Why miniature herb gardening suits UK homes

Herbs are the most forgiving plants you can grow, which makes them perfect for anyone short on space or short on cash. You do not need a raised bed, a greenhouse or even a garden. A windowsill, a doorstep, a small balcony or a corner of a courtyard will do, and most culinary herbs are happy in containers that would be thrown away otherwise.

Miniature growing means small pots, small amounts of compost and small ambitions that actually succeed. A supermarket basil living its best life in a yoghurt pot on a sunny sill will give you more usable leaves than a neglected raised bed ever would. Best of all, you can start the whole thing for the price of a couple of shop-bought herb pots and a bag of compost.

Free plants from supermarket herbs

The cheapest way to start is to buy living herbs from the supermarket — the pots sold in the fresh produce aisle rather than the cut bunches in the chilled section. These are grown densely and will bolt or collapse within a fortnight if you leave them as they are, so treat them as a source of cuttings rather than a finished plant.

• Basil: snip stems just below a leaf joint, strip the lower leaves, and stand them in a glass of water on a bright windowsill. Roots appear in one to two weeks. Change the water every couple of days.
• Mint: the easiest of all. Pull a sprig with a few leaves, remove the bottom pair, and root it in water or push it straight into damp compost. It will romp away.
• Rosemary, thyme and sage: take 8 cm cuttings from the soft new growth, strip the lower leaves, and tuck them into gritty compost. They root more slowly, so be patient and keep them out of direct midday sun.
• Parsley, coriander and chives: harder to root from cuttings, so simply divide the supermarket pot. Tease the rootball into three or four clumps and pot each one separately.

You can also ask a neighbour for a division of their mint or chives, or take a few seeds from a friend's parsley. Gardeners love to share.

Containers you already own

Almost anything that holds compost and can take a hole in the bottom will work. Before planting, make sure you can drill or punch drainage holes — herbs rot quickly in soggy, sealed containers.

• Yoghurt pots, cream tubs and margarine tubs — perfect for cuttings.
• Tin cans, cleaned and with the rim filed smooth. Wrap sharp edges with a strip of tape if you are nervous.
• Mushroom trays and fruit punnets, ideal for a shallow sow of cress or basil.
• Old teapots, colanders, wooden crates, cake tins and chipped mugs — these make charming, characterful planters on a doorstep.
• Plastic bottle bases cut to 5 cm deep, which make excellent saucers.

Aim for pots at least 15 cm deep for rosemary, thyme and sage, and 10 cm for basil and parsley. Small pots dry out fast, so slightly bigger is kinder in summer.

Compost, drainage and feeding on a shoestring

Buy one bag of peat-free multipurpose compost — around £5 for 40 litres, which will fill a surprising number of small pots. For Mediterranean herbs such as rosemary, thyme, oregano and lavender, mix in a handful of horticultural grit or sharp sand to improve drainage. Basil and parsley prefer richer, moisture-retaining compost, so use the multipurpose on its own.

Never use garden soil straight from the border in a small pot. It sets like concrete, drains poorly and brings in weeds and pests.

Feeding can cost nothing. A weak nettle or comfrey feed, made by steeping leaves in water for a fortnight, is free but famously smelly, so keep it outdoors and dilute it to the colour of weak tea before use. A diluted liquid seaweed feed bought once will last a whole season at half strength. Herbs grown for flavour do not want rich feeding — too much nitrogen gives you leafy plants with little taste.

Water, light and the British seasons

Most culinary herbs want six hours of sun a day. A south- or west-facing windowsill is ideal. North-facing sills suit mint, parsley, chives and chervil, which tolerate lower light. Basil sulks in a cold, draughty spot and hates being overwatered — let the surface dry slightly between waterings.

Water in the morning where you can, aiming at the compost rather than the leaves. Mould and mildew thrive on damp foliage in still air, and UK summers are nothing if not still and humid. Group pots together to create a slightly damper microclimate, but space them out if you spot grey fuzz on the leaves.

Come autumn, bring tender herbs such as basil, coriander and parsley indoors before the first frost. Rosemary, thyme, sage and mint are hardy enough to stay outside in most of the UK, though they will need less water and no feeding through winter. Cut back on watering dramatically from October — more container herbs drown in winter than freeze.

A starter plan for under £15

One bag of peat-free compost, one living basil pot, one living mint pot and a small bag of grit will set you back roughly £12 to £15. Add a free windowsill and a few recycled pots, and you have a genuine herb garden.

• Week one: pot up the mint division and take basil cuttings in water.
• Week two: pot rooted basil cuttings into individual containers.
• Week three: sow chives or parsley from a cheap packet of seed in a shallow tray.
• Ongoing: pinch out basil tops to keep plants bushy, and harvest little and often — herbs that are cut regularly grow stronger and taste better.

Start small, keep it on the sill you actually walk past, and you will be surprised how much flavour a few recycled pots can deliver.