Yes, I grow herbs at home. Yes, most of the herbs used in my cooking are picked from the garden.
Yes, I have learned to propagate by cutting. Yes, I buy potted herbs on a semi-regular basis especially those varieties that cannot be propagated through cuttings. Like parsley. And cilantro. No, potted herbs are not expensive. No, they are not hard to grow. No, they don’t require too much tending.
Just answering questions that I’ve often received in my inbox. Might as well do it now since we just replanted some newly bought herbs.
That’s my husband transferring the mint to a trough. Mint shouldn’t be planted near other bushes because their roots grow so much and become invasive.
Where did we buy the mint and how the heck did I know about the root thing?
There are many places where you can buy potted herbs. For those who live south of Metro Manila, you can find potted herbs and fruit trees behind the Mahogany meat market in Tagaytay City. For those who live in the Makati and Taguig area, you can buy them in Market! Market! But the place with the most varieties of herbs — and the only place I know where you can get useful information for tending, propagation and harvesting — is the Manila Seedling Bank in Quezon City. Most herbs are sold at 3 pots for 100 pesos. What they don’t have in stock, you can even order. Leave your phone number and they will call you when what you require is already available.
The Manila Seedling Bank is located at the corner of EDSA and Quezon Avenue. The entrance used to be along EDSA but it was moved about two years ago. The location is the same though; only the entrance was moved. To get to Manila Seedling Bank, from EDSA, turn to North Avenue then to Agham Road where you’ll find the entrance. If you’re coming from North Avenue, it’ll be on your right and a few meters before the Philippine Science High School.
We were there yesterday and we bought four varieties of basil (mine drowned during the recent typhoon), three varieties of mint, Italian oregano, spinach (yes!), Asian pennywort and a pot of kaffir lime to replace the one that died.
The great thing about Manila Seedling Bank is that you are furnished with a leaflet for every variety of herb you buy. The leaflet contains the common and scientific name of the herb, what it is commonly used for, how to care for it, how to propagate it and when the best time is to harvest.
Aside from herbs commonly used for cooking, you can also buy herbs for health uses. That was where I bought a bag of wheatgrass seeds, for instance. They also have pots and pots of cat’s whiskers, the plant used for making Java tea which is said to be good for treating kidney ailments.
In short, the Manila Seedling bank is a haven not only for cooks who like to add fresh herbs to their dishes but also for the health buffs who prefer alternative medicine.
So, there. I hope you find all that useful.
P.S. The other thing that people have been bugging me to write about — basic kitchen tools and equipment for painless home cooking — will be written in time. Sometime. Hopefully, soon.
Yes indeed very helpful! Thanks!
aww!!! that I wanna do when I have my own garden na.. love fresh! can’t do so right now so I stocked up dried ones instead. Thanks for the info ms. conie!
I was able to buy mint tea and Thai basil at Mahogany Market for 4 for 100 pesos.
The catch? They do not have the info/brochure about the herbs and some vendors do not know what they are selling. 
LOL And sometimes, they mis-label the pots.
hello connie i looking for dill seeds and dill weeds
i have planted my basil and parsley in a pot because we don’t have a space and i can bring it inside the house during winter na..it helps alot kung me tanim k pag bibili k mhal tlga hehhe,at ung buto nyan sinisave ko pos un ulit ipapatubo ko..
How do you collect the seeds? San ba sila located sa plant? I should do that too instead of buying new ones when the old ones expire.
Hi, Ms. Connie!
Very timely post indeed. I’ve been wanting to go to Manila Seedling to start my own herb garden. Btw, how much was the kaffir lime? If you don’t mind my asking.
Thanks!
150 pesos.
Ms. Connie, this post is very timely! I’ve been wanting to start my own herb garden. Although it’s far from our Taguig home, I’ll definitely check out Manila Seedling. Quick question lang since you might have one also. Do you know where we can get those metal racks where you can put the herb garden in? Sort of similar to the second picture in this entry but way smaller. We live in a condo eh and we only have a small area in our balcony for it. Thanks!
Naku, I don’t know. I’m thinking you may have to have it custom made.
sabi ko na eh, from the title pa lang, i know where this will lead! hihi! madalas kami before lalo na nung time na naging therapy ng mom ko yung gardening. Because of this post, i’m thinking to pay a visit again lalo ngayon, maraming plants ang namatay sa garden namin. thanks ms. connie!
Ms Connie, I recently tried to plant a basil from leftover basil I got from the supermarket…and I was happy to see it grow. After this experience I tried peppermint cuttings that I got again from SM Hypermarket and I have lots of them now. Will try other herbs next time…I was not so lucky with cilantro though.
Cilantro does not grow from cuttings. Try planting coriander seeds directly.
Hey Connie,
Do you have any book that you can recommend for growing and tending herb pots? Because I think I have already killed more than 10 pots already outside my house. Since then, I never bothered buying again
Actually, I’m searching for a good herb gardening book too.
hi connie pag namulaklak po ung basil dun po maliliit lng ung mga seeds nya,i have chives too kaso d ko alam kung san ko gagamitin pang halo eh ..hehehe
No, I was referring to parsley and cilantro. Basil can be easily propagated with cuttings.
Where did you learn the basics then? Cause what I just did to my pots was water them everyday, and they die
Trial and error.
It all started with a packet of parsley seeds that we threw in an empty part of the backyard in our old house. Shortly after that, I friend gave me a cutting from a basil plant. After that, well, I kinda got intrigued. 
Hello Hershey,
Many herbs need very very little water. In fact, it is advised that they only be watered when the soil is dry to the touch.
I have been facinated by herbs ever since all the food network chefs were using them so last May, I finally decided to try planting some.
I bought my herbs at the Manila Seedling Bank. Four pots each of sweet basil, greek oregano, pandan, sage,lemon balm, thyme, tarragon, stevia, marjoram, chives, viola, rosemary and mint. I replanted them in big clay pots because I do not have garden space and put them in a sunny spot under the roof of the house so they would not get rained on. They started out thriving but one very rainy and windy day alot of them got water drenched and died.
I was left with one rosemary, one marjoram, all of the lemon balm and three of the greek oregano and two of the pandan which now are all thriving.
My sweet basil was also a good provider of fresh leaves but I was unable to start new plants from cuttings and they eventually flowered and withered away. My mint and tarragon was doing very very well until one day, I clipped them and they just simply died on me. I must have snipped off too many leaves at one time that they were unable to recover.
MOST of the mediteranian herbs need very little water. I water the ones I have left only when the soil they are planted in feels dry to the touch and they have been thriving.
BTW, I have been looking for FRENCH TARRAGON. They only have ENGLISH TARRAGON at the Manila Seedling Bank which lead me to search for a place where I could get more herbs and my search brought me to:
GREEN HEARTS The Garden Shop
Mother Ignacia Street, Quezon City
Tel: 411-6868
http://www.greenhearts.com
I tried calling them to inquire and they give free tips and advice regarding herbs. Their website is also complete with prices (although slightly more expensive then the seedling bank).
Herbs and gardening have been very theraputic and gives me exercise in the morning and they really do taste great in cooking!:)
Ms Connie, how often should I water my rosemary, Italian oregano and lemon basil? I just bought them the other day from the Garden Show in UPLB. Thanks.
Once a day. And sparingly. And keep them in the sun. They hate too much water.
hi ms connie, ask ko lang how do you transplant your rosemary? do you mix the soil with pebbles and stuff? is it ok if i just use typical propagation soil with good drainage?
hi connie,
i tried a couple of times to grow herbs but they just died and withered i dont know why..maybe, i should try again.
i should go to manila seedling bank soon, it would be nice to be in a greenhouse, that would be relaxing. how much does the wheat grass seeds cost, how many grams was it?
thanks for sharing!
It’s wheat grass seeds. In packs. Less then P200 and it was a huge pack.
love the taste of sweet basil but propagating them has been an elusive dream so far, i figure the apartment balcony we’re living in is too hot/warm for their liking, but the rosemary is loving it!
hey, here’s a tip i got: if you wait for basil to flower, the leaves from that plant will become bitter, it becomes a nice decorative plant though
Basil likes the sun. I’ve been growing basil for years and flowers do not affect the taste of the leaves.
Hi Connie, thanks for posting this. I’ve been planning to grow plants but don’t know where to start.
Hi. Thanks so much for posting this! I have been looking for Kaffir Lime Leaves. I partly own a resto in Rockwell and we’re almost out of stock! Our suppliers ran out too! I’m running over to Manila Seedling Bank first thing tomorrow. Might as well grow our own herbs. Good thing I came across your blog. Anyway, I’ll follow your blog as well as in Facebook =) Your blog is really interesting.
Hi Ms. Connie!yes, herbs thrive on sunny spots and they hate too much water–better to be on the dry side.And I also found out that they thrive better if planted on the ground than pots and they become bushier when you deadhead(nipping the flower buds so that they dont grow seeds and die on you!) and harvest frequently.I have basil,mint tarragon,dill, oregano, parsley,lemongrass,chives and pandan in our small garden plot but never had any luck with rosemary and cilantro!:( I’ve never tried raising herbs from seeds.Maybe I’ll try soon.
This is indeed very useful information. I have never been to Manila Seedling Bank although I see it very often when I was still a student in UP Diliman. Now I’m based in Switzerland but I do go home every year. If I want my own herbs, I know where to go now.
share ko lang naging experience ko with rosemary, since a lot of people get frustrated with them dying.
i place them in a sunny spot where they receive full sunlight, and make sure the soil is not compact. rosemary does not like wet feet, so i planted it in pots with decorated holes, the ones used for orchids. u can cover the holes partially with pebbles so soil won’t “spill out”. i think it sorta help the soil dry faster. i water it once a day, during high noon when it’s the hottest
also, it’s ok to leave it outside and get soaked in summer rain. just be sure it has time to dry its roots later. hope this helps!
Thank you very much! This post is indeed very useful. More power to you and your website!
for books on herb gardening, try your luck sourcing in “book sale” stores… i’ve been lucky to buy “the herb gardener” book for only Php50… (^^,)
Lucky you!
Hello fellow herb gardener! I read that you bought different types of basil. Would you happen to have a purple basil? I’ve been trying to track that down for a better part of the year. Let me know! Thanks!
Yes, got purple basil. You can buy purple basil at the Manila Seedling Bank.
I’ve been going to Manila Seedling for months and months. They never have stock of Purple Basil. Wanna trade? I have lots of Cinnamon Basil.
Huh? That’s where I get my purple basil.
Im from Gen. Santos City. How can i buy kaffir lime? Can they ship herbs from me? Pls help.
You should ask them, don’t you think?
for me…