Growing Herb Gardens Indoors is Very Popular
Growing herbs inside is easier than one would think.
Most herbs grow very well in containers and in fact some, like the mints, are better in pots because they have a really rampant growing style that can take over a garden in no time at all if left to their own devices.
Growing pots of herbs on the kitchen windowsill is very popular and it does have a lot of advantages too.
I was given some herbs and some terracotta pots as a present so I painted the pots and grew my basil, mint, chives, parsleys in those.
On point I would like to make though, is that terracotta pots do tend to suck the moisture out of the soil so when using small terracotta pots I always grow the herb in a plastic pot and sit that inside the terracotta pot.
In saying that, I live in a sub-tropical climate where it is very hot so this would probably not be a problem when growing potted herbs in a cooler climate.
Painting your own terracotta pots does give the home that little touch of rustic décor.
If using painted terracotta pots be aware of the possible problems:
First prime the terracotta pot on the inside with a sealer.
Give it two good coats and this will stop the moisture from the soil going through to the paint and popping it off which is so disheartening after all your hard work.
Prime the outside of the pot with sealer and this will make it easier to paint as it won't be so absorbent.
Then decorate the pots to your hearts content.
Growing your herbs.
Now that you have established that you want to grow an indoor herb garden, you then need to decide where it is going to go.
Are you going to have it on the windowsill, on the floor, in large pots or small pots.
It is important that indoor herbs get plenty of sunlight so look for a spot that will give the plants a couple of hours of sunlight each day, preferably in the morning.
Once you have answered these questions you can then decide how many plants you will be able to grow.
What herbs are you going to grow? They are more than likely the ones that you use the most.
These would be the obvious choice, but sometimes it is good to throw in a few others too, ones that you have thought about but have not got around to using yet.
The beauty of an indoor herb garden.
Because it is right there in front of you, you do tend to look after it better.
You immediately see if the leaves are wilting through lack of water and if there are any problems with the plants it is immediately obvious.
This is great because the plants will have a much better chance of being continually healthy.
Most herbs grow very well in containers and in fact some, like the mints, are better in pots because they have a really rampant growing style that can take over a garden in no time at all if left to their own devices.
Growing pots of herbs on the kitchen windowsill is very popular and it does have a lot of advantages too.
I was given some herbs and some terracotta pots as a present so I painted the pots and grew my basil, mint, chives, parsleys in those.
On point I would like to make though, is that terracotta pots do tend to suck the moisture out of the soil so when using small terracotta pots I always grow the herb in a plastic pot and sit that inside the terracotta pot.
In saying that, I live in a sub-tropical climate where it is very hot so this would probably not be a problem when growing potted herbs in a cooler climate.
Painting your own terracotta pots does give the home that little touch of rustic décor.
If using painted terracotta pots be aware of the possible problems:
- If the pots are not painted properly (see below) the paint chips off the outside and the pots look terrible.
- Terracotta absorbs a lot of water from the soil and the plants starve for moisture.
(cacti love this, but it's not good for herbs or flowers - larger pots with lots of soil work OK, but not smaller ones).
First prime the terracotta pot on the inside with a sealer.
Give it two good coats and this will stop the moisture from the soil going through to the paint and popping it off which is so disheartening after all your hard work.
Prime the outside of the pot with sealer and this will make it easier to paint as it won't be so absorbent.
Then decorate the pots to your hearts content.
Growing your herbs.
Now that you have established that you want to grow an indoor herb garden, you then need to decide where it is going to go.
Are you going to have it on the windowsill, on the floor, in large pots or small pots.
It is important that indoor herbs get plenty of sunlight so look for a spot that will give the plants a couple of hours of sunlight each day, preferably in the morning.
Once you have answered these questions you can then decide how many plants you will be able to grow.
What herbs are you going to grow? They are more than likely the ones that you use the most.
These would be the obvious choice, but sometimes it is good to throw in a few others too, ones that you have thought about but have not got around to using yet.
The beauty of an indoor herb garden.
Because it is right there in front of you, you do tend to look after it better.
You immediately see if the leaves are wilting through lack of water and if there are any problems with the plants it is immediately obvious.
This is great because the plants will have a much better chance of being continually healthy.
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