How to Make a Kitchen-Sized Herb Garden

Whether you live in a city apartment or on a farm, you can grow your own indoor kitchen herb garden with limited space and little hassle. Why overpay for dried store-bought herbs when you can turn a tiny corner of your home into a personal oasis, filled with tasty, fresh herbs for cooking, healing and tea? It's easy, inexpensive and fun to grow your own aromatics. Here are step-by-step instructions on how to make a kitchen-sized herb garden.

Things You'll Need

• Pots Gravel Pan Watering Can Spray Bottle Dried Pepper Garlic Dishwashing Liquid Incandescent Lighting

Instructions

1. Choose a space that remains between 50 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit and has about five hours a day of sunlight and 50 percent humidity. Find a draft-free south window for the best results. An east or west window can also work. If your window is above a radiator or gets below 40 degrees Fahrenheit at night, you should choose a space away from the window and provide plant lights for warmth.

2. Purchase incandescent lights or fluorescent lights, and install a timer so that the plants are sure to get at least 15 hours of light per day.

3. Place the plants in pots with a tray of pebbles underneath, and keep the tray filled with water to prevent drying. You can also spray the plants with a mist once a day.

4. Examine your plants regularly to make sure that they do not have pests. Rinse any pest-ridden plants upside down in your kitchen sink, or rinse large plants in the shower.

5. To create a non-toxic pesticide, mix 1 teaspoon of dishwashing liquid with a cup of water, and spray it on the leaves daily. Or you can mix 10 peeled garlic cloves and 1 teaspoon of dried hot pepper with 2 cups of boiling water, and allow it to steep for 15 minutes. Strain it through cheesecloth or a dishtowel, and then stir 2 teaspoons of dishwashing liquid into the mix. Store the mix in the refrigerator for up to one week, and spray it on the plants every couple of days until the pests are gone.

Tips & Warnings

• Parsley, garlic, spearmint, lemon thyme and summer savory are just a few of the handy herbs you can grow in your kitchen garden. Other culinary herbs, such as basil, dill, sage, chives and marjoram will also thrive indoors as long as you care for them properly and provide plenty of light, whether it be natural or artificial. Use peat moss, sand, gravel and potting soil in equal amounts for the best indoor growing results. If you have access to compost or well-rotted manure, they make terrific fertilizers for herbs.

• Be sure to destroy any pest-ridden or diseased plants that will not clear up with treatment. Don't throw them outside, or they may infect your garden. Do not use fresh manure or composted meat-products to fertilize your herb garden soil, as these may contain pathogens and parasites.

Resources

• More on Indoor Herb Gardens
• Growing Herb Gardens Indoors