Although herbs grow best when they receive at least six hours of sunlight each day, the flavor they add to food ? not to mention their high price at the grocery store ? makes them worth a try. Here's how to increase you chance of success:
1. Plant to grow your herbs where they get the most sun, such as at the deck's outer edge or even in a lightweight plastic window boxes hung on the railing.2. Choose herbs that tolerate some shade: basil, tarragon, oregano, parsley, chives and lemon verbena (not to be confused with lemon balm). Choose varieties with green leaves (not purple or white/green variegated), which are best able to capture sunlight. You can start plants from seed, but it's easier and faster to buy small plants, called "transplants."3. Select large containers, which dry out more slowly. Fill them with a potting mix that doesn't contain fertilizer, because fertilized herbs have less flavor. To further cut down on the amount of watering, you can add water-retaining pellets to the soil mix -- you can buy them at any garden center. 4. Once you've tucked the transplants into the soil and patted the soil firmly around their roots, gently water them with warm (not hot) water to speed growth. Check daily to see if they need water, by poking your finger into the soil. If the soil is dry 2 inches down, it's time to water.5. Every few days, rotate the container, if possible, so all sides of the plant receive light.6. You can begin harvesting leaves once your herbs are producing new stems and leaves. Harvest herbs in the morning, when they are most flavorful. Pinch off the tips of the stems while harvesting, to encourage the plants to become bushy instead of lanky. Also pinch off any flowers that form, because flowering plants produce fewer leaves.A couple of final tips. Consider placing your containers on trays with casters, so you can roll them into the deck during violent weather. In fall, when light frost threatens, roll them close to the door and cover them overnight with old sheets.