Indoor Herb Garden Kits - 7 Tips to Help Your Indoor Herb Garden

Herbs are one of the easiest things to grow in an indoor garden. Herbs are not very demanding as plants go, they can get by with just and average amount of water and light. And when you are cooking, you don’t generally need a large amount of any given herb, so a single plant can provide more than enough of a harvest of herbs to satisfy the needs of most home kitchens.

You can get started easily with an indoor herb garden kit, or try putting one together yourself with a unique touch like putting it in strawberry planters. Or for the ultimate in high tech, or low effort gardens, you can use an indoor hydroponic system like the Aerogarden Grow system, and use some of the Aerogarden seeds like the Herb Garden Kit.

Lighting - Natural lighting from a southern or western window can often be enough to keep your indoor herb garden healthy. Since herbs don’t generally flower or produce fruits, they don’t need the more intense sunlight that vegetable or flower will often need. If you live in an apartment or are using a room that has no southern or western exposure, you can get by with inexpensive fluorescent grow light to keep your plants healthy. If they start to look leggy and drop their lower leaves, this is often an indication of inadequate light, and you might have to add more light or move the plants.

Container - Herbs are often easier to manage if you cluster several smaller pots rather than trying to use one big container. Drainage is critical. If you do choose to group more than one plant in a container, make sure you choose herb types that have similar watering and light needs.

Starting - You have a number of options for starting herbs indoors. For a fast start you can simply buy potted plants or plants in peat pots. For a lower cost approach, try the traditional direct seeding approach. You will find a larger variety of plants when buying seeds, but it takes longer to get started and requires a little more attention to start up. Finally, if you already have a plant (or a friend has a plant) of the herb variety that you want, some herbs can be propagated by cuttings. Thyme, mint and rosemary are examples of herbs that are often planted as cuttings. By the way, mint has very aggressive roots, so take care that you don’t plant it in the same container as other herbs, or you will find it takes over the container.

More Tips Below…

Watering - Generally herbs don’t need a lot of water, even indoors. Be sure to provide adequate drainage at the bottom of your growing container, try adding rocks or broken pieces of pots and make sure there is an adequate drainage hole. For indoor herb gardens it is often adequate to water once every 10 to fourteen days. If it is really dry indoors, especially in the winter months, you may find it helpful to put the pot over a pan of water to keep the relative humidity up to an adequate level. You can check for the need to water by sticking your finger in the soil, and if it’s dry all the way down it’s time to water.

Herb Varieties - You really want to use the compact varieties of most herbs when growing them indoors. Basil grown in an outdoor container like a Grow Box can easily grow to a height of over 2 feet, so you will likely want something a little smaller. Good choices for an indoor herb garden will be compact dill, basil, and Greek oregano for direct seeding. Others that do well indoors include lavender, parsley, rosemary, sage, angelica, chamomile, dill, fennel, and chives.

Soil - Good drainage is the main thing to look for in plating herbs indoors. Assuming you have take care in the preparation of the pot to provide good drainage, most potting soil can sustain a good herb garden. A popular alternative is a soilless mix. One common mixture is one third vermiculite, one third perlite, and one third peat. With a soilless mix you will need to add some fertilizer, but generally speaking fertilizing every month or two is adequate for and herb garden.

Picking - Herbs are taken as cuttings, so when your plants get to be at least 6 inches in height, you can start taking some cuttings for your use. Leave some healthy growth to regenerate, and start enjoying your herbs.