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With the right plants and growing conditions, you can plant and enjoy fresh herbs year-round
Nothing beats fresh herbs to improve your cooking. Growing herbs indoors is a fantastic way to have fresh flavor on hand for your meals and add beautiful greenery to your home. With the right growing conditions, it's possible to enjoy most herbs indoors, even in the middle of winter. You can create your own potted herb garden by starting with seeds, buying young starter plants from Bonnie Plants, or transplanting herbs from your outdoor garden.
The great news is that most herbs can thrive indoors as long as they have the right conditions. They don't mind staying indoors with you, but they will need plenty of light. Some favorite herbs to grow indoors include:
Indoor grown herbs need as much sun as they can get, so place them in your sunniest spot, which is preferably a south-facing window. East or west-facing windows can also work for herbs that tolerate some shade, but north-facing windows won't provide enough light. You can also supplement natural light with a grow lamp, which should shine on your herbs for 12 to 14 hours a day. You can find grow lamps online or at your local garden center.
Your herbs will need plenty of nutrients, moisture, and oxygen at the root level. You should always use a quality potting mix designed for indoor plants, like Miracle-Gro Organic™ Indoor Potting Mix, which allows for proper drainage and airflow so your herbs can flourish. This organic mix is also lightweight enough to support the delicate roots of seedlings, making it great for starting seeds.
If you are growing from seed, look for newer varieties that are dense and compact, as they tend to grow better in containers. Most herb seeds are planted less than 1 inch deep. In many cases, you can simply sprinkle the seeds on top of the soil and cover them loosely. Always check the seed packet for specific information on how deep to plant the seeds. Here’s a basic guide to starting herbs from seed:
For more on seed starting, check out this guide.
Herbs often need less water than you might think, but they do require consistent watering. In addition to water, plants also need nutrition to perform their best. Here are some tips to nurture your herbs:
Frequent, light pruning not only provides you with fresh herbs for your cooking but also helps keep your plants compact and encourages new growth. To make the most of your harvest, tailor your technique to the way the herb grows.
Harvesting often also helps extend the growing period of your herbs. Keep an eye out for flowers. While most herb flowers are edible, the flavor of the leaves can sometimes become bitter after flowers form. Since many herbs stop growing new leaves once they flower, you should pinch off the flowers just below the bud as soon as you see them.
If you want to keep harvesting your outdoor-grown herbs longer, you can bring them indoors for the winter. Several weeks before the first fall frost, you will need to pot up herbs that are growing in the ground or in raised beds.
Here are the steps to bring your outdoor herbs inside:
If you want to level up your indoor herb garden, try this quick DIY project. A window platform gives your plants a dedicated space with plenty of sunshine and keeps them right on hand for cooking.
Materials Needed:
Directions:
With so many great herbs to try, you're sure to enjoy growing your own indoor herb garden.