These Six Herbs Are Best Planted in Fall

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As the seasons change, I am on a mission to convince you that fall is not just for yard cleanup, but a bonus planting season for crops and garden build out. Case in point: why do we typically plant a bunch of herbs in spring and ignore them in fall, even though fall is an ideal time to put some of them in the ground? No, particularly tender herbs like basil and, er, Thai basil aren’t going to thrive, but quite a few herbs are cold hardy and hot to go during these later months.

Here are six herbs that you should plant in fall to enjoy in all of your hardy cool weather cooking. 

Cilantro

Cilantro haters to the left, please. If you love cilantro (and I do), you know that it is prone to bolting in summer, which means it’s around for a good time, but not a long time. That’s why fall is the right time to throw some seeds down in your beds to grow some cilantro out before a freeze sets in. Look for cold hardy varieties like Caribe.  

Dill

If I had to choose only one herb for the rest of my life, it’d be dill. Once you have it growing nearby, you will put that stuff on everything. While varieties like Dukat are cold tolerant, rather than cold hardy, if you get lucky, you can get enough dill in your beds to self sow, peffectively erennializing the bed so your dill comes back yearly. Seriously, do it. It’s one of the best things in my garden. 

Chives

I know we’re all used to dried chives, but the real deal is so much better. Chives are long, mildly spicy, and can be chopped for garnish, but you can also use them to tie bundles of carrots together. Don’t overlook chive blossoms, which pack a punch; use them to flavor vinegar and oil. 

Parsley

I feel like parsley has been relegated to Pluto status—it reeks of generic, tasteless spice, but I happen to love it, even the curly variety. The crispy fresh crunch it adds to dishes is everything to me, and being able to harvest an entire bunch for a batch of tabbouleh is magic. Parsley is cold tolerant, and will self seed. 

Sage

Once you plant sage, you never need to plant it again—sage moves in for life. While you won’t get new green leaves during winter, you can still harvest what’s left, and it’ll be back en masse in spring. To make sure you can enjoy it in the fall, grab a sage start instead of seeds—your local nursery will still have them. 

Thyme

If you are going to roast anything this winter, it’s going to be better with thyme. This low lying ground cover can hide in your garden and survive almost any weather nature throws at it. Caveat: Make sure you’re grabbing winter thyme and not summer thyme. 

You don’t have to plant your herbs together, I have them spread out across the yard. You do have to keep them someplace you can access in winter, so the edge of beds, someplace that snow won’t block access to.