The rewards of growing edible herbs are gratifying.  Not only will you have access to fresh herbs for your dishes, but these beautiful displays in both your house and garden are spectacular.  Unfortunately, not all gardens are capable of growing these việt herbs due to weather limitations.  Herbs tend to do best in sunny, warm and mild climates.  For those colder areas with a shorter warm season, they can still be cultivated but for a shorter period of time.  These herbs can be sown by seed or planted by purchase of the herb plants themselves or through propagation from existing plant stems.  The best time to start your garden is during the start of your warm season.  Good luck and have fun!

Propagation

The very first and still current way that our Việt family starts our herb garden is through propagation of herb stems (cuttings).  Although not all plants can be propagated in this way, this method can work for a number of Vietnamese herbs (and it’s the cheapest way).

Option #1:  Starting with one store bought bunch of fresh herbs, you can create many more plants from that original bunch.

Option #2: Go eat at a Vietnamese restaurant. Order a bowl of Phơ or any noodle soup and you’ll get a plate of herbs. Save a few stems (say it is “to-go”) and use those as your starting specimens .

Option #3: If you have a Việt neighbor (make friends with them) or a co-worker who has Việt herbs, then ask them for a few stem cuttings.

Option #4: If you don’t have access to any of the above, then you are S.O.L.  Skip this section and go down to the Seed Vendor List

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