Growing an indoor herb garden is a fantastic way to enjoy homegrown produce, especially if you’re tight on garden space. Also, if you simply want to brighten up your living area with a splash of greenery. It’s also an ideal starting point for beginners in gardening – all you need is a sunny window. Having your indoor herb garden makes cooking at home effortless. Whenever you need herbs, you can easily snip a few sprigs to enhance your recipes or add a decorative touch.
But before you begin potting up your plants, ensure your success by following these foolproof strategies for your indoor herb garden. With these tips, you’ll enjoy fresh herbs year-round in no time! More: What does hot yoga do?
To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.
Audrey Hepburn
The first thing you need to do for your indoor herb garden is pick which plants you want. The best herbs for you will depend mainly on what you like to eat. Here are some common herbs that people often grow indoors because they’re easy to take care of and you can use them in many recipes. Most herbs can grow indoors, but some, like basil, chives, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, and thyme, do especially well.
You can start your herbs from seeds or cuttings. Cuttings are pieces of a plant that you put in water until they grow new roots. But it might be simpler and quicker to begin your indoor garden with young plants from a garden store. More: Learn how to meditate in the right way
Choosing the right spot and moving them when it’s time
Make sure your plants in your indoor herb garden are in the right spot. According to Conrad Richter, who runs Richters Herbs, a nursery in Toronto that’s all about herbs, you need to pick a sunny spot for your plants. Aim for a window that gets at least four hours of sunlight each day. Ideally, it should face south, but if that’s not an option, east or west-facing windows will also do. Most herbs really like sunlight, so you should aim for about six hours of sun per day to keep your indoor herb garden happy.
To make sure your plants get enough light, put them as close to your brightest window as you can. A south-facing window is the best because it gets the most light. Don’t put your plants in the middle of the room or near a window that faces north—those spots won’t give them enough light. In winter, when there’s not as much natural light, your plants might grow slowly. During those months, you might want to get a grow light or LED light to help them out. More: Vibrational renewal: Restore with sound bath rituals
Your indoor herb plants won’t last forever. The good and bad news is that if you do things right, your herbs will eventually need more space and outgrow their pots. You’ll know it’s time to move them when you see roots poking out of the holes at the bottom, they stop growing, or they start drooping over. More: 7 gardening tips for beginners
Keeping the right temperature of your indoor herb garden
Keeping the temperature right is also key to growing herbs indoors successfully. Most herbs like it best when it’s between 65 to 70 degrees, which is usually what you get in homes. Sometimes, if you want your herb plants to grow slower, you can lower the temperature a bit more, down to between 60 to 65 degrees. Some plants need a break from growing. If you’re keeping plants indoors during the winter, you can put them in a cooler spot.
Be careful when you put herbs right by the window. If the leaves touch the glass, they might get burnt because the glass heats up from the sunlight bouncing off it. In houses where the windows let in a lot of cold air, it can get too chilly next to the window. You can fix this easily by adding insulation to your windows. Even just putting a towel between the window and the screen will help.
Make sure the air flows well around your herb plants. If they’re packed too closely, they won’t get enough air, and that can make them sick. It’s smart to move your herb garden around sometimes. Don’t let the air stay still near your plants. Give them some space to breathe. More: Embark on a Journey to Grand Prismatic Spring in Wyoming
Soil
Your indoor herb garden needs soil that drains well. When you pick a soil, check the label to make sure it’s right for indoor plants. If the soil feels heavy, you can add perlite or vermiculite to lighten it up. Vermiculite can hold onto water a bit more if you live in a really dry place.
Have you ever noticed that some bags say “potting soil” while others say “potting mix”? There’s a reason for that. Potting mixes are lighter and have stuff like perlite in them. That’s what you want for growing herbs inside pots. Never use soil from outside in your indoor pots. It’s too dense for indoor plants and doesn’t let their roots breathe. Plus, there could be bugs and other stuff in outdoor soil that you don’t want inside. More: Symptoms of mental illnesses in dogs
You can make your potting mix using coco peat or peat moss, perlite, and coarse sand. It’s cheaper than buying a pre-made mix, and you can adjust it to fit the herbs you’re growing. Herbs that like a lot of water, like mint, will appreciate more peat. But herbs from dry places, like Mediterranean ones, might need more sand.
Fertilizing and watering your indoor herb garden
For fertilizing your herbs, seaweed extract or fish emulsion works best. They have lots of nitrogen, which helps the plants grow strong leaves. During the busy growing season, like summer, fertilize once a week. When growth slows down, you can cut back to once a month. Some herb gardeners like to add a little fertilizer every time they water. If you want to try this, use a quarter of the strength listed on the package.
When it comes to watering your herb garden, let the pots dry out a bit between waterings. Stick your finger in the soil about 2 inches down—if it’s dry, it’s time to water. Don’t worry if the top feels dry; the bottom of the soil is probably still moist. You want the roots to grow deep to find water, which makes them strong. Water your herbs slowly so the soil has time to soak them up. If you pour water too fast, it might just run straight through the pot and out the bottom before the soil can absorb it. More: Forest bathing as a natural therapy to reduce stress
