How to Grow Fresh Herbs at Home, Even Without a Garden
There is something particularly good about having herbs growing within reach. Need basil for dinner? Snip some. Peppermint for tea? It is right there. A little mint for a Friday-night gin? Also covered.
We grow a lot of herbs in our FlowGrow towers, partly because they grow so well and partly because we actually use them. No half-used supermarket packet slowly wilting at the back of the fridge. Instead, the plants keep growing until we need them.
And herbs are where a hydroponic tower becomes much more than a clever way to garden in a small space. It becomes a living herb garden that can sit on a deck, patio or in a bright spot at home.
Herbs are some of our favourite plants to grow in a FlowGrow tower. Basil, mint, parsley, coriander, chives, thyme, oregano, dill and marjoram have all grown successfully for us, either in a dedicated herb tower or mixed with lettuces.
This guide is based on the herbs and varieties we have grown ourselves, plus a few more that are worth exploring if you want to broaden what you grow.
Why herbs work so well in a hydroponic tower
Many culinary herbs are naturally well suited to regular harvesting. You do not need to wait for one big harvest day. You can take a few basil leaves, snip some chives, pick parsley from the outside or cut a little oregano as you need it.
That little-and-often style of growing is one of the things we enjoy most about having herbs in the tower. The plants stay useful, the tower changes as they fill out, and brushing past or cutting herbs releases all those familiar smells while you are deciding what dinner needs.
A tower also gives you a way to grow a surprisingly varied herb garden without dedicating a large garden bed to it. If small-space growing is the reason you are here, our Small Space Gardening for NZ Homes guide explores that idea more broadly.
What we grow in our towers
These are not theoretical recommendations. They are herbs and varieties we have grown in our own FlowGrow towers and would happily plant again.
Basil
Basil is one of our absolute favourites, and it is also where choosing a variety gets interesting.
We have grown: Genovese, Greek, purple and Thai basil.
Genovese gives you the classic big, fragrant leaves most people picture when they think basil. Greek basil stays more compact with smaller leaves. Purple basil brings beautiful colour into an otherwise very green tower, while Thai basil has its own distinctive flavour and look.
Basil likes warmth and good light. Pinching the growing tips and harvesting regularly encourages bushier growth rather than one tall stem heading for flowers.
Thyme
We have grown: common thyme and pizza thyme.
Thyme grows quite differently from basil. It is finer, woody and slower to fill its space, but incredibly handy to have growing within reach. Common and pizza thyme are both useful culinary varieties, and a little goes a long way.
Mint & Peppermint
Mint is vigorous. Give it the chance and it will happily make itself at home.
That enthusiasm is one reason we like growing it in a tower rather than letting it loose in a garden bed. We use peppermint for tea, and ordinary mint earns its keep in cooking, cold drinks and, occasionally, a Friday-night gin.
Harvest it regularly and do not be afraid to cut it back when it starts taking over its neighbours.
Chives & Garlic Chives
Both have grown well for us. They are compact, useful and easy to harvest by snipping what you need and leaving the plant to keep producing.
Garlic chives give you a slightly different flavour and are an easy way to add another variety without needing another type of growing setup.
Coriander
Coriander is one we treat differently from the longer-lived herbs.
It has a shorter useful leafy window and is quick to bolt as conditions become hot. Rather than expecting one plant to stay leafy indefinitely, we sow small batches in succession so another is coming through as an older plant heads towards flowering.
That approach suits the tower beautifully and gives us a much more useful supply of fresh leaves.
Parsley
We have grown: curly parsley and Italian flat-leaf parsley.
Parsley can become a surprisingly substantial plant. We harvest the outside stems and let the centre continue producing. Curly parsley gives you that familiar compact leaf, while Italian flat-leaf parsley has a different texture and is one we use plenty of in cooking.
Dill
Dill gives the tower a completely different texture with its fine, feathery growth. It is another herb we think of as a plant to harvest and replace rather than something that needs to occupy one planting site forever.
Oregano & Marjoram
Both have grown successfully for us. They are useful, aromatic herbs that respond well to regular picking and bring another flavour profile into a mixed herb tower.
Marjoram made its way into our tower last summer and has firmly moved from “one to try” to “one we have grown”.
Herbs we are still experimenting with
There are plenty of herbs that other hydroponic and tower systems grow successfully, but we would rather separate possible from personally proven in a FlowGrow.
Lemon balm, chervil, sorrel and French tarragon are on our list to experiment with next.
As we grow them and see how they behave in a FlowGrow planting site, we will add what we learn here.
What about rosemary, sage and other woody herbs?
Some woody perennial herbs can be grown hydroponically. That does not automatically make them our first choice for a compact tower planting site.
Rosemary, for example, can become a substantial woody plant. For us, the question is not simply “will it grow?” but “is this a good use of this planting pocket over time?”
We generally favour herbs that stay manageable, respond well to repeated harvesting and can be replaced easily when they become old or oversized. A large mature rosemary plant may be happier in its own pot.
Growing herbs from seed or buying seedlings
We do both.
We often grow from seed when we want a particular variety, including many of the varieties we buy from Kings Seeds here in New Zealand. But if we want to fill a tower quickly, garden-centre seedlings are wonderfully convenient. Mitre 10 often has a broad herb selection, and many of our tower herbs started life there.
There is no prize for growing everything from seed. Choose the method that gives you the herbs and varieties you actually want to use.
If you are starting from seed, see How to Start Seeds for Your FlowGrow Tower.
If you buy seedlings growing in potting mix, remove and rinse the soil thoroughly before they enter the recirculating system. Our garden-centre seedling guide shows exactly how we do it.
FlowGrow planting sponges are particularly handy for supporting cleaned garden-centre seedlings in the net pot once the potting mix has been removed.
Keep an eye on stems, roots and net pots
Herbs do not all stay small just because they started as a tiny seedling.
Some herbs can develop surprisingly large root systems over time. Check established plants occasionally, and if roots become very dense or start to restrict water flow, carefully trim them back. You do not need to keep roots tiny. The aim is simply to keep water circulating freely through the tower.
When the plant is eventually removed, the pot may not always be reusable.
We keep replacement FlowGrow net pots available for exactly that reason.
Mint is one to keep an eye on. It grows with such enthusiasm that checking below the surface is part of keeping it a good tower neighbour. As an established plant fills out, check its roots occasionally as well as trimming the growth you can see. If the root mass becomes very dense or starts interfering with water flow, carefully trim it back.
Herbs through the New Zealand seasons
Hydroponics does not make seasons disappear. Light, temperature and where your tower sits still influence what grows happily.
A great time to bring basil back as temperatures and light increase. Coriander, parsley, dill, chives, thyme, oregano, mint and marjoram can all be useful choices as conditions warm.
Basil is in its element with warmth and good light. Mint, chives, parsley, dill, thyme and oregano can all be productive. Coriander needs more attention because heat encourages it to bolt, so succession planting becomes particularly useful.
As temperatures ease, coriander becomes appealing again. Parsley, oregano, dill, chives, thyme, mint and peppermint are useful cooler-season choices.
Focus on hardy herbs and the light available at your particular location. Parsley, coriander, chives, mint, thyme and oregano are worth considering, while warmth-loving basil becomes much more dependent on a genuinely warm, bright indoor position.
New Zealand conditions vary enormously from north to south, and an indoor tower behaves differently from one growing on a sheltered deck. Treat the seasons as a guide, then look at the actual light and temperature around your tower.
For the bigger seasonal picture, see Growing Through the Seasons in NZ and Where Should I Place My Tower?.
Can you grow different herbs together?
Absolutely. You do not need a separate tower for every type of herb, or even a tower dedicated only to herbs.
We use a 6 Layer FlowGrow as a dedicated herb garden because its 18 planting sites give our household plenty of room for the herbs we use regularly without taking over a large area. But we also grow herbs amongst lettuces in a mixed 9 Layer tower.
Rather than worrying about magical companion-planting combinations, we think about how each plant actually grows. Consider its mature size, how much light it needs and whether its growth habit could crowd or shade its neighbours.
Mint and basil can fill out dramatically. Dill grows tall and feathery. Parsley can become substantial. Give vigorous plants enough breathing room rather than trying to fill every available pocket simply because it is there.
Mix plants according to what your household actually eats. A tower can change with you, so when one herb finishes, that planting site can become something completely different.
How we harvest herbs so they keep producing
Most of our herb tower is harvested little and often.
- Basil: pinch or cut above a pair of leaves and keep harvesting to encourage branching.
- Mint and peppermint: cut regularly and trim harder when the plant starts crowding its neighbours.
- Chives and garlic chives: snip what you need and let them regrow.
- Parsley: take mature outside stems and leave the centre growing.
- Thyme, oregano and marjoram: snip small amounts regularly rather than waiting for one large harvest.
- Coriander: harvest while it is leafy and keep the next sowing coming through.
- Dill: pick while useful, then replace it when the plant becomes old or runs to seed.
Regular harvesting is part of growing herbs well. It also happens to be the enjoyable bit.
Which herbs are best for a small-space herb garden?
If we were starting a compact home herb garden from scratch, we would begin with what gets used most in the kitchen rather than trying to collect everything.
Basil, parsley, chives, mint, thyme, oregano and coriander give you a wonderfully useful starting mix. Then add varieties that suit the way you cook: Thai basil, garlic chives, peppermint, dill, marjoram or something completely different.
The advantage of a tower is that your herb garden can evolve. When one plant finishes, that planting site can become something else.
Frequently asked questions
Can herbs grow indoors?
Yes, provided they receive enough useful light. A bright room is not always the same as a bright growing position, so watch how the plants respond and use a suitable grow light if natural light is not enough.
What herbs grow well hydroponically?
We have successfully grown basil, thyme, mint, peppermint, chives, garlic chives, coriander, oregano, parsley, dill and marjoram in FlowGrow towers. Different herbs have different growth habits, so harvesting and seasonal timing matter.
Can I mix herbs and lettuce in the same tower?
Yes. We do exactly that in one of our 9 Layer towers. Think about the mature size of each plant and avoid allowing vigorous herbs to shade or crowd smaller neighbours.
Should I grow herbs from seed or buy seedlings?
Either works. Seed is useful when you want a particular variety. Garden-centre seedlings are a fast way to get established plants into the tower once their potting mix has been thoroughly removed.
Why does my coriander keep going to seed?
Coriander tends to bolt more readily in hot conditions. We succession sow it rather than expecting one plant to remain leafy indefinitely, and cooler parts of the year can give a longer leafy harvest.
A herb garden that earns its space
For us, the best part is not really the number of herbs we can fit into a tower.
It is having them there when we need them.
A handful of basil while dinner is cooking. Parsley without buying an entire packet. Peppermint clipped straight into a cup. The smell of thyme or mint as you snip a few stems.
They grow, we use them, and then they grow some more.
That is a pretty good little garden.
Ready to grow a herb garden within reach?
Start with the herbs you actually use, then let your tower evolve from there.
