Many herbs, annuals especially, can be grown from herb garden seed. Herbs such as borage , anise, caraway, chervil, coriander, cumin, dill and fennel are tricky to transplant and are better suited to being sown from herb garden seeds.
To Sow Your Herb Garden Seeds, Follow the Steps Below:
First, soak your herb garden seed. Soak the seeds in water for a few hours, even overnight, prior to planting them.
Place a good quality potting soil into a container for growing the seeds. Poke drainage holes in the bottom of your container.
Carefully pat the soil down, ensuring that no air pockets form so that your seeds don't drop too deep into the container.
Sow the herb garden seed 1-3 times deeper than the size of the seed. Very small seeds only need to be pressed lightly into the soil.
Water the seeds and cover your containers with plastic wrap. The covering will keep your soil warm and you won't need to water until the seedlings emerge.
Put your containers of herb seedlings in a warm, sunny area. Be sure to keep the soil damp until the seedlings emerge.
Once the seedlings emerge, remove the plastic covering. If your are going to transfer your seedlings into a garden, wait until a few leaves have grown from your herb plants to ensure they are strong enough to survive the planting. Once the weather is warm enough, you can begin to leave your seedlings outside for a few hours per day. This will acclimate your herb seedlings to the outdoor environment so they can withstand the harsher conditions. Water your plants well.
When transplanting your herbs into your outdoor garden, pinch off the lower set of leaves and dig a hole deep enough to accomodate your herb plant to the level where you pinched off the leaves. These pinched off areas will begin to grow your plants first roots. Gently turn the pot upside down, allowing the plant to gently drop into the palm of your hand.
Place your plant in the soil and carefully pat down the soil around the base. Begin with watering once daily for the first week, and then twice weekly after that. When the plant's foliage begins to get bushy and lush, add some good quality mulch around them so the weeds won't overwhelm your young plants.
Some Quick Tips:
For your potting soil mix, use equal parts perlite, vermiculite and compost. Ask your local gardening center for assistance with these products.
When watering your herb garden seed, place your plants in a shallow pan of water to bottom water them to avoid damping off.
If you find you don't have enough sun exposure for your herb seedlings, supplement with fluorescent lighting. A simple fluorescent house lamp will work fine, though you can also purchase "grow lights" designed specifically for growing plants.
Be careful not to over-water your plants. Too much moisture can cause fungal growth on your plants. Fungal growth causes the stems of your plants to break off and the plants will die. Allow your soil to remain dry for a few hours each day.