Burpee Organic Basil, Chive & Parsley Herb Growing Kit Review

Why you should trust this review

I bought this kit at retail and ran the seeds through a real germination trial over four weeks. Burpee did not provide the unit and did not review this before publication. I have no incentive to oversell it, and the affiliate arrangement pays the same regardless of which herb kit you choose.

A beginner herb kit lives or dies on one number: germination rate. A kit that does not sprout reliably turns a first-time grower off gardening entirely, often for good. Burpee claims 90 percent germination and backs it with a seed replacement guarantee, so I set out to verify that claim with an actual count rather than take it on trust, and to judge whether the all-in-one format genuinely removes the setup barriers it promises to remove. Everything below is what I observed, with the claimed figures clearly labeled as claims.

How we evaluated

I ran two parallel germination trials. The first was in optimal conditions: 72 degrees Fahrenheit, consistent moisture, and a south-facing window. The second was in more realistic beginner conditions, with room temperature swinging between 65 and 78 degrees and slightly inconsistent moisture management, because that is how a real first-timer’s windowsill behaves. I planted the full seed contents of two kits and counted germination at days 7, 10, and 14.

I also timed the complete setup process from opening the box to seeds in expanded pellets, because the entire point of an all-in-one kit is that it is faster and simpler than buying parts separately. If the setup is fiddly, the kit fails its own premise.

Germination: the 90 percent claim mostly holds

In optimal conditions, basil germinated at 92 percent, chives at 90 percent, and parsley at 83 percent, for an overall average of 88 percent. In the more variable beginner conditions, basil came in at 84 percent, chives at 86 percent, and parsley at 76 percent, averaging 82 percent. The claimed 90 percent is achievable under good conditions and close enough under typical beginner conditions to call the claim honest.

Parsley was the slowest and lowest-germinating of the three in both trials. That is worth flagging so you are not surprised, but it is a known characteristic of parsley seed across the board, not a Burpee-specific weakness. Parsley is notoriously slow and erratic to germinate no matter whose seed you buy. The basil and chives carried the average and came up reliably and quickly.

Setup and the all-in-one format: genuinely easy

Setup from box opening to seeds in pellets took eight minutes, which is meaningfully faster than preparing individual pots with bagged potting mix. The coir pellets expand fully within about five minutes of contact with water, swelling from a flat disc into a usable plug, and dropping a seed into the molded indentation requires no prior knowledge at all.

The markers, instructions, and everything-included approach live up to the beginner promise. There is nothing to source separately and no decision to get wrong before you start. For a child’s project, a classroom, or an adult who wants to try growing from seed without committing to a larger system, the format removes every barrier I could think of at the front end. The coir pellets also mean no messy loose-soil handling, which is a real plus for anyone starting on a kitchen counter.

The transplanting gap: where beginners get tripped up

The one place the kit consistently fails to set expectations is transplanting. The included 2-inch peat pots are starter containers, not permanent homes. Once seedlings reach 3 to 4 inches with true leaves, you need to move the whole peat pot, which biodegrades, into a 4 to 6 inch container with good potting mix. The instructions mention this but do not emphasize it.

That matters because the most common way this kit disappoints people is leaving healthy seedlings stuck in the tiny starter pots, where they go root-bound and simply stop growing. The plants did not fail; the grower was not told clearly enough to move them on. I would like to see this step bolded on the packaging. It is the single piece of guidance that would prevent the most owner frustration, and the kit underplays it. Knowing it going in solves the problem entirely.

Who should buy the Burpee Organic Herb Growing Kit?

Buy it if you are a first-time grower who wants a no-guess, no-extra-purchase starting point, if you are setting up a children’s herb project, or if you want to give someone an easy way to try growing herbs from seed. The USDA Organic and non-GMO seeds are appropriate for crops you eat, and it is the lowest-cost reliable entry point in the category.

Skip it if you want continuous, year-round herb growing without worrying about window light, in which case a self-contained system like the AeroGarden Harvest with its own grow light is the better long-term investment. This is a soil kit, so a bright window is non-negotiable, and the small starter pots commit you to transplanting within a few weeks.

The verdict

The Burpee Organic Herb Growing Kit does what a beginner kit should: it verifies its germination claim, sprouts basil and chives reliably, and gets you from box to planted in eight minutes with nothing else to buy. The honest limitations are ordinary parsley germination, a dependence on good window light, and packaging that badly underplays the transplanting step. Go in knowing to move the seedlings on, give them a bright window, and this is the most beginner-friendly way to start herbs from seed at this price.