Growing Herbs Indoors – Part Two

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

Introduction

In the previous post, we showed you how to plan your indoor herb garden. There was a description of each of the five elements you need to accomplish to plan your indoor herb garden.

Once you have gathered all the materials you need, you’re ready to start your indoor herb garden. Most likely you will gather your herb plants from various sources. You may start some from seed. Others you may start from stem cuttings or layering in your outdoor herb garden. Still others may be herb plants that you dug up in your outdoor herb garden. Or perhaps you have purchased herb plants from an herb garden, herb farm, nursery or some other store.

Another means to get the herbs you need is to purchase an herb kit, many of which come with planters and complete information on how to get started. By the way, herb kits often come with many herbs to grow. However, you can still start small by selecting just three or four herbs. Then, you can add other herbs later.

Start Growing Herbs Indoors

Let’s say you took my advice to start small and chose just three or four herbs to grow indoors. Perhaps, you are fortunate enough to have a south-facing kitchen window with good sunlight. Also, this window has enough space to place some small herb pots or a small window box. Great! You’re set.

Fill the pots or window box with some good potting soil or some good custom-mixed potting medium. Be sure the potting soil or medium you use drains water easily. Many herb plants prefer well-drained soil.

Plant your herbs in the pots or window box. Make sure you water them just enough. When water begins to run out of the bottoms of the pots, stop watering. Then, place the pots on dishes, and the window box on a tray. Next, position them the window. Now, you are growing herbs indoors!

What if you do not have a south-facing window or don’t have any window to use that gets enough sunlight during the day? Then you will need to come up with another means for growing your indoor herb garden.

Another means to grow herbs indoors is to use a tables or shelves. You can place herb pots or a small window box on a table or shelf.  Then, you need to hang a grow light above the herb plants. When you have more than one table or shelf you will need additional grow lights, one for each table or shelf.

Also, it is important to attach a timer to each grow light. The timer will turn each grow light “on” and “off.” You should set the timer so that each grow light stay lit for 14 to 16 hours.

Once you set up the tables or shelves with the grow lights, you can plant your herbs. Then, place dishes or trays under them to catch excess water. Finally, be sure to water each of them, stopping when water comes out of the bottoms of the pots or window boxes. Now, you are growing herbs indoors!

Another way to grow herbs indoors is by using a hydroponic system. When you have no window with light exposure, this system is one way to grow herbs indoors. With the hydroponic system you do not need soil or any other potting medium. When you decide to grow herbs hydroponically it does take some effort on your part to choose a system that you like. Plus, since you have no need of outside light, you can put it anywhere you like.

Hydroponic gardening can be expensive and somewhat “clunky,” but there is an elegant and easy-to-use hydroponic system that I have always wanted to use. It is called AeroGarden. It comes with everything you need including an adjustable height grow light.

Here is a brief description of how hydroponic gardening works. It is very different from using pots or window boxes. The hydroponic system uses a water tank below the plants. The tank holds water which contains rich nutrients to feed the plants.

Also, there are pumps that circulate and oxygenate the water. The plants are grown in baskets above the water tank. The baskets usually have some sort of “wicking” material that is immersed in the water below them.

Usually, above the plants, there are grow lights. The grow lights are on a timer that is set for the time it needs to be “on” for the plants to grow well. Many times these grow lights and timer come as a part of the hydroponic system.

With hydroponic systems, the herbs that you grow are started with seeds. And some of the merchants selling these systems provide the seeds for you as well. Once you’ve got a place for your system, then set it up and plant your herb seeds. Thus, you’ve started growing herbs indoors!

Whether or not you have sunlight, you can grow herbs indoors. You can use grow lights to supplement or replace sunlight with your herb pots or your hydroponic growing system. And you will have started your indoor herb garden!

In the next blog post, there will be some tips for growing herbs indoors.

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