Fragrant and fat-free, herbs are one of the best ways to perk up salads or add flavour to a savoury dish. However, they can be expensive to buy pre-packaged and, if they’re not used immediately, they deteriorate quickly in the fridge. It’s considerably cheaper, not to mention more enjoyable, to grow your own. You can even dry the herbs you grow and use them all year round.

The famous quartet of parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme grow well in Irish gardens, but so do many other herbs, including chives, chervil, marjoram and oregano. “The one exception is basil, which hates the Irish climate and is best kept inside in a sunny, well-ventilated position – a porch, conservatory or windowsill near an open window,” says Denise Dunne of The Herb Garden, an organic herb nursery in Naul, Co Dublin.

It’s easy to get started. Seeds can be bought at most garden centres or online from Irish companies such as TheHerbGarden.ie or Seedaholic.com. It’s also possible to purchase herb garden starter kits, which usually contain four or five different types of seed, along with compost, pots and instructions. However, it may be just as easy (and more cost effective) to buy these items separately.

Herb gardens can be started any time of year, says Gerry Daly, one of Ireland’s best-known gardeners and editor of IrishGarden.ie. “The best time,” he adds, “is late spring or summer, when there is active growth. Anyone with a window sill can start a small-container herb garden.”

As easy as 1, 2, 3
1. To start off, put some small stones in the bottom of a plant pot or window box and then fill the container most of the way with compost.
2. Sprinkle seeds on the compost and cover them with more compost (about 1cm). Repeat with as many pots as you like or as you can fit on your (inside) windowsill.
3. Water lightly every day and wait for your herbs to appear.

“Generally, the seeds are easy to germinate and many are ready for cutting after six to eight weeks,” says Dunne. “The young seedlings do need some attention. The most important things to remember are to keep them out of strong, direct sunlight and to keep the compost moist but not waterlogged.”

Once the plants are thriving, you can use some of the leaves for cooking. If the plants are overcrowded, you can replant them into larger pots or, if you prefer, out in the garden.

Until mid-summer, you can also plant seeds directly in the garden, covering them with a layer of compost and making sure that the soil doesn’t dry out.

“Traditionally, spring or autumn were considered to be the best times to start a herb garden because the plants need to be kept well watered after planting for a few weeks until they are established,” says Dunne. “Given the history of the previous two Irish summers, however, this has not been a problem. Hopefully it will be this summer!”

Remember, if you are planting mint in the garden, plant the seeds or young plant into a pot and put that into the soil. Otherwise, you will soon have more mint than you know what to do with as it will spread like wildfire through the garden.

Don’t worry too much about the type of soil in your garden as most herbs are not too fussy. “Herbs mostly like well-drained fertile soil, but not very rich,” says Daly.

For information on the soil that best suits specific herbs, see TheHerbGarden.ie or GrowingHerbs.co.uk. The Organic Centre in Rossinver, Co Leitrim (OrganicCentre.ie) runs one-day courses on growing herbs at a cost of €90.

What do you think?
Are you tempted to start a herb garden?
Have you already tried to grow herbs? If so, how did you get on?