, and that is that you can invest in some great topsoil and fertilizers because you will be buying less of the product. You can also fill your dug up plant plot with an inch or two of gravel or rock about before placing soil on top of this and then planting your seeds. This helps drain water and keep the moisture in the soil good. This works for a mini herb garden, and can work for a large herb garden as well, but is really impractical for the larger gardens.
Also, a mini herb garden will need less care and attention from you in the long run. It needs less water, less pruning, less weeding, and less everything compared to a large herb garden. So you get all the benefits of herb gardening with fewer hassles.
If you're unsure about herb gardening, and do have a large garden, you can opt to start with a mini one first and see how it goes. You may be branching out before you know it!
