You don’t need to wait for spring to enjoy an herb garden! Growing herbs indoors gives you convenient access for cooking and healing uses, all while enlivening your space with vibrant colors and aromas.
Choose Your Herbs
Many popular herbs can be grown indoors with the right care and conditions. Choose those that thrive in pots, such as chives, basil, cilantro, rosemary, and thyme. Avoid those that have large root systems, such as fennel, or those that are toxic to pets, like tarragon.
Environmental Needs
When deciding where to place your indoor herb garden, consider the light and humidity requirements of the herbs you’ve chosen. Most need at least six hours of sunlight, so set them in a sunny location or provide supplemental artificial light. A few herbs can tolerate less light, such as lemon balm, chives, and cilantro. Make sure the room they’re in doesn’t ever dip below 55° F, and keep some distance between your tender herbs and chilly windowsills.
Another challenge for herbs in the winter is a lack of humidity. Group your potted plants together to create a more humid environment for them. If you have a humidifier, place that nearby as well.
Planting and Care
When you’re ready to plant, choose containers with drainage holes and fill them with a permeable potting mix. Once planted, water your herbs and give them a low dose of water-soluble fertilizer. Create a watering schedule based on each herb’s needs. Most herbs prefer the soil to briefly dry out between waterings, but some (like basil) need to be consistently moist. Reapply your fertilizer every two weeks.
As your herbs continue to thrive, you’ll eventually see roots growing through the drainage holes—that’s your cue to repot! Spring is the best time for repotting, as this is when your plants will put out new roots. You may also place your herbs outside during the warmer months, but be sure to slowly acclimate them to the harsher environment first (called “hardening off”). Keep an eye on them to see if you need to adjust fertilizer or irrigation, and to scout for pests.
Using Your Herbs
Your fresh herbs will be useful for cooking, tea, and even medicinal applications. For example, calendula tea can help soothe sore throats during cold season, and lemon balm tea can boost your mood (a help for those with the winter blues).
Happy gardening!
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Article written by Natasha Atlas, Extension Educators Coordinator with OSU Extension Madison County. Have a gardening question? Send it to us by emailing whitman.179@osu.edu.