Growing Herbs in Containers on a Patio

Why a Patio Pot Beats a Herb Bed

For a small rural plot, a courtyard, or the sunniest corner of a patio, containers are not a compromise — they are often the best position in the garden. A pot lifts plants into the warmest, brightest layer of air, keeps them clear of the slugs and snails that patrol damp borders, and lets you shift a tender basil out of a cold wind in seconds. In most of the UK, that matters more than soil quality. Our growing season runs roughly from May to September, and herbs from the Mediterranean need every scrap of warmth we can offer.

There is a practical bonus, too. Herbs grown in pots are picked at eye level, on the way past the back door, which means you actually use them. A pot of thyme by the step gets snipped far more often than a row in the vegetable patch, and frequent picking is exactly what keeps these plants productive.

Pots, Compost and the Drainage Question

Choose pots of at least 30cm across — around 10 to 15 litres of compost. Basil and mint will happily take something larger; thyme prefers to be a little snug, as a generous pot of wet compost is the quickest way to lose it.

• Terracotta breathes and dries out faster, which suits thyme and rosemary beautifully but means more watering for everything else.
• Glazed or plastic pots hold moisture for longer and are the kinder choice for mint and basil.
• Drainage is non-negotiable. One crock or a broken piece of pot over the hole is plenty; there is no need to fill the base with gravel, which simply raises the water table inside the pot.
• Compost: a peat-free multi-purpose is fine for basil and mint. For thyme, mix two parts compost with one part horticultural grit to keep it sharp and free-draining.
• Feet or bricks under each pot stop the drainage hole silting up and let air circulate beneath.

Wash and scrub pots each spring before refilling. Overwintering pests and old roots cause more problems than any shortage of feed.

Three Reliable Starters: Basil, Mint and Thyme

• Basil is the fussiest of the three and the most rewarding. It wants full sun, shelter and warmth, so hold off planting out until nights are reliably above 10°C — usually early June in most areas. Water little and often rather than soaking it, and never let it sit in a saucer of cold water.
• Mint is almost indestructible, which is precisely why it needs its own pot. Given a free root run it will colonise half the garden. It tolerates light shade and prefers moisture, so a larger pot and a saucer in dry spells suit it well. Spearmint is the best all-rounder for cooking; Moroccan mint makes superb tea.
• Thyme is the true patio plant: drought-tolerant, wind-resistant and hardy. Common thyme and lemon thyme both do well, and creeping varieties will spill over a pot edge. The one thing it cannot abide is wet feet in winter.

Watering and Feeding Through the Season

In high summer, a pot in full sun may need water twice a day. Rather than following a rigid timetable, lift the pot — weight tells you more than the surface ever will — and push a finger down to the second knuckle. Water in the morning where you can, so foliage dries before evening and fungal problems have less chance to take hold.

Basil will flop dramatically at midday and recover by evening; that is normal, but repeated wilting toughens the leaves and spoils the flavour. Mint should never dry out at all. Thyme is the opposite — let it dry out between waterings, and err on the side of neglect.

Feed basil and mint every fortnight with a diluted liquid seaweed or tomato feed at half strength. Thyme rarely needs anything unless the leaves turn pale. Overfeeding produces lush, soft growth with washed-out flavour, so hold back.

Harvest Often, and the Plants Will Bush Out

The single best thing you can do for container herbs is eat them. Pinch out the growing tips of basil just above a pair of leaves, and it will branch into two stems; repeat through the summer and one plant becomes a small bush. Remove any flower buds as soon as they appear. Never strip more than a third of a plant at once.

For mint, cut whole stems down to about 5cm from the compost to force fresh, tender growth — a tired-looking pot will renew itself within a fortnight. With thyme, snip sprigs as you need them and give the plant a light trim after flowering, but do not cut back into old, woody stems, as they rarely reshoot. Regular harvesting also keeps the plants compact and reduces the risk of greenfly and mildew on crowded foliage.

Keeping Things Going Into Autumn

Basil is the first to give up as nights draw in. Take cuttings in August, or simply bring a pot onto a bright kitchen windowsill before temperatures drop below 10°C, and you can carry on picking until Christmas. Mint will die back naturally; cut the stems down, keep the pot somewhere sheltered, and divide the roots in spring for fresh plants. Thyme is fully hardy, but winter wet kills more plants than frost ever does, so raise the pot onto feet against a sunny wall and hold back the watering.

Sow one last batch of basil in July for an autumn crop, and you can be making your own pesto well into the darker weeks — a small, satisfying return on a few square feet of patio.