If you grow only one thing this year, make it herbs. No other crop gives so much flavour for so little effort: a pot of basil on a sunny windowsill, a patch of parsley by the back door, mint in a pot that never stops. Herbs ask for almost nothing — a bit of sun, occasional water, regular picking — and repay you every time you cook.
This guide covers the five easiest herbs for beginners — basil, parsley, mint, thyme and chives — with one table of what each needs, then simple steps for pots, windowsills and garden beds. Written for Central and Western Europe, no experience assumed.
| Herb | Sun | Water | Start | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basil | Full sun, warmth | Regular, not soggy | Sow indoors Apr–May | Pots on a sunny sill |
| Parsley | Sun to part shade | Even moisture | Sow Mar–Aug | Beds and pots |
| Mint | Sun to shade | Loves moisture | Buy a plant | Pots only — never beds |
| Thyme | Full sun | Sparingly | Buy a plant | Sunny dry corners |
| Chives | Full sun | Regular | Sow Mar–May or buy | Beds, pots, edges |
Step 1: Start with the easy five
Herbs range from foolproof to fussy, so begin with the forgiving ones. Parsley, mint and chives are nearly indestructible: they tolerate imperfect soil, survive neglect, and keep coming back. Thyme wants sun and poor, dry soil — perfect for that hot corner where nothing else thrives. Basil is the diva of the five, needing warmth and regular water, but its flavour makes it worth the attention.
What to skip for now? Coriander (bolts at the first warm spell), dill (needs space and self-seeds everywhere), and rosemary from seed (slow and unreliable — buy a plant instead). You can add the adventurous herbs in year two, once the easy ones have built your confidence.
Step 2: Choose pots, windowsill or bed
Herbs are the most flexible plants in the garden: almost all of them grow brilliantly in pots. A 20–25 cm pot suits one herb comfortably; a 40 cm trough holds three or four. Use multipurpose compost, never garden soil, and make sure every pot has drainage holes — herbs hate sitting wet.
On a windowsill, pick your sunniest window: most herbs want 4–6 hours of direct sun a day. Basil and thyme do best right in the glass; parsley and mint tolerate a little less. In the garden, a patch by the kitchen door is ideal — herbs you walk past get picked; herbs at the far end of the garden get forgotten. Our container gardening guide covers pot sizes and compost in detail.
Step 3: Sow or buy — know which for which herb
Some herbs are easy from seed, others are not worth the trouble. Sow these: basil (indoors, April–May, needs 20°C+ to germinate — a warm windowsill works), parsley (directly outdoors March–August; it is slow, taking 3–4 weeks, so be patient), and chives (sow March–May, or buy a clump and split it).
Buy these as plants: mint (grows from cuttings so easily that nurseries sell healthy plants cheaply), thyme (slow and fiddly from seed), and rosemary if you want it. A small plant costs little and gives you months of harvest immediately. There is no prize for starting everything from seed — buy the tricky ones and spend your energy on growing.
Step 4: Give mint its own pot — always
This is the single most important herb rule: mint never goes in the ground or shares a pot. Its roots run aggressively underground and it will colonise a whole bed within a season, outcompeting everything. In its own pot, though, mint is a perfect beginner plant — nearly unkillable, happy in sun or shade, and endlessly useful for teas, salads and cooking.
Repot mint every year or two into fresh compost, since it exhausts its pot quickly. If a mint plant looks tired and woody, the cure is brutal and effective: tip it out, chop the rootball in half, and replant the healthiest half in fresh compost. It will bounce back within weeks.
Step 5: Pick little and often — harvesting is care
With herbs, picking is maintenance. Regular harvesting keeps plants bushy and productive and delays flowering (which usually ends the harvest). For basil, pinch out the growing tips just above a pair of leaves — this makes it branch into a bush instead of one lanky stem. Never strip a basil plant bare; take a third at most.
For parsley and chives, cut outer stems at the base and let the centre keep growing. For thyme, snip sprigs as needed — light, frequent trimming keeps it compact. For mint, cut whole stems down to a few centimetres; it regrows vigorously. The golden rule across all herbs: never take more than a third of the plant at once.
Step 6: Water by herb, not by habit
Different herbs want different water, and this is where most beginners go wrong. Basil, parsley and mint like consistently moist (not soggy) soil — check pots daily in summer. Thyme wants the opposite: lean, well-drained, even dry conditions; overwatered thyme turns black and dies faster than underwatered thyme ever would.
The finger test works for all of them: push a finger 3 cm into the compost and water only if it feels dry at that depth. Water the soil, not the leaves, ideally in the morning. Our watering guide explains the technique for all your crops, and the Plant Doctor guide to yellow leaves helps if overwatering has already struck.
Step 7: Overwinter the perennials, restart the annuals
Know which herbs come back and which do not. Perennials (mint, thyme, chives) survive winter outdoors in most of Central and Western Europe — cut them back in autumn, mulch the pots, and they return in spring. Move pots of thyme somewhere sheltered in the coldest regions; it dislikes wet winter cold more than frost itself.
Parsley is biennial: it grows leaves the first year, flowers the second, then dies. Sow fresh parsley every spring for a continuous supply. Basil is a true annual killed by the first cold night — enjoy it until autumn, then compost it and sow again next April. Indoors on a bright windowsill, a basil plant can sometimes limp through winter, but spring-sown plants always outperform it.
Troubleshooting: common herb problems
Basil suddenly wilted and blackened: Cold — basil is damaged below about 10°C. Do not plant it out until nights are reliably warm (late May in most regions), and bring pots in on chilly nights. Blackened stems rarely recover; start again if the growing tip is dead.
Parsley seeds never came up: Patience first — parsley takes 3–6 weeks to germinate. Old seed is the usual culprit; buy fresh seed each year. Soaking seeds overnight before sowing speeds things noticeably.
Mint has taken over everything: It escaped its pot. Dig out every runner you can find (they snap and regrow from fragments, so be thorough), and replant only in a pot — ideally a pot sunk into the ground with its rim above soil level, which contains the runners while looking like a bed planting.
Thyme went brown and woody in the middle: Age and neglect — thyme gets woody after 3–4 years. Cut back hard in spring (it often reshoots from old wood), or replace the plant. Never cut into completely bare brown stems with no green at all; those rarely regrow.
What to do this October
October herb jobs: bring tender basil indoors before the first frost (or take a final big harvest and make pesto); cut back mint and chives and mulch their pots; leave thyme alone — it needs no autumn care beyond good drainage. Sow a last batch of parsley under a cloche for winter leaves, and pot up a chive clump for the kitchen windowsill — it will give you fresh chives all winter. See the full October checklist for the month's other jobs.
Frequently asked questions
Can I grow herbs indoors all year?
On a bright, sunny windowsill, yes for most: basil, parsley, mint and chives all grow indoors. They will be leggier and less productive than outdoor plants, but fresh herbs in January are worth it. Thyme prefers to stay outside — it sulks in warm indoor air.
Why does shop-bought basil die so fast?
Supermarket basil is dozens of seedlings crammed in one pot, grown fast in perfect greenhouse conditions. To save one: split it into 3–4 smaller clumps, repot each in fresh compost, and keep it warm and bright. Even then, treat it as a short-term crop, not a permanent plant.
Which herbs come back every year?
Mint, thyme, chives, oregano, sage and rosemary are perennials in most of Central and Western Europe. Parsley is biennial (sow yearly). Basil and coriander are annuals — new plants every spring.
How do I dry or preserve a big harvest?
Thyme, oregano and sage dry well: hang bunches upside down somewhere warm and airy. Basil and parsley lose flavour dried — freeze them instead (chopped, in ice-cube trays with a little water or oil). Mint dries adequately for tea.
Related guides
- Container Vegetable Gardening: Grow Food in Pots — pot sizes and compost for herbs
- Your First Vegetable Garden: A Complete Beginner's Guide — plan herbs into your first year
- How to Grow Lettuce at Home: Beginner's Guide — another fast, easy windowsill crop
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