Indoor Herb Gardening

Photo Courtesy of Jennie Brynildsen, Personal Photo Collection

Indoor Herb Gardening

As gardening slows down with the approach of cooler weather, gardeners turn their attentions to indoor gardening activities such as going through catalogs and gardening books, planning garden designs, maintaining houseplants and cuttings, and as the winter draws to a close, seed starting. All of these keep those who garden in the northern reaches active and do help to feed the gardening spirit within us. There are other activities we can pursue, and one of them is indoor herb gardening.

One doesn't need to have a greenhouse or sunroom to develop and maintain an indoor herb garden. In fact, indoor herb gardens can be maintained in south and west window exposures, with low-cost supplemental lighting. This is a gardening venture than can be truly low-tech and satisfying during the long, cold season.

After picking your window location and your supplemental lights, think about what you want to grow and what will grow successfully indoors. Some plants do better when started plants are brought in from outdoors, while other plants will do well from seeds.

Some plants that can be repotted or started from cuttings for indoor use are parsley, chives, thyme, and rosemary. In the case of parsley, make sure the taproot is intact, and cut the plant back before repotting the entire root system. For chives, Take some of the bulbs from the mother plant and pot them up. Thyme, mint, and rosemary can be started from cuttings or from new, young plants purchased from a greenhouse. When repotting herbs for an indoor location, use a soilless mix with peat, vermiculite, and perlite. Water the transplanted herbs well, and allow them to thoroughly dry out between watering. Also inspect plants for insects before moving them inside for the season. Use insecticidal soap and a quick dip in a bucket of soapy water to dislodge and kill unwanted pests. Mealy bugs can be controlled by cotton swabs dipped in alcohol to dispel these pests.

Do a sort of reverse-hardening off process. Bring the plants indoors a few hours longer each day so they can adjust to their new lighting and growing conditions. There will be some leaf drop, which is normal. Be aware that even with ideal lighting, the plants will not be as lush or full as those grown in ideal outdoor conditions. Growth will slow and possibly stop, which is also not unusual. If growth stops, supplemental lighting will need to be increased and the amount of watering decreased until new growth resumes.

Some herbs for direct-seeding include the more compact or dwarf varieties of herbs: compact dill, basil, and Greek oregano. Start seedlings in late summer to early fall and treat them as you would any other seedlings grown at other times of the year. When they are large enough and reach transplanting size, repot them in their permanent indoor pots.

Keep an eye on your herbs for any insect pests. Spider mites, whitefly, and mealy bugs all like to dine on herbs. Keep these epicurean freeloaders away by frequently checking and treating your herbs, as described above.

Some herbs simply will not perform well indoors. Larger dill, caraway, and most other larger-growing herbs are not readily adaptable to indoor growing. Choose varieties, whether from cuttings or seedlings, that tend to be compact in growth. Snip only the leaves that you need for cooking, as growth will not be as lush as with plants grown outdoors.

Growing an indoor herb garden can satisfy the gardening urge that will not quit, despite the cold weather! Chase away those winter blues by trying your hand at indoor herb gardening this year!

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