Taking your herbs indoors does not require home renovation or repair. Find a window in your house which faces the west or south direction. Place the containers containing the herbs near the window and make sure that they get five hours of sunlight every day. Even if you live in one of the high-rise apartments in your area, you can do some herb gardening indoors.

For beginners, you can plant mint, rosemary, and thyme. If some of your friends or relatives have these herbs, you can ask for cuttings of the herbs or you can easily purchase them from a local florist or the supermarket.

How will you do it? Get a soil-less mixture of vermiculite, peat, and perlite. The package usually contains the directions on how to use the mix or you can inquire at the greenhouse where you bought them. If you hate shopping, you can start by planting seeds of the herbs. In this case, you will need a clay pot or terracotta which is approximately six inches in diameter. This pot size is perfect for growing herbs because it can provide enough space but just make sure that the pot has good drainage.

For symmetry, try to purchase pots made from the same material. Pots should be of the same size and shape. Contrast will just come in from the herbs that you’re going to plant. Herbs come in different shapes and colors. You can plant two herbs in one pot but this is not a good idea because they might end up having the same taste. It would be best to plant the herbs in individual containers. If you’re planning to plant seeds, you can start with oregano and basil but you need to ensure that you get only the compact seeds because such seeds are easier to grow indoors. The seeds should be tucked under the soil at the specified depth and spray water after covering it with soil.

Potting soil is necessary for the success of your herb gardening in the indoors. Once the sprouts appear, don’t over water the herbs. Follow these things and you can grow healthy herbs even on winter.

The interesting thing about herb gardening is that it is not that different from planting flowers or vegetables in your garden because you still need to prepare the soil and then plant it into the ground so this will grow.

Since there are no so many herbs around, you have to decide first which herbs you want to plant. For beginners, you can start with basil, dill, oregano, rosemary and sage since these are all easy to grow in containers, require little maintenance and are adaptable for a wide variety of dishes.

Herbs can be planted on the soil or in containers. For those who will be planting these on the soil, make sure you plot the area first before putting these in. While drawing it on a piece of paper is good, why don’t you place pegs, rocks, or other markers to outline the shape of the garden plot? This will give you an idea how it looks like when the herbs finally grow.

It will also be a good idea to mix some flowers to add color so it will look good even when you see this from afar.

If it is hard for you to visualize, buy a few samples and then see how it looks. You can surely take back what you don’t need and exchange these for those that you will end up using.

For those who will use a container, make sure that it is food-safe and made of plastic. Keep in mind that terra cotta pots can also be used. Some people are able to put two or more herbs in one pot. If the herb you are planting is a large plant, don’t even try it and grow these in separate pots.

The best place to buy herbs is in a nursery. There, you can buy a plant that is almost fully grown or one that is still a seed.

The problem with some seeds is that it takes weeks before it grows. On the other hand, there are also some seeds that quickly grow so you have to do some research to find out how fast it grows.

Aside from choosing what herbs to plant, attention must also be given to the type of soil where this will be placed. Ideally, you should work with soil that is sandy because this will provide good drainage for your herbs.

If you are using the proper soil, the only thing to do now is make sure your herbs are getting sufficient amounts of sunlight.

Unlike fruits, you don’t have to harvest the herbs all at once. You should only get it sparingly so these will still be good whenever you mix this with whatever you are cooking.

One thing you should know about herbs is that not all plants are compatible with others. This is because some of these herbs have a negative biochemical reaction with certain plants around them so you have to be careful.

Aside from using the right soil and giving your mulch sunlight, it will also be good if you add mulch. You can make this yourself using some garbage or buying this from the store.

Herb gardening is interesting because it can be used for a lot of things. You can use it for food, as an alternative to medication or even for aromatherapy.

One threat you should always be on the lookout for are pests like red spider mites and aphids. You can get rid of them by mixing castile soap and water then spraying this over the herbs or putting a few other insects that will do the job of getting rid of them.

There are many ways to use the herbs and it can be used fresh or dried. It really depends what you will be using it for because you can even soak this in oil.

So what are you waiting for? Go to the nursery and get some herbs so you can have your own herb garden.

Image by Cindy Andrie via Flickr

Herb gardening is becoming more and more popular every day, and for a good reason.  Herbs have practical value, serve a purpose, and with herb gardening you can actually use your plants.  When most people think of herb gardening they automatically think of cooking, but herbs are also grown for their pleasant aroma and their beauty.

One important part of herb gardening is drying the herbs for use during the winter months, especially if you plan on cooking with them.  First the tops of leafy herbs have to be cut, washed, and hung up for the water to evaporate.  Then, tie stems together and hang up in a paper bag to dry.  After two to three weeks they must be removed; crumble the leaves, dry them out in the oven, and store in a glass jar.

One of the most common herbs gown in herb gardening is basil.  “Dark Opal” and regular green basil are beautiful additions to any garden and often used as decoration.  Dark Opal has light pink flowers and dark red leaves.  Basil isn’t just used for its looks; it is used for extra flavor in tomato juices and pastes.

Chives are very petite looking and resemble a blade of grass.  They are much stronger than they look, however, and will grow well through a drought and a drought.  Their toughness and sturdiness makes Chives a perfect plant for herb gardening, especially if the gardener doesn’t want plants that require a lot of hassle.  Chives are good used in salads, egg dishes, and many different sauces.

Mint is also very simple to grow and is good to use in mint jelly, mint juleps, lemonade, and any other kind of fruity drink.  Mint is also good in herb gardening for its unique minty smell.  Two herbs that appear in nearly everyone’s herb garden are thyme and sage.  Both of these herb gardening favorites are used for flavoring soups, chicken, turkey, pork, and other sausages.  Sage is also grown sometimes for its beautiful blue spiked flowers.

Lavender is probably the best smelling herb in all of herb gardening and is often used in candles, as a perfume scent, and to improve the smell in linen chests.  The light purple flowers smell absolutely lovely.

Other types of herbs often grown in herb gardening include borage (used in salads), chervil (used in egg dishes), sweet marjoram (flavors lamb, fish, salad, and soup), sesame (flavors crackers, cookies, and bread), and dill (flavors meats and used in pickles).  Herb gardening allows gardeners to use herbs from their own garden for cooking, looks, and smell.  Herb gardening will produce much fresher herbs with more flavor than store-bought herbs, and are a lot cheaper.

Jerry J. Jansen
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