Gary350, I like the idea of burying the herbs in clay pots. How do you clean them off when you bring them inside?
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I have about 6 types of basil, thyme,sage,marjoram,dill,borage,chives, and maybe something else i can't remember

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First thing to do is to sort these herbs by the kind of conditions they like.
• thyme, sage, marjoram -- limey, well-drained soil, drought tolerant, full sun
• basil, dill, borage, chives -- average garden soil, average moisture, less sun is OK
It would really help to know where you're located, but typically, thyme and sage are winter hardy and can stay outside if planted in the ground. Containers can freeze soild, plants often don't survive. Marjoram is only hardy to USDA Zone 7 -- in my area, they won't survive the winter outside, and I generally have trouble overwintering potted Zone 7 plants indoors, so I haven't grown marjoram very often, but I've treated them as annuals in the past.
Thyme is small and can grow well in 8" pot. Sage can grow about 18" tall and wide. I don't have experience with Marjoram.
Basil, dill, and borage are annuals. Basil can be potted up and brought indoors and they can live through the winter, given good care, but they're prone to indoor insect pests like red spider mites and I haven't been successful in keeping them much past December, so I always collect seeds in the fall to plant again in spring. Dill and borage typically will self-seed if you allow them to go to seed and sprout in the same area next spring. Borage, in fact, is almost too prolific. You'll need to control the seedlings in the spring and weed them out or transplant them.
Basil can grow in an 8" pot, though I think it would do better in a larger container. Dill is related to carrots and has a long taproot. I think it would be happier in a deeper container and it will grow taller, though it doesn't take up much width. Borage grows HUGE comparatively speaking. 3 feet high and 2 feet across -- 8" pot is much too small.
I only have Garlic Chives so I'll leave Chives for someone else to discuss.
