Herb Garden How To in Pots
The adventure of growing herbs can be easily found indoors as well as in outdoor gardens. That’s right herb garden plants can be successfully grown inside in pots, window boxes or hanging baskets. The herb garden how to requirements are basically the same whether you are growing your herbs in a garden outside or enjoying them inside.
Let’s take a look at some of those basic principles. Firstly, herbs are no different from other plants in that they need three things to grow properly; water, good soil and sunlight.
The staff of life for plants is sunlight so if you are growing your plants inside it is important to consider which way the sun is shining. Depending on where you are located and what season of the year it is you will have to pay close attention to where you place your indoor plants to insure they get plenty of sunlight.
You will find different herbs will have different requirements for sunlight. Usually it is not a big factor of consideration if you just make sure your plants are in a sunny spot of your house. If finding enough sunlight is a challenge you may want to consider an artificial light source to help your plants grow.
The soil requirements for growing herbs in containers is not rocket science. All they need is a little so-so rich soil that is well drained. Just mix two parts of good potting soil with one part coarse sand or perlite in a container with about one inch of gravel on the bottom. The plants would also appreciate it if you would put one teaspoon of lime per 5 inch pot.
When you grow herbs indoors they are wholly dependent on you for water. Next to sunlight water is the most important thing you will have to provide for you plants. Your indoor plants will need more water than herbs grown in a garden but you must be careful not to overdo it. Misting is best. You want to keep them moist without watering to the point of making the soil soggy.
A handy feature of cultivating herbs in a container is portability. You can move them wherever you like without disturbing the roots.
When the weather warms up you can move your perennial herbs outside while the annual herbs can stay indoors year round. Just remember to bring them back in before the next frost comes around unless you have tarragon, chives or mint. Those can stand a light frost and in fact form firmer and fresher growth after a cold snap.
An indoor herb garden is easy to manage. And the excitement of having a supply of aromatic herbs readily available for enhancement of your cooking is well worth the effort.
Any herb can be grown in a container but some do better than others and as you become a more experienced herb gardener you will develop a list of favorites.
In addition to the basic tips given above occasional fertilizer applications and annual repotting will help keep you plants in tip-top shape. Another thing you should do is replant annuals and put your perennials outside.
And lastly, pruning and regular harvesting is good for all your herb plants.
Do these things and you will become the go-to authority on herbs and your friend list will grow as fast as your herbs when they start receiving the bounty of your herb harvest.
