Just because it’s coming up on winter, it doesn’t mean that you can’t exercise your green-thumb impulses inside as cold weather rages outside. With his in mind, what might be a solution is an indoor herb garden, which presents the added advantage to fresh herbs to winter meals. 

To talk more about this, writer and DIY enthusiast Dave Brothers talks about how you can set up your own indoor herb garden.

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Any chef will tell you that the best dishes are prepared using the finest, freshest ingredients – which is fine for chefs working in fancy restaurants, but more difficult for the rest of us, whose day jobs and city dwellings keep us from really enjoying the best food nature has to offer.

I certainly don’t have time to drop by the farmer’s market after work every day so that I can go home and toss a fresh salad, and living in an apartment prevents me from having any kind of outdoor garden of my own.

Photo: freakgirl

Fortunately, as living green and getting more in touch with our food becomes more important, there are a lot of creative people making products that can help anyone – even someone overworked, who doesn’t really have the time to grow their own food. From hanging planters that allow you to grow your own tomatoes indoors to kitchen herb gardens, there are a lot of options out there these days.

The easiest way to get started with this is by growing a simple herb garden. Herbs grow quickly, so you’ll get instant gratification – and if you accidentally kill them, they’re going to grow back without too much hardship on your part.

Indoor herb garden – what you’ll need

You can go about creating your herb garden in a few ways – there are a lot of premade kits that come with seeds, soil and little pots. I prefer the more DIY approach, though. Here’s what you’ll need:

1. Small terracotta or clay pots (I’ve used 6” pots in the past)
2. Potting soil
3. Gravel
4. A tray to catch excess water – you can go with individual plastic holders for each pot, or one larger tray, whichever you prefer
5. Seeds! Some herbs that are easy to grow include mint, parsley, thyme, oregano, rosemary and basil. Be sure to check the seed packets to make sure that the seeds haven’t expired.

Preparing indoor herb garden pots

First, you’ll want to put some gravel in the bottom of your pots – this helps the water drain. Herbs generally thrive when the soil is moist but not outright wet. You’ll layer the soil over this; make sure to pat it down a little to ensure that there are no air pockets.

Plant several seeds in each pot, because some seeds won’t sprout. Generally, very small seeds need to be only pressed into the soil; for larger seeds, bury them 1 to 3 times deeper than their height. Water your seeds, then cover the pots with plastic wrap – this will keep the soil moist until the seedlings start to grow.

Photo: Stevan Sheets

Keep your herbs somewhere with access to sunlight – they won’t grow if they’re in the dark behind your garage door, for example. Make sure to keep the soil moist as they grow, and you’re good to go! Enjoy your new garden and your fresh produce!

Painting herb plant pots

Optionally, you can paint the pots before you plant herbs in them. You’ll want to use a water-based acrylic paint, and it’s recommended that you paint the inside of the pot, too. That will keep water from leaking through the pot and messing up your paint job.

Once you’ve painted it, you’ll need to use at least two layers of glaze to make sure that the paint stays in place. Painting the pots isn’t necessary, but if you want to use them as an added decoration in your kitchen or another room, it’s easy to make them match the rest of your décor. It can also be a good way to get the family involved.

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Thanks, Dave!

Dave Brothers is a diy and general blog writer. He writes for many sites including Precision Garage Door. Dave also maintains a personal diy blog.

Cheers!

Rob.

Related posts:

1. Herb Gardens: Flavorful Gardening Landscape Additions
2. An Urban Garden for Beginners II: 14 Herbs to Grow Yourself
3. An Urban Garden For Beginners I: Growing & Using Herbs
4. DIY Raised Bed Garden: Grow Your Own!
5. Preparing Your Garden For Spring