Cultivating herbs indoors isn't as difficult as one would think. Herbs require little attention except occasional, thorough watering and a good haircut when needed. Your family will appreciate good cooking flavored with homegrown herbs, and if you're really adventurous, you can cultivate tea herbs.
Locating Your Indoor Herb Garden
For year-round indoor herb gardening, make sure your window doesn't get too much sun in the summer. You'll sunburn the poor babies. Full light for 8 hours a day is excellent, direct sun for 4-5 is OK for most. A south window is best, but an east window that gets lots of light is all right, too. A west window might get too hot.
If your herbs aren't happy, move them to a different window. If they are happy, just turn the pots around when you water them and let them alone.
Making Suitable Homes for Your Indoor Herbs
Any sort of pot is acceptable for most herbs. A common rule is to use a pot that's the diameter of the full-grown height of the herb. In other words, if the full grown plant will be a foot tall, use a 6 inch diameter pot. Obviously, low-growing thymes will need a bigger pot than that, so just use good judgment. Allow enough room for the current and future roots so you don't have to repot often.
Use store-bought, quality potting soil, or mix your own. Don't just dig up some dirt from the yard without amending it for your indoor herb garden. Light, well-draining soil is a must, and compost or other organic fertilizers can be added to home-made dirt at a rate of 1 cup compost to 3 cups dirt. Add some sand if the soil is heavy, and sphagnum moss is almost always a good addition. Mix well.
Plant Carefully for Best Results
Cover the drain hole with broken crockery or small stones to keep the dirt from plugging the hole. Fill 1/3 of the plant's new home with potting mix. Hold the transplant in position and carefully add more potting soil to cover the roots. Don't bury the plant too far, but make sure the roots are covered. Tamp lightly with your fingers. Leave the surface of the soil inch below the rim of the pot for pots smaller than 6 inches in diameter, or 1 inch below the rim for larger pots.
Water thoroughly and leave it alone for a few days to get established. If you transplanted from the garden, leave it outside for a few days; if it was a starter, leave it in its former location until it settles in. Always bring potted plants indoors before first frost, and try to avoid sudden temperature changes.
Keep Your Indoor Herbs Happy
Make sure your indoor herbs get good air circulation, but keep from drafts. Herbs like temperatures between 50 and 70 degrees. Don't let them get warmer than 75 degrees. Indoors, herbs like fairly high humidity, so if you've got forced air or wood heat, watch the soil for dryness and spray with a mist every few days to improve the humidity. This will also keep your plants from pest infestations. A great misting spray is weak chamomile tea.
Start out with the easy ones (basil, parsley, and rosemary) and slowly expand your domain to include anything and everything your kitchen or teapot requires. You will soon run out of window space!
Evelyn Fielding is your personal tour guide on the Herb and Spice Adventure of a lifetime. Evelyn offers a unique delivery program to help you learn about great cooking: receive a select group of herbs and spices by mail order, complete with easy and delicious recipes starring that month's herb or spice, and all at a comfortable pace. No long term commitments, no surprises. Subscribe to an Herb and Spice Adventures Series and elevate your food from good to truly superb. Book a culinary adventure now at http://www.10000seeds.com
No comments:
Post a Comment