How to grow Herbs Indoors - Everything You Need To Know
Growing herbs indoors means you can enjoy homegrown produce even if you don’t have an outdoor space to work with. For those new to gardening, growing herbs indoors is a great choice. They grow fast, require little maintenance or space and when they are ready to harvest, just a little of your chosen herb can really bring your dishes to life.
However, before you get started, it’s wise to take your time to understand the best strategies for indoor herb growing. With that in mind, we’ve pulled together all the information you’ll need to ensure your herbs grow healthy and plentiful.
Tip 1 - Pick The Right Plants
While the majority of herbs will grow well indoors, there are some that are practically fail-safe. These include easy-to-grow picks such as basil, mint, chives, parsley, rosemary, and thyme.
You can choose to grow herbs by purchasing seeds or by using cuttings from an existing plant. The latter requires a little work. You must cut a branch from the parent plant, and soak the node (the end closest to the stem) in water until you see a new root sprouting. You can then plant the cutting in soil.
An alternative is buying seedlings from a garden centre. These have already been planted and you will need to continue to look after them by watering, feeding, and repotting to encourage further growth.
Tip 2 - Pick The Right Containers
There are so many different types of containers to choose from, and picking the right one for your herbs will help them to flourish. Your containers need to be the right sizes and have plenty of drainage so they won’t get waterlogged. Be prepared to re-pot your herb plants as they need more and more room to grow.
Tip 2 - Pick The Right Containers
There are so many different types of containers to choose from, and picking the right one for your herbs will help them to flourish. Your containers need to be the right sizes and have plenty of drainage so they won’t get waterlogged. Be prepared to re-pot your herb plants as they need more and more room to grow.
Tip 3 - Choose The Right Position
The majority of herbs are sun lovers so you’ll want to ensure you leave your pots in a sunny spot. They’ll need around six hours of good sunlight to grow well so a south-facing windowsill is an optimum spot. Don’t leave your herbs in the centre of a room or on a north-facing windowsill as they simply won’t have enough light to thrive. Remember that in the colder months the growth will be slower as there is less light. To give your plants a boost during these months you could purchase a sun lamp so you can enjoy a fruitful harvest of herbs all year round.
Tip 4 - Create A Watering Schedule
You won’t need a great deal of water to keep your herbs happy, particularly when they’re young. Make sure you keep the soil moist but don’t overwater as this could damage the delicate plants. Hardier herbs, such as rosemary, won’t need as frequent watering. If you notice leaves wilting or yellowing and your soil is wet, it means you are overwatering and you should scale back. A watering schedule to lightly drizzle your herbs in water every few days should keep them happy, nourished and healthy.
Tip 5 - Harvest Little And Often
As your plants begin to grow try not to get too greedy. If you strip back the plant too much it will struggle to recover. Instead harvest little and often to encourage new growth, and never remove more than a quarter of the plant at a time.
Tip 6 - Move Outdoors When They’re Ready
Indoor herb plants, if well cared for, will eventually need moving outside as they’ll continue to grow and no longer be suitable for windowsill life. If roots start protruding from your containers or your plant starts to topple over, it’s time to take them into the great outdoors and continue to harvest your crop from there. If you don’t have an outdoor space, why not give your plants to a friend or relative but be sure to take a cutting before you do to continue to grow herbs from the comfort of your own home.
Great Herb Kits
Our Hydro Herb Kit means you can grow your own herbs indoors from seeds without soil. The hydroponic herb kits are manufactured in the UK using organic and recycled materials. In the kit, you’ll find all that you need to grow your own herbs and you can buy individual plants or a set of three including basil, coriander, and thyme.
Each kit contains step-by-step growing instructions, so even novice gardeners will have a thriving herb garden in no time.
A perfect starter kit for herb lovers is our Grow Your Own Herbs Kit. Each box comes with seeds to grow five different herbs that are perfect to bring your culinary dishes to life and include; basil, mint, thyme, oregano, and parsley.
The kit is plastic and peat-free so great for the environment and has all that you need for year-round herb growing, including coir pots, coir disks, and a step-by-step growing guide.
Our Herb Light Garden is ideal to help boost any herbs, veggies, and indoor plants during colder, darker months. This additional light source will ensure they remain growing strong. Boasting automatic day to night settings, the LED light will help herbs grow, and keep them alive from seedlings all the way to when they are well-established plants.
Over to your... Start Your Herb Garden Today
We hope you’ve found our tips on how to grow herbs indoors helpful. Now it’s time to get growing! If you have any more questions or need some plant-based advice, our green-fingered team is happy to help - so just get in touch with us here.