Herb Gardens: Growing Your Plants Indoors

If you are one of those people who would like to have some fresh herbs for cooking even during brutal weather, it would be a good idea for you to set up your own indoor herb gardens. Indoor herb gardens can provide you with fresh herbs all year round so start setting up one for yourself now.

Getting Started

Setting up your own indoor herb garden is relatively easy. Find a space in the house which has adequate sunlight. Always remember that plants need sunlight to grow. If you cannot get adequate sunlight for your plants, consider installing artificial garden lights to help your plants grow. You don’t have to buy those expensive garden lights to provide enough light to your plants. Two or three regular fluorescent lights installed above your plants can help a lot to make your plants grow better. The good thing about using ordinary fluorescent lights is that they are inexpensive and they have long lifespan.

Aside from adequate light, you need to choose the proper soil for your indoor herb gardens. The funny thing about herbs is that some of them actually thrive better and taste better in poor soil. According to studies, herbs that grow slowly in poor soil tend to produce more essential oils compared to those plants that grow fast in rich soil. Actually, what this study shows is that length of time that the herb grows affects the quality of its oil. More mature herbs produce more oil and since we tend not to harvest our herbs when they are small and sickly looking, the herbs have enough time to mature. The thing here is not to grow your herbs, especially your basil, too fast so that you will have better tasting herbs. To help control the grown of your herbs, select the right size of containers. Smaller pots or containers will restrict the growth of your herbs while bigger pots or containers will allow enough room for your plants to grow at a faster rate.

When growing your herbs in your indoor herb gardens, you should know when to water them. Since your indoor herb gardens are not exposed to direct sunlight, the soil may not dry up fast. To know when to water your plants, touch the soil. If the soil still feels wet, do not add more water. Too much water can cause the roots of your plants to rot and the plant will die.