If you have a sun-filled window pane that gets a minimum of 4 hours of sun every day, you may have the perfect set up for an indoor herb garden.
While it is great to have space in your backyard for a big herb garden, this isn’t always possible.
You might not have the right soil or climate for it, or you might be living in an apartment or condo that doesn’t have yard space. You can still grow some herbs indoors by using containers.
HOW TO START AN INDOOR HERB GARDEN
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These tips will help you get started with an indoor herb garden.
FIND THE NATURAL LIGHT
Even herbs that grow well indoors or with shade need some type of natural light.
Try to find a location in your home that has the best light, aiming for four or more hours a day of natural light.
This might be near the sliding glass door leading out to your patio, or a south-facing window. Try to avoid north-facing windows as they don’t usually provide enough sun.
If you want to see how much sun a particular area gets, turn off all the lights in that area, then see where the most light comes in.
PLANT THE RIGHT HERBS
Most herbs can grow indoors under the right conditions, but some of them do better than others.
Some of the easiest herbs to start with indoors are lemongrass, mint, chive, and basil.
With chives, they don’t need quite as much direct sunlight, which makes them good for indoor conditions. Mint needs its own pot, but grows great indoors, while lemongrass doesn’t require any soil.
HAVE GOOD DRAINAGE
This is one thing that people are often intimidated by when it comes to growing plants or herbs indoors.
Outside, it is pretty straightforward when you are trying to add drainage to plants in containers or those in your yard. However, it is not difficult to add drainage for indoor herb gardens, and it is a really important step in the process.
For good drainage, you want to put the herb in a potted plant with soil, but one that has holes in the bottom. This should then be placed on a pan that is able to catch the water.
You don’t want moisture to get through the saucer, so metal and plastic are usually good materials.
MAINTAIN THE INDOOR TEMPERATURE
While many herbs can be grown in containers inside your home, you still need to pay attention to the climate. This includes checking the temperature in your home and making sure it doesn’t get too cold or too hot.
A temperature of around 65-75 degrees Fahrenheit is usually good to stick to.
Have a thermometer attached to the window where the plants are being kept so you can see what the actual temperature is near the plant. This will be the most accurate reading.
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