9 Essential Practices for Organic Gardeners

Sweet Basil (2 Pack)

This herb is known around the world for its wonderful fragrance and flavor. The key ingredient in classic Italian pesto, Sweet Basil has big leaves that are fast and easy to grow so that you can make your own pesto to freeze for year-round use. It loves hot weather, so always wait until all danger of frost is past before planting in the garden in the spring, then harvest before the weather starts to cool down in fall. Great for containers, but be sure to keep watered. If you were to grow only one herb, this should probably be it. Dried basil just doesn’t have the aromatic quality of the fresh leaves, which are often added at the last minute to many Asian dishes. Organic varieties are only available at retailers.

Jalapeno Hot Pepper (2 Pack)

Named for the town of Jalapa, Mexico, this is the most popular chile pepper in the United States. Jalapeño produces 3-inch, thick-walled, moderately hot pods with deep green color that matures to a bright red. The skin may show a netting pattern as fruit ages, but it does not affect flavor. Often, the heat of the peppers will vary, even those from the same plant. If peppers grow fast, get plenty of water, and are harvested soon, they may be milder than peppers that stay on the plant a long time, or that develop slowly and under stressful conditions. Widely adapted, jalapeño plants yield a bountiful harvest in dry or humid, hot or cool climates. The compact plants grow well in containers. Use jalapeño on nachos or in salsa, or smoke the mature red ones over mesquite chips to make your own chipotle sauce. Jalapeño became the first pepper in space when a bag full of pods accompanied astronauts on the shuttle Columbia in November 1982! Organic varieties are only available at retailers.

Husky Red Cherry Tomato (2 Pack)

This super sweet cherry tomato is a best seller because of its flavor, productivity, and good looks. If you like to snack on cherry tomatoes, this is a great choice. One of the popular "Husky" series developed especially for home gardens, the plant is stout, dark green and really pretty; it's one of the prettiest tomato plants that we grow. The vines are dwarf indeterminate, making them short and husky like a determinate type, usually between 3 and 4 feet, yielding clusters of tasty little cherry tomatoes in a small space over a long period of time. Perfect for pots, too. The dwarf vines stay neat and compact, but give the plant a little support on a stake or cage to keep it upright in rain and wind. Many juicy, sweet cherry tomatoes are borne on vines resistant to verticillium wilt (V) and fusarium wilt (F). Organic varieties are only available at retailers.

Sweet Green Bell Pepper (2 Pack)

Bonnie's best hybrid sweet bell pepper! A heavy yielder of large fruits. A good all-round pepper for slicing, stuffing, and freezing. This bell produces lots of fresh bell peppers gradually over the growing season. Plants in our Alabama garden produce from June through October, yielding 30 or more peppers from each plant. (Your results will vary based on care and the length of your growing season.) This is a good-sized plant, so be prepared to stake if needed. Organic varieties are only available at retailers.

Cilantro (2 Pack)

If you like the aromatic flavor of salsa served in Mexican restaurants, you'll like cilantro. The leaves have an instantly recognizable fragrance that fills a room when you cut them. Sometimes called Chinese parsley, its distinctive aroma and flavor is also part of Caribbean and Asian foods, lending flavor to recaito, salsas, curries, salads, chutneys, herbed butters, and meat marinades.Cilantro looks like flat leaf Italian parsley, but the leaves are thinner. It grows in a rosette of stemmy leaves that are ready to harvest shortly after planting. Young leaves have the best flavor, so be sure to harvest often. It is a fast-growing annual except in milder climates where it will overwinter. Cilantro grows tall and blooms at the end of its life, usually after the weather gets hot. After it blooms, harvest the seeds--they are what you buy in spice jars as coriander, another common ingredient in Asian cooking. You can grind the seeds or use them whole. Some gardeners also let the seeds drop to make new plants.Fall is a great time to grow cilantro in mild climates, as the plants are frost tolerant and love the cool weather in fall, winter, and early spring.Organic varieties are only available at retailers.

Italian Flat Parsley (2 Pack)

This Italian flat-leafed parsley has, of course, flat leaves, which distinguish it from the better-known curly-leafed parsley. At first the foliage might be easily confused with cilantro. However, its flavor is distinctly parsley, and it is favored for its deep flavor, which some say holds up better in cooking than curly parsley. It is popular in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine. Easy to chop, the nutritious flat leaves are high in iron and in vitamins A, C, and E. A high chlorophyll content makes it a natural breath sweetener, too. This is a great plant for containers, especially for fall and winter in zone 7 and south. Of course, you can also use it in vegetable and herb beds. In a flower bed it makes a nice, green leafy companion to small flowers such as pansies. It is also more tolerant of hot weather than curly parsley (which can struggle during the peak of summer) and is frost tolerant. Organic varieties are only available at retailers.

Dill (2 Pack)

Sometimes known as the "fish herb" because it's such a delicious complement to fish, dill is used in many dishes, especially dips, soups, vinegars, and salads. Fernleaf is an improved, more compact variety of ordinary dill. A 1992 All-America Selections winner, this variety of dill continues to be a favorite for its garden performance and the fact that it offers a lot of foliage. It is also slower to set seed than ordinary dill varieties, which means that you can harvest foliage longer. As the flowers do appear, you can harvest the dill seed for making dill pickles or other dishes calling for dill seed. Dill leaves or seeds are used in the cooking of many cultures around the world.

2-pack starter plants

19.3 fl oz pot volume

AAS winner

Strawberries (2 Pack)

This everbearing strawberry produces high yields of large, very sweet fruit from late spring through fall. Large, soft, deliciously sweet fruit ideal for jam, preserves, fresh eating, or desserts. Plants are cold-hardy and send out long runners. Great for containers. Plant so that crown is just above soil level.

Beefsteak Red Tomato (2 Pack)

Beefsteaks are always grown for their flavor and size for slicing and summer sandwiches. This variety produces large, meaty red fruit over a long season on indeterminate plants. Because it matures late compared to many other tomatoes, it will provide a fresh harvest in the latter part of the season. This is an old favorite beloved by gardeners in the Northeast and grown throughout the country. Vigorous vines grow best in tall cages. Resistant to fusarium wilt (F) and nematodes (N).

Sweet Mint (2 Pack)

Mint is one of the easiest herbs to grow. This one has extra large leaves that most cooks really like for chopping into sauces and drinks. Our sweet mint is grown from cuttings of a variety that comes to us from Israel, where mint is used in many dishes, from lamb to yogurt sauce. We think you'll like the rich spearmint flavor of this variety. This plant can go a little crazy, though, so be careful or it can spread farther than you might like. For this reason many people grow it in a pot. The long stems can even be trained on a little wire trellis, especially in spots where a a bit of shade causes it to stretch. Keep pinched to encourage tender new leaves.Organic varieties are only available at retailers.

Lemon Thyme (2 Pack)

A favorite of all thymes, lemon thyme is great in the garden and the kitchen. Easy to grow. Although it looks like German thyme (or English thyme), it definitely tastes and smells like lemon. Use lemon thyme in any recipe that calls for lemon, including marinades. Lemon thyme grows vigorously, so you can trim back to keep neat and compact and enjoy the trimmings! The glossy green foliage is easily sheared into a tiny hedge if you are looking to create a traditional knot garden. Evergreen in zones 8 and 9. This is a really pretty thyme that our customers brag about for its vigor and size. Lemon thyme looks great in a pot.

Celebrity Tomato (2 Pack)

Celebrity vines bear clusters of medium-large tomatoes that are prized for their flavor. This is a great, all-round, dependable choice for your "basic" tomato needs -- sandwiches, slicing, snacks, and bruschetta. Gardeners love that the plants are quite resistant to disease, too. The large, meaty fruit with exceptional flavor are borne on dependable, strong vines that benefit from the support of a cage or stake to keep them upright, especially when loaded with fruit. Celebrity is sometimes considered a semi-determinate tomato plant, because it grows to a certain height (3 to 4 feet) but continues to produce fruit all season until frost. Resistant to verticillium wilt (V), fusarium wilt races 1 and 2 (F), nematodes, and tobacco mosaic virus (T).

2-pack starter plants

19.3 fl oz pot volume

AAS winner

German Thyme (2 Pack)

Thyme is an easy and practical herb to grow. Highly aromatic, it enhances meat dishes, eggs, cheeses, soups, and sauces, and it is a primary component of both Bouquet Garni and Herbes de Provence. Use it to elevate the flavor of good ole' beef stew, too. This tiny-leaved thyme is among the most aromatic, more so than larger-leafed varieties. You may also hear it called winter thyme, because it is one of the most cold hardy of all the different thymes. The leaves are evergreen to semi-evergreen, depending on the how far North it is growing. In the warm, humid climates of zones 9 and 10 it may suffer in the summer; in zone 10 it is best to lower your expectations and just consider it a cool season annual. Thyme is well suited for containers because of its size and the fact that it demands perfect drainage. Give it excellent drainage in a pot and good air circulation. Because it is low-growing and has thin stems and a wiry habit, don't crowd it because vigorous neighboring plants might choke it out. Upright-growing rosemary is a good companion.

Italian Oregano (2 Pack)

Savor classic Italian cuisine with the flavorful leaves of this oregano. An easy-growing plant for the garden or container, Italian oregano hails from the Mediterranean region. That means it thrives with lower humidity and well-drained soil. In the garden, use this oregano as an edging plant. Plants spread when happy, rooting along the stems. Harvest leaves or stems anytime during the growing season. Flavor is most intense just before plants flower. Trim plants often to keep flower formation at bay.

Garden Sage (2 Pack)

Gardeners add the uniquely flavored leaves of common garden sage, an herbaceous perennial, to sauces, stuffings, poultry, pork, and sausage. It provides a lovely fragrance and flavor to a dish, especially when leaves are sautéed before adding. It is a good fall and winter plant in hot climates. Great for containers. Needs good drainage. Organic varieties are only available at retailers.

Peppermint Mint (2 Pack)

Many herbs are easy to grow, and this is definitely true for peppermint. Square stems tend to run rampantly over — and under — soil. In small garden spaces, it's best to tuck peppermint into a pot to curtail its wandering ways. Peppermint thrives alongside water gardens or in damp spots in the yard, but will also survive in drier soil. Lushest growth occurs in moist soil in partial shade. Crush fresh leaves into water for a refreshing beverage, or add to iced tea. You can also dry leaves for flavoring dishes or beverages and making desserts like meringues, cookies, or cakes. Pick leaves frequently. Plants open lavender blooms in late summer. Tolerates light frost.

Buttercrunch Lettuce (2 Pack)

Developed by Cornell University, this heat-tolerant, Bibb-type lettuce has quickly become a favorite since earning All America status in 1963. Its rich green leaves, sometimes tinged with red, form a beautiful rosette in the garden that holds well under stress and has good bolt resistance. A good source of vitamin A and phytonutrients. Grows best in full sun, but will tolerate partial shade and even appreciates it in spring in hot climates.

2-pack starter plants

19.3 fl oz pot volume

AAS winner

Spearmint Mint (2 Pack)

Spearmint has strong flavor and fragrance that is released with simple bruising. It's the best mint variety for hot and cold drinks. Toss bruised leaves into ice water for a refreshing summer drink or add to iced tea. Spearmint is favored for flavoring beverages such as mojito. Also know as Yerba Buena. Spreading plant is great for containers. Tolerates light frost.

English Thyme (2 Pack)

English thyme is a low-growing plant with fragrant leaves. This herb goes well with just about everything. Add it (fresh or dried) to blended herb mixtures, or use in soups, sauces, beans, meat dishes, and more. It’s also a great addition to potpourri or homemade soap. But thyme isn’t just useful inside the house, as it also makes a wonderfully aromatic ground cover or border.

Catnip (2 Pack)

Your favorite feline will purr-fectly adore fresh catnip. Add it to your garden bed or plant it in a container for inside kitties, and watch them go wild! A member of the mint family, catnip creates a comical response in most cats, with lots of purring, rubbing, and rolling on the plant. This easy-to-grow, hardy herb produces pretty clusters of white flowers with purple dots in the summer, adding beauty to your garden. And, if your feline friend will share, catnip leaves make a lovely tea for humans. Dry the leaves to create homemade cat toys stuffed with catnip for more cat antics! Plant in full sun to part shade. Perennial (zones 4 to 10).

Chamomile (2 Pack)

Need a little help relaxing? Add chamomile to the garden, and brew a cup of homegrown, soothing chamomile tea to unwind before bed. While best known for use in tea, the pretty, edible flowers also add a slightly sweet flavor to dishes, desserts, and drinks. Chamomile looks lovely and makes a great companion plant in vegetable gardens, attracting beneficial insects, like pollinators and predatory insects that feed on pests, to boost harvests and keep veggies healthy. Enjoy the large shows of pretty, petite, daisy-like flowers—they look great in bouquets, too. Plant in full sun to partial shade. Annual. Matures in 60 to 65 days.

Lieutenant Broccoli (2 Pack)

Well adapted to warm weather, these plants form smooth, dark green heads on medium-sized stems with few side shoots. Heads offer classic flavor and all the vitamins and protein broccoli is known for. Water plants consistently for best yields, especially as temperatures climb. If you like Packman, you’ll like Lieutenant Broccoli.

Curled Parsley (2 Pack)

Curled parsley has beautiful, dark green leaves well known as the classic garnish for deviled eggs and an ingredient in tabbouleh (parsley salad) or white clam sauce for pasta. However, it has many more uses. Hardy through zones 7 and warmer, it is a great winter garden plant and looks beautiful in containers with pansies or other winter color. The nutritious leaves are high in iron and in vitamins A, C, and E. The high chlorophyll content makes it a natural breath sweetener, too. Frost tolerant. Great in containers.

Swiss Chard (2 Pack)

Called "Bright Lights," this variety of Swiss chard is as pretty as it is tasty. Large leaves with a prominent, flat wide mid-rib grow in an upright rosette that is beautiful in a bed or container. Grows best in full sun, but will tolerate partial shade and even appreciates it in spring in hot climates. Highly nutritious, the leaves taste a lot like spinach, but this plant is a member of the beet family. Frost tolerant. Harvested chard freezes well.

2-pack starter plants

19.3 fl oz pot volume

AAS winner

Lavender

If you're looking for the perfect multi-purpose herb, you'll love growing Bonnie Plants® Lavender. With its beautiful blooms, fabulous fragrance, and fantastic flavor, lavender makes the perfect addition to your garden. Not only do the fragrant flowers attract pollinators, they also make a lovely addition to homegrown bouquets, sachets, and meals. One of the ingredients in the traditional blend Herbes de Provence, lavender tastes delicious on roasts, in lemonade, in herbal tea, or desserts. It's terrific for aromatherapy, too. The delicate purple flowers contrast beautifully with the silvery foliage and look gorgeous growing in containers, raised beds, or in-ground gardens. Sprinkle the edible flowers on cakes or salads for tasty, pretty culinary creations. An easy-to-grow, heat-tolerant herb, lavender should be grown in full sun and well-drained soil (on the dry side). Lavender grows 18 to 24 inches tall. Be sure to water your plant when the top inch of soil feels dry to the touch, and feed it regularly with Miracle-Gro® Plant Food. With more than 100 years of experience, Bonnie Plants® offers high-quality live plant varieties designed for your gardening success.