Many people would like to have an indoor garden all year round. If you live in a cold climate with discernable seasons, this can be a bit of a challenge. However, with the right elements, you will be able to have a garden all year round. An herb garden is the perfect addition to any kitchen or home because you will be able to have the wonderful taste of fresh herbs all year long, even in those coldest months of winter. Plus, having an indoor herb garden at your disposal will make you more likely to use fresh herbs to make all of your food taste a little better. If you want to know how to grow herbs indoors, simply follow the steps below in order to experience success.
Choose Your Herbs Carefully
There are some herbs that just will not grow indoors. Their need for sunlight, fresh air and deep soil makes it impossible for them to be potted and grow successfully. However, as with any herb, if you add artificial lights to the equation, you might have the ability to get them to continue to grow and leaf despite the cold. Certain herbs like basil, cilantro, rosemary and parsley are very good growers overall and you will have a fine time cultivating them indoors. Other herbs like chives are more difficult because they have a complicated root system that tends to need a lot of extra space. This type of plant is difficult to cultivate in a pot.
Place Your Plants In A High Sun Spot
This is probably the most important aspect of growing your indoor herb garden. Plants need light. If they don’t get enough light, they will not leaf and eventually they will die out because they will be unable to complete the photosynthesis process. Therefore, find that window in your home where the sun tends to shine in all day long. If you don’t have a window where this occurs, then you might want to invest in some artificial lights. These are the same lights that you can use for turtles and other animals, but they will give your plants exactly the amount of light they need every day. These types of lights are semi-expensive, but they will pay for themselves within the first summer because you won’t have to buy any more herbs for cooking.
Make Sure To Water And Care For Them Often
Most herbs require frequent watering. Therefore, if you fail to water them enough, you might lose the plant. You need to make sure that especially in those first days when you bring the plant indoors you are caring for it enough to help it survive the transition. It can be a difficult move for any plant that just spent the summer outdoors in natural sunlight. For those first weeks, your herbs are going to need plenty of tender loving care. In addition to watering, you also must make sure that you cultivate and trim them so that they are happy in their pots. This means cultivating more of a bush than a long, stemmed plant. To do this, as your plants grow, cut off those long stems and the plant will instead start to grow out instead of up. This will also help the roots grow out instead of down so that it can use the space in the pot more completely.
Harvest And Dry Them Often
Make sure to harvest your herbs so that your plants stay completely healthy. If you can’t use a particular herb, harvest it and dry it to save it for a later date.
