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Roots of a Container Herb Garden in America

October 15th, 2009 Posted in Green Living & News

Herb gardening has been around since the time of the Greeks and the Romans, and over the centuries has evolved in many ways from a necessity to a common hobby.


An herb garden is typically an area indoors or outdoors that is specifically used and designed for growing medical and cooking herbs.

This article will talk about:

• History of Herb Gardening
• Designing a Container Herb Garden
• Herb Gardens Today
• Protecting Your Herb Garden

History of Herb Gardening

The United States started as a colony of settlers arriving to a new strange world, with endless opportunity. The land was fertile and unused.


The typical American family had their own personal plot of cultivated land, which yielded a reliable source of food for the whole family. This kitchen garden plot acted as the family personal herb and food garden.


Since there obviously wasn’t a grocery store down the street, farming was what kept a family alive. Making their own herb garden as a source for medicine and sustenance was the American way of gaining their own independence from their European roots.

Horticultural specialist Bernard M’Mahon arrived to the United States from Europe, looking to seize the opportunity to promote good gardening among a new vast population. He was the author of The American Gardener’s Calendar, published in 1804.


This calendar helped gardeners cultivate their property and spread along helpful gardening habits. However, this popular trend of having your own land quickly declined as the United States entered into the industrial revolution.

Still, gardening remained important during World War I and World War II as a sign of the good life for people living in the suburbs. Becoming known as “victory gardens,” people began to view their gardens as a status symbol, sometimes symbolizing their families continued success during a time of war.


They were also advertised widely throughout the country as a means of helping limit the demand on the public food supply. With more families growing their own foods and herbs, the pressure on the American public food supply was greatly diminished.

Designing a Container Herb Garden

An herb garden is defined by the organization of all its parts, not the plants that are grown in it. If an herb is a plant then it used for seasoning, fragrance, dye, fiber, or medicine.


Thus an herb garden is a garden of useful plants, able to be grown on a 3 mile track of land or in a small plastic container in your bedroom. Some steps that will help with the design of your herb garden are:

• Plant


Prepare the area properly before planting your herbs, making sure to drain the soil, while mixing potting and gardening soil together with sand. Then lay the mixed soil on top of a layer of gravel for proper drainage.

• Grow


When the herbs begin to emerge, wait till they’re approximately 1 to 2 inches in height before spacing them out for their final arrangement. Herbs should be spread apart anywhere from 6 to 18 inches depending on the size of the plant. Making sure your garden is not too overcrowded is very important for its success.

• Maintain


Be aware of any insects or fungus, and take measures to deal with these problems. Be careful that the plants get the perfect amount of water or sunlight, not too little and not too much.

• Harvest


It’s time to harvest some of the herbs you wish to use. Once they have grown to their proper size, dependant on the plant, they are ready to be pruned and harvested. Leave enough foliage so 1/3 of the larger leaves are left behind, to help protect the new growth from coming in.

• Utilize


Depending on what type of herbs you have grown, it’s time to put them to use. Use the herbs medically, and for cooking purposes. Be certain to wash your herbs in cold water to help wash away any dirt or small insects.

Herb Gardens Today

All throughout America today, families have gardens for decorative reasons. Families living in the suburbs have gone from depending on their gardens for sustenance, to merely using their garden as a visual pleasing hobby. Modernization has lead grocery stores to pop up everywhere, making food much more accessible.


Today, FarmVille is the modern equivalent to farming in American. A Facebook application and game with 60,685,629 monthly active users, FarmVille allows users to organize their virtual farm and plant various crops based on their own successes.


Making and spending money based on harvesting your crops, the game simulates what it is like to have your own herb garden contained within the confines of your own computer.


With realistic growth and harvesting times, the crops take hours and days to grow, trying to bring some reality into the game and show you what farming is really like.

Protecting Your Garden

As stated above in Step 3, protecting your herb garden from insects and fungus is vital. Using EcoSMART’s organic pesticides to protect your plants is the most effective thing to ensure the continued success of your garden.


Eco-friendly and chemical free, the insecticides kill and repel bugs on contact. Working effectively and efficiently, it’s the safe way to handle your garden’s health.