Q: I'm desperate to start my own indoor herb garden, despite my history of killing several house plants in the past! Although my gardening skills/knowledge are minimal, I'm getting so tired of having to throw out half a bunch of yellowed cilantro that cost me $5 at my corner grocery. I dream of trimming fresh herbs from my own garden to add to dinner! I'm interested in growing parsley, cilantro, basil, chives, dill, thyme and rosemary but have no idea about the specifics of these plants?
Which should be kept separate from the others? Do certain herbs need more sunlight than others? How often do I need to trim these bad boys? Water them? Also, none of the windows in my apartment get direct sunlight, but there is a lot of light from my east-facing kitchen window, and southern-facing bedroom window. Would one placement be better than another?
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Have you tried Googling "How to herb garden indoors"? One of the first results might be a little helpful!
http://www.ehow.com/how_312_grow-herb-garden.html
Put rosemary in a big container,parsley doesn´t like sun, basil likes water and hummus weekly...
i started one last month, getting creating and even chalkboard painting my pots, to write what herb it was. I've been having such difficulty keeping the herb plenty, as there are different "harvesting" methods for each. Do your research before you trim there for use, unlike me, so as to not have to repurchase, and repot.
if anyone had any tips on harvesting herbs, please leave your comments! thanks
Really, $5 for a bunch of cilantro?! Here it's less than a dollar...but when you start your herb garden, look for vietnamese cilantro. It tastes a little stronger and looks a little different, but it's very slow to go to seed, which is often a problem with the "regular" kind.
I've found it's on in the selection of herbs to grow. I too have been frustrated at my lacking green thumb when I've tried to grow the peskier plants. So now I stick to the ones I love and use all the time, Basil and Rosemary. Once you have these plants going strong try adding thyme or oregano.
However, I too can't live with out cilantro I buy a bunch cut for under a buck, trim the ends like you would flowers and place them in water in the fridge, a good group will last a week or two that way.
Oh and for extra credit try training your rosemary to grow in a topiary, like I did. So simple, yet so chic.
http://www.everafterblueprint.com/2011/02/09/rosemary-topiary/
So far I've had success indoors with basil, as long as it has lots of sun. If you have any outdoor space, I've had success with basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage and parsley, both in pots and in a garden box. Right now I have some of them growing in pots, getting lots of sun, and getting watered every day, and they're doing great. I hope this helps. This has just been my experience.
I have been growing herbs on my windowsill for years. I have each plant potted individually and the window get's good light. I don't start with seed...just bite the bullet and start with an existing plant. The following herbs seem to do well indoors...basil, cuban oregano, mexican cilantro, thyme and rosemary. The cuban oregano and mexican cilantro are similar flavorwise to regular oregano and cilantro but they are hardier plants.
gets not get's
I agree with sunnysidegirl - start with strong, mature plants, & put them in the sunniest window you have. I find that rosemary and thyme are the easiest to sustain over time indoors - both of them like to be a little dry. I've also got a Bay tree that's a few years old. All of these grow wild in the hot dry Mediterranean climate. I've had Basil grow for a couple of years. Basil is a Drama Queen, btw, looks half dead when it needs a drink, but perks right up when watered. I've never had much luck with cilantro and I found a place where they sell big clumps of it so I just keep it in a jar or water in the fridge, but change the water every couple of days. It will last 3 weeks like this. Parsley likes a cooler spot and also lots of water. I don't even try to grow it indoors anymore. I have some outside and treat it the same as cilantro in the winter (jar in the fridge).
One thing to remember is that it is traumatic for plants to have leaves cut off of them. So, if you harvest a lot and frequently the plant may not have time to recover. That's OK, just be prepared to replace them sometimes.