Growing an indoor herb garden is the perfect solution to the apartment dweller who enjoys cooking with fresh ingredients. To grow herbs from seed is cheap and economical, surprisingly quick and very often self-sustaining. A few simple steps are all that is required to creating a successful and rewarding herb garden.
Container gardening has space implications so it is advisable to select the herbs that are commonly used. A basic culinary herb garden would include varieties such as Sweet Basil, Thyme, Parsley, Chives, Marjoram or Oregano and Rosemary. Coriander is always on the list of ingredients for curries and a small Bay tree planted in a separate container doubles as an ornamental plant.
Requirements:
Choose a sunny spot in the kitchen. If space is available, a larger container will allow for several complimentary of herbs to co-exist. Alternatively, several smaller pots will do just as well. Position the containers for easy access for watering, harvesting and general maintenance.
The container should have good drainage, either in the form of several holes in the base or a shallow layer of stones. A base tray will contain the excess water and soil that may drain through the holes. Fill the container/s with good quality potting soil. Dampen, but don’t drench the soil.
The information found on the seed packets is based on outdoor growing conditions and the indoor gardener can anticipate a much shorter time to germination and harvesting. Sprinkle a few seeds of each herb in the potting soil and keep the rest in the packet for the next season. Lightly dig the seeds into the top 3mm of soil and water. It is a good idea to insert a marker at the site of each herb with the name and date of sowing.
Indoor plants require regular watering as they have no access to other natural sources of water from the soil or rain.
Once the seedlings are established after a few days, it may be necessary to pull out a few of the plants to allow space for growth and avoid overcrowding. An application of mulch will help to slow evaporation
A few weeks after sowing, the fresh herbs will be ready for use and can be used liberally to complement and enhance almost any recipe. When a recipe calls for dried herbs, double this amount when using fresh herbs. Remember to tear the larger leaves, instead of cutting them up to release maximum flavour. Harvesting is as easy as pinching off the growth points in the case of Sweet Basil, Marjoram and Thyme. Chives are simply trimmed with a pair of scissors. A herb garden will thrive with regular harvesting, regular watering and trimming of dead leaves and excess, stringy growth.
The annual herbs such as Coriander, Parsley and certain varieties of Sweet Basil, will eventually come to the end of their growing season and start to seed. Pull these plants out and either use the space for planting something else or simply wait for the seeds to germinate and start the growth cycle all over again. This is a good time to feed the potting soil. Choose either to incorporate some compost with the potting soil or purchase a slow-release fertiliser stick and follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
An indoor herb garden provides a ready source of fresh herbs after a simple process and very little ensuing maintenance. This is an excellent return on a small investment.
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