Am I the only one who finds these things pointless? When I use herbs, I tend to need the entire bunch. So I end up with a pot of hacked up rosemary, and 3 almost entirely hacked off empty pots. Plus, herbs grow fast and die fast, so I end up having to replace them every month. Way less convenient than just buying herbs at the store.

I've never been successful at growing herbs from seed. Plus they never last very long either. I have to agree with Parnassus and buy them at the store, its just easier!

This is a great one too!
http://www.chiasso.com/store/zoom.aspx?ItemId=50417

I second @parnassus' concerns

My problem was I didn't eat my basil fast enough! If I didn't trim it the plant would start to flower, so the more I cut it the faster and bigger it grew! It got too huge to handle, so I had to say bye-bye. Was there another remedy besides eating more??

@Parnassus: I just like these planters for the containers (well, the first one anyway), the idea of growing herbs from seed is kind of a waste I agree. My grocer actually sells the living plants with the root, so you can take them home and plant them in your little herb garden container and keep growing new stuff back after hacking some off.

You could do the Ina thing and have big pots of individual herbs in your kitchen. You'd never go through the whole plant that way. It's nice if you've got the counter space and light for it.

my biggest problem is that i don't have a window in my kitchen.. and so growing herbs indoors is a very hard thing to do.. when you take in air temperature, light, etc

Waste of time and money for most people. You need lots of light and cooler temperatures to be successful growing herbs indoors. Maybe the ones that like to be dry would do better. Every once in awhile I have another go at growing chives inside for the winter . Within a week or two they are beginning to fail becoming straggly and limp even in a south facing window or under grow lights. My guess is that it is too warm. Two things give me a few extra weeks of production at the beginning and end of growing season. With the pots of chives and parsley by my kitchen door, I put a wall of water around them or put them in a cold frame. Walls of water are often used in gardens to start tomatoes early. They are like circular walls composed of cylinder shapes that you fill with water. Full they stand upright, half full the top leans in to protect the plant. Warning, put them around the plant before you fill with water.

@Parnassus: Then get a bigger pot for the herbs you use a lot (grow according to need). You can also freeze many herbs if you have more than you can use at the moment.

Completely agree with Parnassus. My herbs do much better outside anyway.

good idea..

That basil is gonna outgrow that pot in like ten seconds.