Why a small herb garden earns its keep

There is something deeply satisfying about stepping two paces from the hob, snipping a handful of chives straight into a pan, and carrying on with dinner. Shop-bought herb bunches are lovely, but they arrive in a rush and wilt before you have used half the packet. A few pots on a kitchen windowsill, a bright doorstep or a sheltered balcony will give you far more, far fresher, and for far longer than you might expect.

The trick is not to fill every surface with whatever looks healthy at the garden centre. It is to start with herbs that genuinely forgive a beginner, give them the conditions they actually enjoy, and pick them regularly. Get those three things right and you will be harvesting for months rather than weeks.

The reliable three: mint, chives and parsley

These three are the backbone of a small kitchen garden for good reason. They are tough, they crop for a long season, and they all cope with the slightly imperfect conditions that real homes provide.

• Mint. Almost impossible to kill, which makes it perfect for a first attempt. It prefers a cool, lightly shaded spot and soil that stays reliably moist. Always give mint its own pot, because it spreads by underground runners and will happily invade everything else. Spearmint is the best for cooking; apple mint is gentler and lovely with lamb.
• Chives. Hardy, neat and endlessly useful. Snip the leaves about two centimetres above the compost and they will regrow within a fortnight. Never cut the whole clump at once — take a few leaves from the outside and leave the centre to keep growing. The purple flowers are edible too, and look beautiful scattered over salads.
• Parsley. Slower to get going than the other two, but generous once established. Flat-leaf has the better flavour for cooking; curly is hardier and prettier. It has a long taproot, so it resents being moved — sow it where it will live, or split a crowded supermarket pot carefully into two or three and pot each section on. It needs more light than mint, so give it the sunniest sill you have.

Pots, compost and drainage

Most indoor herb failures are really drainage failures. Choose pots at least fifteen to twenty centimetres across, with proper holes in the base — a decorative outer pot without drainage is a slow death sentence. Stand them on a saucer, but pour away any water that collects after half an hour.

Terracotta looks lovely and dries out faster, which suits chives and parsley. Glazed or plastic pots hold moisture longer, which suits mint. Fill with a peat-free multipurpose compost mixed with a generous handful of horticultural grit or perlite for every pot. Fresh compost already contains enough feed for the first six weeks or so, so there is no need to add anything at planting time.

Watering and light: where most windowsill herbs fail

Push your finger two centimetres into the compost. If it feels dry at that depth, water; if it feels damp, wait a day. Then water thoroughly until it runs out of the bottom, rather than giving a daily splash — that shallow habit encourages weak roots and surface mould.

In summer, small pots may need water every day or two. In winter, once a week is often plenty. Group pots together to create a slightly humid microclimate, and keep them off a windowsill that gets icy at night.

• Parsley and chives want four to six hours of decent light a day. A south- or west-facing sill is ideal.
• Mint tolerates a north-facing sill or a spot a little away from the glass.
• Turn pots a quarter-turn each week so plants grow straight rather than leaning towards the light.
• Wipe windows regularly — dusty glass can cut light by a surprising amount.

Harvest little and often

Frequent, gentle picking is what keeps herbs bushy and productive. The golden rule is never to take more than a third of a plant at one time.

• Pinch out the growing tips of mint and parsley to encourage side shoots rather than one tall stem.
• Cut chives in small batches, always leaving a good few centimetres of growth behind.
• Harvest parsley from the outside stems first, letting the heart of the plant develop.
• Pick in the morning, when leaves are at their most fragrant, and use them soon after.
• If a plant starts to flower and you want leaves rather than seed, remove the flower buds straight away.

Keeping the supply going through the year

Herbs are seasonal creatures, and working with that rather than against it makes everything easier. Sow parsley in spring, either indoors on a warm sill or outdoors once the last frosts have passed. Divide congested mint and chive clumps in early spring, teasing them apart and repotting into fresh compost — they will reward you with a flush of new growth.

In late summer, pots that have spent the season indoors can be moved outside to a sheltered spot, where rain and fresh air will revive them. Bring tender plants back in before the first cold nights, and expect mint to die back completely in winter; cut the stems down and keep the compost barely moist, and it will return in spring.

Once these three are thriving, add basil in summer, thyme or rosemary for a sunny sill. But there is no rush. A windowsill of healthy mint, chives and parsley will keep the kitchen supplied all year, and there is a particular pleasure in a herb pot that has quietly outlasted every supermarket bunch you ever bought.