The Best Herbs For Your Fall Garden

Fall is in the air and your garden is ready for some cool-loving plants to call their home. Herbs love to be planted in a fall garden before any chance of frost is present. It allows their roots to take hold and reach out for the rich nutrients in the soil.

Depending on your climate, you may choose to grow your fall garden as an herb container garden. Start it outside and allow it to get good and strong before you bring it inside for the winter. With the proper care for your indoor plants, you could have fresh herbs growing all winter long!

The majority of herbs are perennials will grow year round and bloom throughout the year. Depending on your zone though, some herbs act like annuals and will grow, put on a beautiful show of flowers, and then die in one season. The best herbs for a fall garden depend a lot on what you like to eat, but here are the star favorites perfect for any garden.

Cilantro

Cilantro is a must have for most Mexican dishes and salsas and grows quite well in cool weather. Grab some coriander seeds – yep, this is a bonus plant that you get the tasty seeds and leaves when you harvest it – and head out to your garden. Plant the seeds about half an inch down in evenly moist soil and water them in well. They can tolerate partial shade and even frost. Cilantro grows 18” tall and you can harvest the leaves as it grows. Once it starts to flower, the seedpods will set shortly after. You can prick off the flowers if you want it to grow a little bit longer.

Thyme

Every fall garden should be growing a thyme variety. Whether you love English or Lemon Thyme, or both, they grow perfectly in your cool season garden. Thyme likes to trail and doesn’t grow very tall so plant it in the front of your herb garden or even in a hanging basket or on the edge of a container. Thyme’s roots are shallow so don’t make the hole larger then the root ball and gently pack the soil around the roots and water it in well. Thyme produces little flowers throughout its growing season and can be harvested at any time. Make sure to harvest a little bit each month which signals to the plant to keep growing.

Parsley

No fall garden is complete without Italian or Curly Parsley planted in it. This plant gets to be about two feet wide, so make sure to give it space. Parsley likes well-drained nutrient-rich soil (a great way to use some of your compost!). Harvest weekly to keep it coming back over and over again.

Sage

There are hundreds of varieties of Sage, so make sure to pick up a culinary variety that grows well for your area. They are hardy, drought-tolerated plants that put on a show of flowers in pinks, purples, blues, reds, and oranges.

Mint

Unless you want your garden to be completely filled with mint, always plant it in a container or in something that can contain its roots. It is very prolific and can take over an entire area in one growing season. Mint in your fall garden is a must, just be careful with it!