Growing herbs indoors is a great way to keep gardening all year round, and also to keep your herbs handy to the kitchen. Read all our tips for growing a successful indoor herb garden.
When the cold season arrives, the fun for those who love having their gardens outside of the house comes to an end. Very few herbs will withstand severe cold.
The fun of herb gardening, on the other hand, does not have to cease with the coming of winter. You can continue to enjoy your hobby by bringing it inside your home, where they will be healthy.
Growing herbs indoors not only ensures their survival over winter, but also provides you with fresh herbs to use in your cooking over the long winter months, and adding a touch of color to brighten up your home.
Here are a few things to bear in mind as you move from the outside to the inside of your house.
Sunlight
The most important consideration when growing herbs inside your home is to position them in a location where they will get enough sunshine.
Move them during the day to ensure that they receive 6-8 hours of good light per day.
If you live in a region that does not receive that much sunlight in the depths of winter, consider getting a grow light to supplement the natural daylight that you do receive.
Containers
The next key issue to consider when growing herbs indoors is to choose the right container.
Proper drainage is important. Using a pot with a hole in the bottom, is preferable because it encourages extra water to drain. Placing stones at the bottom of the container before filling it with dirt helps to keep the soil in place during runoff.
Remember to place your herb pot on a saucer or inside a decorative pot without a hot in the bottom to prevent water spilling onto your floor!
Fertilizer
When growing herbs in pots (indoors or outdoors), fertilizer is needed, since it is the primary source of nutrients for your herbs.
When initially planting the herbs in pots, use approximately 1 part fertiliser to 4 parts potting soil. For ongoing care, use a good quality liquid fertilizer when watering every two weeks.
Watering
Herbs kept indoors need to be watered frequently and monitored to ensure they do not become too dry.
Furthermore, it is important to keep the soil damp but not wet, over-doing the watering can result in rot-root. This is a common issue faced when growing herbs indoors, especially for herbs originally from drier climates such as thyme.
Temperature
Temperature variations are a threat that your plants will face in the future when within your home. They can be killed by a drastic shift of temperature.
To address this problem, I suggest being careful where you position your herbs, especially at night. If you keep them on a windowsill (a good choice to maximise sunlight during the day) then consider moving them elsewhere at nighttime when the temperatures plummet.
You could also consider installing a humidifier near the herbs to prevent the temperature around them from drastically rising and dropping.
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