Indoor Herbs for the Winter

Now that winter weather is settling in you may want to cheer up your kitchen by bringing a little of your outdoor gardening indoors. Consider starting an indoor herb garden to keep your cooking fresh until it’s time to plant outside again. It can be easy to keep a few pots of your favorite herbs in your kitchen window sill.

Herb Box by net_efekt

Choose Your Herbs

First you need to choose the herbs you would like to grow and use. Better Homes and Gardens suggests oregano, chives, mint, thyme and rosemary as the five best herbs to grow indoors. When you are choosing which herbs you would like to grow make sure they are herbs that will grow inside for the full season. Some annuals, such as dill, do not grow as well inside.

Find the Right Light

The next consideration is location. It is important for indoor herbs to have the right amount of light. The Herb Gardener says that most herbs need about six hours of light. Placing your herbs in an unobstructed south facing window will help provide the right amount of light in the winter. If your kitchen doesn’t face south consider alternate locations. A bathroom is another great place to grow herbs. You also want your herbs as close to a window as possible. The farther away a plant is from the window the less light it will be able to receive. If you do not have a ledge, wire shelves are another option. If windows are not a possibility at all you can use grow lights as an artificial source. Spindly looking plants are a sign that your herbs are not receiving enough light.

The Importance of Moisture

Indoor herbs also need good drainage. To ensure proper drainage for your pots gardening-guides.com suggests adding an inch of small gravel to the bottom of your containers. The article also suggests adding one part perlite or coarse sand to a potting soil mix. This will allow the water to move through the pot and as a result the roots will not stay soggy and rot. While herbs need good drainage in heated indoor climates they can also dry out quickly. Be sure to check your soil daily. If it feels dry an inch down into the pot you will want to add water. To improve humidity around the plants you can also set the containers on a tray with pebbles in it. Fill the tray with water and the water will evaporate adding moisture to the air around the plants.

The Right Container

As you search for the right containers consider a NewPro Container with sub-irrigation. This will help keep moisture in the planter consistent without having to put a lot of time into watering. These containers will also add a polished look to any indoor container arrangement. Herbs can also make great center pieces on restaurant tables or add fragrance and texture to a container arrangement in any location.