Growing a kitchen herb garden right on your windowsill is easier than you think and it can give you on-demand fresh flavoring for your dishes. Most herbs are rather well suited to the slightly cooler indoor temperatures common in winter. The challenge will be providing them with enough light and keeping the humidity levels optimal. If you meet their needs, though, you'll have a never-ending supply of newly harvested culinary herbs. Read on to learn how to plant a kitchen herb garden.
Which Herbs Can Grow in the Kitchen?
Not all herbs are well-suited for growing indoors. Those with a woody, bushy growth, such as rosemary, are simply too big for indoor herb gardens. Try other more reliable herbs for an indoor kitchen garden, such as chives, oregano, thyme, dill, mint, basil, cilantro, sage, and creeping savory.
Every herb has unique growing needs, however, so make sure you have the right light, humidity, and air circulation conditions the plant requires. If you are using one large container, make sure all the plants need the same amount of sun and water. For example, chives and cilantro don't always need as much sun as dill and most oregano varieties.
Companion Plants for Herb Gardens
Companion planting for different herbs based on their watering needs—like planting lavender with thyme or planting basil with chives—is best to keep both plants healthy. Avoid companion planting with catnip, lemon balm, and mint, which need separate pots because they spread quickly and can overtake the other plants in your indoor herb garden.
When to Plant an Indoor Herb Garden
Make an herb garden for your kitchen by rooting cuttings from your outdoor plants starting in the fall as the weather cools. If you choose to sow your indoor herb garden from purchased seeds, begin a few weeks before the expected first frost of the season. With most herbs, begin snipping them for harvest within just a few weeks, so there's no reason to plant too far in advance.
Indoor Herb Garden Tips
Planting and growing a successful indoor herb garden is easy for beginners and experienced gardeners alike. The following growing tips can help your herb garden produce a great harvest year-round:
- Allow herbs to receive at least 6 hours of full sun near a south-facing window, or opt for a plant grow light that runs for 14 to 16 hours per day.
- Water the herbs once the soil feels dry to the touch.
- Fertilize herbs regularly with a water-soluble fertilizer high in nitrogen for healthy leaf growth.
- Ensure temperatures stay between 65 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and 55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit at night.
- Avoid putting herb pots near drafts, radiators, or heat ducts which will dry them out.
- Maintain elevated humidity levels using a mister or humidifier.
- Rotate herbs periodically when grown in windows to let each part of the plant receive sunlight.
- Trim back flowering sections before they bloom for healthier leaves.
- Prune new growth on young plants weekly to encourage a fuller mature plant.
What You'll Need
Equipment / Tools
- Garden trowel
- Scissors
- Stones (optional)
Materials
- Herb seedlings or seeds
- Planting pots
- Potting soil
- Cactus potting soil (optional)
- Pot trays
- Fertilizer
- Grow light (optional)
Instructions
How to Plant an Indoor Kitchen Herb Garden
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Choose a Location
Select a west- or south-facing window for the herb garden for the best light. If using a grow light, give herbs 14 to 16 hours a day under fluorescent bulbs placed about 6 to 12 inches above the plants.
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Prepare Pots
Choose large, deep containers with drainage holes to accommodate fast-growing herbs.
Fill the herb garden planter with potting mix. leaving about 1/2 inch clear at the top. Use standard commercial potting soil for most herbs but blend in cactus potting mix for herbs native to the Mediterranean, such as thyme and oregano, which prefer a more porous mix.
Plant the Herbs
Plant your herb seeds or transplants in the pot. Water thoroughly until no more water drains from the bottom of the pot. Place the pot on the windowsill, using a tray to catch dripping water.
Water and Feed Your Garden
Allow the soil to dry out just slightly before watering your herbs again.
Give your indoor herb garden a dose of diluted water-soluble fertilizer every two weeks or so. Too much food will compromise the taste of the herbs.
Maintain Humidity Levels
Provide adequate humidity. If the indoor air is especially dry—which is often the case in regions with cold winters—set the herb pots on trays of stones. Fill the trays with water, but keep the level below the drainage holes on the pots.
Turn the Pots
Turn the pots regularly to provide even sunlight and keep them growing evenly.
Harvest and Prune
Snip herbs for harvest when they are just a few inches tall.
Pruning back the herbs often means a larger, longer harvest. Cut the new growth back at least once a week, even if you are not using the herbs in recipes. Long stems that are about to set flower buds should be trimmed off as they appear.
Move Your Herb Garden Outdoors (Optional)
Move your potted herbs to the patio or deck when the weather warms in the spring and for a boost of sunshine.
Repot and Replace When Necessary
When roots begin to emerge through the drainage holes of a pot, it's time to repot the herbs. Replace the potting mix; the organic material in the potting mix (usually peat moss) breaks down over time.
Remove any plants with woody or thickened stems and replace them with new seeds or seedlings.
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FAQ
Do kitchen herbs need full sun?
Most herbs need six hours of sunlight a day to thrive. If you do not have that type of light in your kitchen, consider a grow light for your herb garden.
What time of year should you plant herbs?
Herbs grown in indoor gardens can be planted at any time of the year. Many gardeners prefer to grow herbs outside during the summer growing season, and then move the plants to an indoor garden before the first frost of fall.
Do herbs come back every year?
Perennial herbs are the best choice if you want your plants to return every year. Popular herbs like oregano, parsley, sage, fennel, chives, lavender, thyme, and mint are all perennial varieties.
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