Potted Herb Garden

For those small spaces or by preference, a potted herb garden is an excellent alternative to the outdoor herb garden. A windowsill herb garden, a hanging basket, and of course pots can be used for your potted herb garden. Since growing an indoor herb garden has the same growing requirements as outdoor plants, it shouldn’t be any more difficult planning, planting, and caring for your potted herb garden.

The basic needs of all plants are: soil, water, and sunlight. This holds true for herbs as well. Soil and water are straight forward and easy to accommodate. Sunlight is key, however, and orienting your indoor herb garden to take advantage of natural sunlight should be an important consideration when locating your plants in your indoor space. To get the best and most sunlight, using your south or west facing windows will be the most appropriate setup.

Another thing to consider for your potted herb garden is that different types of herbs will have different light requirements, but most will love a sunny spot. If you don’t have a good, sunny window, there are ways to supplement natural light, with fluorescent or “grow” lamps.

To provide the best growing soil for your herbs, you will need rich but well drained soil. For the potted herb garden, use two parts sterilized potting soil to one part coarse sand or perlite. For good drainage, before placing the soil in the growing pots, add an inch of gravel to the bottom of each pot. To improve the sweetness of the soil, be sure to also add one teaspoon of lime for each 5-inch container.

Watering your indoor herb garden with care is an important factor of growing healthy herbs. Add plenty of water, since your potted herb garden will need more water than plants growing outside, but be sure not to overwater or drench the roots. Also use a spray bottle to mist the plants.

During the summer, indoor plants can be taken outside for that natural light – maybe on a balcony or in the garden. Annuals can be kept inside even during the summer; for perennials, spending some time outdoors during the summer is an added bonus, if feasible for your location. Having the plants in containers allows one to easily move them around as needed. By the time of the first frost of the fall, your potted herb garden should be brought back inside.

Think how much fun it would be to walk over to your windowsill herb garden and pick fresh mint, for instance. A lot of plants are suited for growing in containers, but some, like mint, do really well in an indoor herb garden, since it needs to be contained or it can take over a garden. To keep your plants healthy, use some light feeding periodically. Repotting your herbs yearly will also help ensure they stay health.

Keeping an indoor herb garden will allow you to enjoy fresh herbs any time, plus have the convenience of having them handy for your cooking. Be sure to harvest them as needed, use them in your cooking, and share them with friends. With a little care, having a potted herb garden is fun and easy!