potted herbs sitting at the window

7 Best Herbs To Grow Indoors In Your Kitchen Now

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I know I’m not the only one that loves the idea of having fresh herbs ready on hand to pick from your kitchen. If you love cooking then having your own herbs is great. Growing your own herbs might encourage you to cook more than you already do.

Either way here is a list of the best herbs you can grow indoors. Readily available for you from the kitchen and the best tips on how to keep your herbs healthy.

Benefits Of A Having A Kitchen Herb Garden 

Growing herbs indoors ensures you have continual produce that you can harvest all year round. And the best thing is you don’t need a special kit to do so if you don’t want to.

Growing herbs indoors means that your plants won’t be killed off by sudden frosts or suffer during extreme heat as you can keep a close eye on them. As well as this, having your own indoor herb garden will also improve the air purity in your home.

And of course is best used in your cooking meals for friends and family. What’s not to love?

How To Grow Herbs Indoors 

So you’ve decided to grow your own indoor kitchen herb garden, now what? Your herbs need these three things:

  1. Good quality growing medium (soil or stones)
  2. Water 
  3. Light

Firstly, choose the herbs that you want to grow. It’s a good idea to start slowly rather than overwhelm yourself with a jungle of aromatic herbs. You can grow herbs from seed or buy a plant.

When buying a plant (especially from a supermarket), lift the plant out of the pot to make sure there is indeed only one plant. Very often, herbs bought in supermarkets are two or more plants stuffed into a pot to make it look fuller and more enticing but this is all for effect.

Your plant will soon start to struggle if the roots become too crowded so always best to check and if needed, separate.

Sew your seeds or repot your plant in a rich, moisture-retaining soil with adequate drainage. If there is one thing you must always remember when gardening indoors or outside, all pots must have drainage holes.

It makes it so much easier to water and your roots will thank you for it! 

If repotting don’t be tempted to use the largest pot you can find. Many plants don’t like to be upsized like this too quickly so pick a pot just one size bigger. 

How Often To Water Herbs?

Once you have planted your herbs make sure to water. Plants dry out very quickly when kept indoors. Especially over winter when the central heating is on and radiators are blasting out heat.

Water every couple of days and make a judgement call as to whether this is too little or too much. A good test is just to feel the soil. It shouldn’t be dry or boggy. Just damp to the touch. And water more often or less as needed.

The yellowing of leaves is normally a sign your plant needs a change to its watering schedule.

Now, we come to light – herbs should be positioned in the sunniest part of your kitchen. Preferably a south or west-facing window. They require at least 6 hours or more of sunlight to thrive. If you don’t get this don’t despair, there are ways around it. 

If your kitchen isn’t that sunny you can use an indoor herb growing kit. This usually comes as an overhead grow light with a tray underneath to put your pots. These can be a bit pricey. Or you can just use grow light bulbs on their own and plug them into a lamp you have already. 

Easiest Herbs To Grow Indoors all year round 

1. Cress

Cress is probably the easiest herb to grow and look after. It’s packed full of vitamins so it’s a good herb to have on hand.

It’s a forgiving plant. And it prefers a sunny window sill and to be kept well watered. The joy of cress is that it doesn’t take long to grow another should you not get it right the first time!

2. Basil

There’s nothing quite like the taste and smell of fresh basil. Now imagine bringing that into your kitchen!

Basil is a very popular herb to grow indoors, as it doesn’t cope with cool temperatures well. So an indoor climate is perfect for it. It is fast growing. And needs little care and doesn’t usually get attacked by bugs. You can even move it outside for the summer and bring it back in over winter.

Basil needs a lot of sun. It’s a Mediterranean plant after all. It should be getting at least 6 hours of direct sun all year round to keep you in constant supply of basil. If you think your basil is not catching enough rays, then investing in a grow light. It will work wonders, especially in the winter.

lasagne dish topped with basil herb

3. Chives

Like basil, chives are super easy to grow and care for. In the garden they can be used as natural pest deterrents and will do the same indoors. They produce beautifully kitsch purple pom-pom shaped flowers. With the faintest sweet aroma.

Chives do need a minimum of 6 hours of sunlight per day which can be supplemented by a grow light in the winter. They prefer a humid environment so growing them in the kitchen would be ideal.

To increase humidity you can also place your pot of chives on a damp tray of pebbles. Chives are very forgiving. If you do forget to water your chives or if you spot any yellowing of the leaves, you can remove these parts and it will sprout anew. 

Pasta dish topped with chives

4. Rosemary

A favourite, rosemary (for it’s amazing scent) is a little more high maintenance than other herbs but well worth the effort. You can pot rosemary anytime of the year indoors. Rosemary is very similar to lavender in that it thrives in poor and free-draining soil.

Humid conditions and boggy soil are a big no-no for rosemary. This can rot the roots and kill the plant. To keep it at its best make sure the pot has good drainage. And only water it when the soil feels dry to the touch. 

Rosemary does need to have full sun 6-8 hours of the day, supplement with grow lights if you feel it is lacking. 

Dessert tarts with sprigs of rosemary

5. Thyme 

Thyme is less high maintenance than the rosemary herb. It only needs the basics to thrive as it grows naturally in Mediterranean climates. Thyme prefers lots of sun, poor soil and water only when the soil feels dry to the touch. 

Thyme does prefer a less humid spot. If you find that the leaves are yellowing or your plant is wilting and the soil is not completely dry then it would be best to give it a change of scenery and put it somewhere with less humidity and more air circulation. 

Tomato bread tart sprinkled with thyme

6. Mint

Mint is the perfect herb to grow in a pot. When grown in the ground it does spread and take over the garden. So restricting mint to a pot and having it indoors is ideal. 

There are so many different varieties of mint to choose from. Ranging from pineapple mint to chocolate mint. And others in between.

To grow mint successfully it will need about 6 hours of sunlight. And although mint is a particularly robust plant make sure to keep well watered. 

7. Parsley

Who doesn’t love a sprig of parsley to garnish? Fresh parsley is super easy to grow and the taste of fresh parsley is out of this world compared to dried. 

It is easily found in garden centres and supermarkets. But again be mindful to check how many plants you have in the pot. Parsley should be kept well watered and not allowed to dry out and positioned in a bright and sunny spot.

Best Tips and Practices for Looking After Herbs

To recap, for herbs to grow well they need:

  1. A bright and sunny windowsill. Preferably a south or west-facing one that gets at least 6 hours of direct sunlight a day (even in the winter). 
  2. The soil should be good quality compost with plenty of nutrients. (Unless it’s a Mediterranean plant like rosemary or thyme).
  3. Plenty of airflow around the plant. This will stop the air around the plant from becoming stagnant and mildew from setting in.
  4. To ensure a healthy plant rotate your pot once a week. So that the plant fills out well and doesn’t become uneven.
  5. Along with watering herbs you can feed once a week also. Use a liquid feed diluting it down to half strength and feed weekly to bring the best out of your herbs.

Indoor Kitchen Herb garden Essentials

Indoor Kitchen Herb Garden Essentials

1 Colourful Ceramic Garden Tags | 2. iDOO Hydroponics Growing System | 3. Grow Your Own Lavender Kit | 4. Set of 3 Marble Toppers | 5. Clear Water Mister | 6. Square Tray | 7. Wooden Stakes | 8. Set of 3 Mini Ceramic Plant Pots | 9. Herb Gardening Book | 10. Drainage Lava Medium | 11. Small Brass Watering Can

1. Colourful Ceramic garden Tags

How cute are these rainbow garden tags? You’ll be able to tag your potted pots for your kitchen. And these tags are sure to last if you move any of your herbs outside.

2. iDOO HydroPonics Growing System

If you feel like you haven’t got enough sunlight in your kitchen but still want to grow some herbs this garden system from Amazon comes with top reviews.

3. GROW YOUR OWN LAVENDER KIT

Lavender was one herb that wasn’t on the list. But you can get this easy starter pack to grow the sweet smelling herb.

4. set of 3 marble toppers

Adding stones on the top of your soil helps keep in the moisture. These set of 3 marble toppers come in different colours. And help protect your little plants.

5. Clear Water Mister

As you’ve read some herbs don’t need much water to keep them going. A little water mister like this is a good alternative. This will save you from drowning them.

6. Square Brass tray

Having a tray makes it easier to keep your potted herbs together. And will keep your kitchen surfaces safe from dirt. These practical trays come in 4 different sizes from Terrain.

7. WOODEN GARDEN STAKES

Another set of garden stakes to choose from. A more eco-friendly version for you to label your herbs.

8. SET OF 3 MINI CERAMIC PLANT POTS

Super mini, cute and vibrant coloured pots for you to start your seedlings off in.

9. HERB GARDENING BOOK

Want to know what you can use your herbs for? This book will give you different ways to use your plants. As well as more tips for looking after your mini herb garden.

10. DRAINAGE LAVA MEDIUM

There’s lots of ways you can use this type of medium for your herbs. You can line the tray or use as a soil topper. So this will come in handy.

11. small brass watering can

Keep this mini watering can on hand as an attractive and functional decor piece for watering your plants.

That rounds up the best herbs to grow indoors year round. Hopefully the idea of herbs in the kitchen will serve as cooking inspiration. And also make a pretty and aromatic addition to your kitchen.

Chloe

Best Herbs To Grow Indoors In Your Kitchen Now! @chloedominik

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