Indoor herb gardens are truly amazing. Not only will you have fresh herbs ready to pick whenever you need them, but they will fill your home with potent fragrances and beautiful greenery. If you think growing an indoor herb garden is difficult, you’ll be delighted to know that it’s actually very easy!
Your first step, if you’re a newbie, is to pick herbs that are easy to grow regardless of their location. These include chives, basil, oregano, mint, parsley, thyme, and rosemary. It’s up to you whether or not you want to germinate them from seeds or buy seedlings to get started. Seedlings are much faster to work with, and since they’ve already been germinated, you’ll be more likely to have a thriving garden.
Your next step is to set up containers with drainage systems. It’s a good idea to have separate containers for each type of herb; otherwise, you’ll find that the flavors start to blur with certain varieties. Just keep in mind that if you start with small containers, you’ll need to repot your plants sooner than you’d expect.
Once you have your plants nestled in nutrient-rich dirt inside their pots, it’s time to make sure they have adequate lighting. You have a few choices. Most herbs need at least six hours of sunlight each day, so you can set them in a sunny south-facing window or set up a timer system on a UV light. Don’t fret if they don’t grow much during the winter months. The more scarce the sunlight, the longer they take to thrive.
As for watering, you want just enough water to keep the soil moist without it becoming waterlogged or drenched. Herbs are small plants and don’t need abundant amounts of H2O. An excellent way to check if your herbs are getting too much water is to look for yellowing or wilting. Too little water will make them appear dry and brittle. Once you find the right balance, stick to it!
Once your herbs are lush and ready to harvest, be gentle with them. Cutting too much at once will kill the plant. Only take as much as you need per meal to allow the plant to continue to thrive so that you have ample seasoning for the plant’s life cycle. In fact, cutting portions off will encourage new growth in most varieties.
Still, if you plan to grow a new one, feel free to pare down the original and dehydrate the herbs you’ve collected for later use. Partial dehydration is best if you plan to use them within a few weeks. Just keep them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Don’t wait too long, however, or your partially dehydrated herbs will mold. Complete dehydration will allow you to keep the herbs for months or even years when done correctly, but you’ll lose a good bit of the flavor and nearly all of the texture.
See? It’s not difficult at all! Once you’ve mastered the plants mentioned above, feel free to branch out to the more finicky herbs until you have a bevy of beautiful plants in your indoor herb garden. Good luck!