Growing Herbs Inside

Herbs are one of the most popular things for gardeners to start with especially when they’re just beginning and it’s even more fun for someone who is learning to plant from seed. Growing herbs inside can be tricky however because you have to mimic the ideal conditions you would hope to find outside but for those who don’t have access to big a backyard to plant in this is usually the best way to go about it. It may take a couple tries to get it right but it’s much better than not being able to grow anything at all so read on for some great tips and methods to when it comes to growing your own herbs inside.

The first thing to start with is to identify a selection of herbs you’re going to grow. You’ll want to start by picking out herbs that are a bit easier to grow but that you also really want. If you don’t want a particular herb then you probably wont put much effort into growing it because you wont be getting much in return. Pick out some herbs that you use in your daily life or that you enjoy cooking with that you’d like to be able to grow inside and then get started gathering what you’ll need.

You’ll of course need to have a few small pots for your herbs to grow in - you wont need terribly large ones because herbs grow back pretty quickly when you cut them down (in fact this can even encourage more growth) so you don’t want to have your whole kitchen or window taken over by them. It’s best to just start out with one or two at a tim. One of my favorites to start with is parsley because it’s very easy to grow and I use it in a lot of my cooking. I also really like having fresh basil growing in my kitchen but this is a much more complex herb to grew and not the best for beginners because it can be finicky at times. Chives are also a good one to start with but remember to pick something you like and something that you will use - if you don’t eat a lot of Thai food then don’t bother growing Kaffir or something like that - it just won’t do you any good in the long run.

Once you’ve picked out a few small pots find a few seed packets of the herbs you want to try out (make sure they’re the right varieties of course and that they’ll grow in the conditions you have available) and then find a nice south facing window that doesn’t get too cold at night to place your herbs near. Keep them warm and covered for the first few days with moist soil while your seeds are sprouting and then once they begin to grow you can set them up with a regular watering schedule and put a bit of fertilizer in with them as well. Don’t add too much fertilizer though or you’ll herbs may get a bit out of control (this is especially important with mint - which will take over everything).

Herbs are very rewarding and quite easy to grow indoors if you’re careful about it so pay attention and be sure to keep a careful eye on how they’re doing and you’ll be just fine.