The 10 Best Herbs to Grow Indoors

Posted on 20/10/2020

Easy to Grow Indoor Herbs

Herbs are some of sturdiest plants that you can grow. And by ‘grow’ you should not automatically assume planting them in your backyard and providing enough garden care for them, but also growing indoors. It is rather easy to grow herbs indoors as well, and pretty much anyone can do it.

There are many benefits to starting a herb garden indoors, the main one being that you can add fresh-picked taste to your meals even during the cold months of winter. Little is required to grow herbs in your own home in terms of light, garden care and other special needs. Herbs require as little as placing them near a bright window and occasional watering. Windowsill growing is the best method of growing herbs indoors and you are definitely on the right track if you have decided to start this now.

When you are certain you want to give it a try and grow your own herbs at home, you will do well to consider what types are best suited for this task. Here is a list of 10 herbs that are most well suited for growing indoors:

-    Bay - if you are after a perennial that grows excellently in containers all year round, bay is certainly among the top choices. If you want to be effective at home gardening, you need to place the pot you are growing the herb in near a west- or east-facing window. Ensure that you don’t overcrowd the space around your pots with bay, because it requires air circulation for healthy growth.

-    Basil - basil is easy to grow, if you can ensure that it gets plenty of sunlight and warmth. It is best if you can place your pots with basil near a south-facing window - that way it is bound to get plenty of warm light and sun. You can start basil from seeds at home, which is easy, as long as you provide the aforementioned conditions.

-    Chives - normally you would expect to see chives in your garden, but it can be easily relocated indoors. Just dig up some from the outside and place it in a pot as the end of the gardening season draws near. Keep the plant out till the leaves die back and move the pot to a cool spot in your home (basement makes a good choice). Wait a few days and then move the pot next to a bright window. That is how you grow chives indoors.

-    Chervil - chervil is a type of herb that grows well in low light. However, it requires certain temperature between 65 and 70 °F to grow strong. Chervil is best started from seeds in the summer.

-    Parsley - there are two ways you can grow parsley indoors: you can either dig a clump from the garden as the gardening season comes to an end or start from seeds. Parsley will grow slow in a west- or east-facing window. If you want to give it a boost, you can place it near a south-facing window for best results.

-    Oregano - normally you would want to start growing oregano from a tip cut from your outside garden. Then place the pot next to a south-facing window for full light exposure. That should be enough to start your oregano indoors.

-    Rosemary - in order to start rosemary, you need a fresh cutting placed in a soilless mix. Keep the mix moist for best growing conditions. The plant will develop roots faster if you keep it next to a south-facing window.

-    Tarragon - tarragon grows best during the dormant period of early winter and late fall. Much like chives, you should pot up a mature plant from an outdoors garden and leave the plant leaves to die back. Leave the plant in a cool room and then next to a south-facing window so that it can receive adequate amounts of sunlight. Feeding with an organic liquid fertiliser will lead to fast and healthy growth.

-    Sage - you can start your sage indoors by taking a cutting from an outdoors plant. Garden care for this type of herb requires strong sun, so it’s best placing it next to a south window. It can endure dry indoor air well enough, making it favourable for growing indoors.

-    Thyme - there are few ways to start growing thyme indoors. One is to root a soft tip cutting from an outdoors plant. The other is to dig up and pot a mature plant from outside. Although it is best grown in sunny locations, thyme can tolerate west- and east-facing windows as well.

Growing and caring for herbs indoors is definitely something you should try out. You will be able to add fresh taste to your meals and enjoy the excellent aroma of these plants all year round.