Everyone should also realize that there are many many hundreds of thousands of herb types. So each type may need specific growing conditions. The term 'herbs' is way too general. Think of it as in a similar family of something called 'dirt'. Dirt, as you know can also be many hundreds of thousands of dirt and soil types, ranging from many kinds of indoor dust and dirt, to outside where its even more variable. Simply saying 'herbs' and how to grow them, is just too general a term to use. You can grow some herbs in pots, while others can grow as big as trees, as well as some like lots of sun, while other do not like sunlight all the time. Decide what kinds of herbs you wish to grow, and then post specific questions about a single herb or singl herb type. Dill, for instance has severl strains, as dos oregano, basil, and almost every other herb you can think of. There is no one that can list each and every herb that can be grown in a container or pot. Chain up the animals and keep them away from the garden area. Another option is an invisible fence, where the pet animals enter and get a slight shock (through their collars) to let them know they ae not supposed to be there. Soon, thy will learn to stay away. Luckly here, no matter f you have a yard or not, pets are supposed to be on a leash, except for cats. Fencing may also help keep out some of them. Most plants do benefit much better if planted in outdoor soils.

Yes, Sheila is right...mints can survive frigid winters. I had to over winter mine indoors because it was in a pot and I didn't have a place to plant it in ground. Sorry, I didn't mention that. I'd tried a previous year to leave one out in a box, but it didn't survive. Pots and most other containers that aren't open to the ground just don't have enough insulation from the below freezing temps our zones get in the winter. "Lavender needs a lot of sun and warmth - I am not sure it would overwinter inside well." In my case, I don't expect the plants I over winter inside to do great, but just survive, so I don't have to purchase new plants or start from seed in the spring. Some of them surprise me and make decent looking houseplants for the winter(scented geraniums and fibrous begonias for instance), others look pathetic but survive(like my mint). FF, if you have enough room under lights for some small lavender plants, they may do well. I have started lavender from seed before and kept them under flo lights for several weeks before planting out and they were only several inches tall, but very healthy. In any case, I think your garage would be cold enough to allow your plants to go dormant, yet warm enough to keep them alive, especially if you could place them near the adjoining wall to your home. And Sheila, I do envy your gardening zone!

"Little plastic pots", huh! "Little" being the operative word. Do you have any idea just how BIG these herbs can get? Your plants are drying out because they're trying really, really hard to grow bigger. They need more space - lots more. basil: mine are almost as tall as myself (I'm not a dwarf) and at least twice as wide (I'm not obese either). In a cooler climate, expect it to get to to 1 metre high with a spread of about 30-40cm. oregano: 30-60cm high thyme with a spread as far as the eye can see and beyond if you don't control it. lime basil: just another basil. cilantro: I call it coriander. We don't speak Mexican in Australia. 60cm tall and about 40cm wide. It bolts to seed before you can blink, especially in warm or hot weather, and will self-seed all over the place. Best to get new plants every 2-3 weeks for the leaves. mint: Ah me! Mint has a yen to take over the entire planet. It has a very aggressive root system, spreads also by runners above and below ground and just about every other method known to mankind. It must be contained in a pot, but make it a LARGE one. If you can sit comfortably in it, it's almost big enough! Well, get one as large as you can manage, anyway, and you'll have to repot and divide it at least once a year, maybe more often. Another problem you've got is environmental. Most of these plants need FULL sun for a minimum of 6 and preferably 10 hours. Real sun, not the filtered stuff you get through glass windows. Fresh air-type sun. Have you put your hand on the glass in the heat of a summer afternoon? Imagine how that feels to a poor plant for hours at a stretch! Mint can take partial shade in a hot climate, but otherwise full or dappled sun. More on the environment. All these plants need excellent drainage - you won't get that if there's a saucer under the pots to collect excess water. Mint likes it moist, but not soggy. Best thing for drainage is to remove those saucers (messy indoors) and put the plants outside. Put pots up on 'feet' for best drainage. Use any commercial general-purpose potting mix. The more expensive ones are better composted. There's no harm in plastic pots, unless you're Thingy about plastic in general. I've got a lot of my herbs in plastic pots - I've painted them with the names of each plant stencilled on with spray-paint. You need to make sure there are plenty of holes on the base of the pot. One single hole in the centre simply isn't enough. If you're worried that the soil might leak out, cover the base with some panty-hose material or something similar. Shade-cloth is good. Another thing about trying to grow herbs indoors - they are subject to greater fluctuations in temperature - kitchens can get HOT. Kitchens also get greasy and smoky. Plants don't like that. It clogs up their pores, so to speak. Think about it - plants have exactly the same needs as people. Fresh air, sunlight, protection from extremes in weather, room to stretch out, appropriate food and water - blah blah. How would you like to live in a teensy box? Also, once your plants are in suitable-sized pots, you don't need to water so often. Do the Finger Test. Poke your finger down into the soil as far as it will go. If the tip of your finger feels moist and cool, you don't need to water. Very scientific! Never allow potting mixes to dry out completely. They become water-repellent if that happens. Any water you apply will just run down the sides and out the holes - it won't be absorbed by the soil, which means the plant roots can't access it either. The larger the pots you use, the less frequently you'll need to water. When you transplant your plants, expect them to look and feel much as you would after a transplant operation. Sad and droopy. That's a result of 'transplant shock' - they should recover nicely after a week or two. Meantime, don't feed them, and don't overwater them. When transplanting, make your you remove the entire rootball - don't yank it out - that damages the roots. Be gentle and kind, and leave plenty of the old soil around the roots so as to disturb them as little as possible. Put the rootball into a hole at least twice as big as the rootball, and bury it to the same level.

Just a note for people who think that having runnels or a flat drainer on the side of the sink will do the trick. It won't if you have more than a few items. You need the containment of a dish drainer with sides and vertical racks or slots in order to contain the items safely. I don't find the look of a neatly filled dish drainer to be messy looking. It's an art, almost a pleasure to fill one so that the set of items you've washed looks workmanlike -- and is stable and no water is trapped among the items. It's the same thing as when I hang out my clothes (which I do for all my wash, year-round). Just having them pinned up is not the only goal. Having them pinned up so they dry in the most efficient and wrinkle-free manner is the first step. But I also get pleasure and often take the trouble to arrange them in pleasing assortment of shapes and colors. For instance, if I have a load of cotton turtlenecks (a garment I wear daily) I'll hang them in a prismatic succession, just for the pleasure of seeing them display against the white sheets. There is the same opportunity when filling a dish drainer with my kitchen stuff. I like to have my plates in graduated ranks. My pots and bowls are arranged like overlapping scales of a pinecone. My flatware is sorted into separate slots, of gleaming knives/forks/spoons. So, no my dish drainer doesn't look messy, or a hodgepodge. It looks like a place where someone has given thought and judgement to best placement of the items, in both the pratical and aesthetic realms. I have tried Trailrunner's hot soapy bowl method, but I find in my chilly northern house the water gets cold and icky too fast. If something is particularly sticky I might fill it with water, but mostly I just stack things on the dirty dish side of the sink until I get have the time to wash up. Depending on the pace of the meal prep, that might be after we are finished eating or at some other interval during the work flow. I am often struck by how many epople (who use DW) advocate "cleaning up as you go". That's fine if your cleaning up means loading the item in the DW. But for those who hand wash everything, it's more efficient (time and energy needed to for hot water) to amass a mid-sized group of items, before beginning the washing up. I am not troubled by the look of dirty items awaiting cleaning. After all these items were clean a few moments ago, and what's in them is the remnants of my food prep. I plan on eating the stuff that was made in them and I don't eat dirt! L.