Tips on Plant Pots
The great thing about herbs is that not only do they grow well in the garden but they’re also very happy to grow in pots and containers. This is particularly good if you’re limited on space where you can grow herbs e.g. on a windowsill.
But what size pot should you use? It depends largely on the amount of space you’re happy to dedicate to your herbs. It also depends on what size and stage of life the plants are to begin with.
Sowing from seed - Modular trays
If you’re sowing your herbs from seed you can either start with an open seed tray, a modular tray or small pots. Our preferred method is a modular tray sowing one seed per module. This makes for a better, more established plant later in its development and allows you to deal with each plant individually.
Plug plants - 8-10cm pots
When potting up a plug plant whether you’ve sown the seeds, taken the cuttings yourself or bought them then it’s all too tempting to use a very larger pot when they grow. This can lead to many issues with the main one being that the plant stays wet for too long due to the large volume of soil. Ideally use an 8cm-10cm pot when potting up your plug plants as this will allow enough space for your plant to grow but also give you more control over the moisture content.
Established plants - 13cm pot or larger
If you’re planning to grow you plants on the windowsill then you’re more likely to be limited by the size of the windowsill than the plant. Almost every single herb will grow quite happily in a 13cm pot for months if not years. This is especially true if you pick the leaves regularly to add to dishes as this will keep the plant at a manageable size.
Large herbs - 21cm pot, large container or in the ground
To get the most usable leaves and largest crops you’re going to have to grow large plants. The best way of doing this is either in very large pots, plant in a raised bed or plant directly into the ground. Some herbs such as fennel, needs to be quite a large size before they’ll produce a usable bulb (normally as large as 2m high). These types of herbs may need more room to produce a crop.
