On Sun, 13 Apr 2008 09:20:19 -0700, Billy
wrote:

In article ,
Sue wrote:

I've decided to try growing herbs this year. Because my limited
ground space is taken up with vegetables I've purchased some
containers - 15" by 31". The packages say that they (thyme, oregano,
basil, sage and tarragon) will thrive in pots, but there's nothing
about how many per pot. The instructions are for in ground growing
and most say that the plants should be 8 to 18 inches apart. Well,
that wouldn't be very many per container (2 or 3) and the pictures on
the packets make it look as though they are really packed into the
pots. I have one container per herb. I live in Central California so
there's no need to start these indoors and transplant.
Any advice will be much appreciated.
Sue

I can't think of any herb that won't take all the space given to it.
Perennials may take more time to fill a pot but they will. Try to figure
out, quantitatively, how much of each herb you will be using and
accordingly assign greater space to the most used herb and less space to
the least used herb. Parsley, cilantro, chives, rosemary, oregano,
tarragon, and thyme are my most herbs in the order listed.

It's really a matter of what my friends use because I doubt that I'll
use much of any of them. Most of what I grow in my garden (tomatoes,
zukes, bells) I give away. I freeze my green beans to use throughout
the winter in soups. I'm going to get back into canning my tomatoes
(I had way too many full jars) last year.
Your advice is sound, though. Thanks. I will probably be drying most
of what I grow. That will be another question a few months from now.
)
Sue