How to Start a Window Herb Garden

Fresh herbs

Once you have used fresh herbs in cooking, there's no going back to the dried stuff in a bottle.
Herbs are relatively easy to plant, grow and maintain, giving you all the fresh herbs you need to create that special taste that only fresh herbs can offer. Any sunny windowsill or area in the kitchen will work for your special indoor herb garden and you are only limited by what seeds are available.

Things You'll Need

• Plant pot
• Potting soil
• All-purpose fertilizer
• Seeds
• Markers of your preference

Instructions

1. Decide which herbs you are most likely to use. It makes no sense to grow tarragon if you've never used it and have no idea what it tastes like or what to put in into. Common choices would be parsley, basil, cilantro, sage, thyme, rosemary, chives and oregano.
   Keep in mind that you only have so much room; the seedlings need room to grow and if you plant too closely, you will probably be disappointed with the results.
   If this is your first attempt, start with easy herbs like cilantro, oregano and basil. You may find, as time goes by, that purchasing certain plant seedlings makes more sense than trying to grow them yourself. For instance, thyme and sage don't always germinate well, so you may want to either do without them or purchase small plants.

2. Decide how big a pot you can grow. If you only have a small windowsill, you'll need a fairly small, elongated pot. If you have space in front of a patio door that offers good light, you can choose a larger rectangular pot.

3. Fill the plant pot with good potting soil. Add a tablespoon to fertilizer per foot wide that your pot is. For instance, if you have an 18-inch pot, add 1-1/2 tablespoons fertilizer. Mix it in to the top 3 inches of the soil. Break up any clumps that are in the soil.

4. Plant any small plants first, since this will disturb the soil more than planting the seeds. Plant them on the outsides of the pot, leaving the middle for seeds.
   To plant small plants, dig a hole slightly larger than the root ball. Set the plant in and gently pull the dirt in around them to cover the roots, leaving it level with the rest of the soil.

5. 

   Make your markers to denote what is planted where. You can use Popsicle sticks or even smooth rocks with the name of the herb written in permanent marker, or, as shown, labels made with a label maker.
   Place the markers in the soil, giving room for each variety of herb.

6. 

   Gently pour out the seeds in the areas that you have marked off. Scoop some soil out of the bag that the soil came in and gently cover the seeds completely with the soil. Using your hand, gently press the soil down so that it makes good connection with the seeds.

7. Water the seeds and plants if necessary. Sometimes the soil is quite moist and you can skip this step for 24 to 48 hours. Just be sure that the soil doesn't dry out.

8. Place the pot in a warm, sunny place. If the days are a bit overcast, you may want to loosely cover the pot with plastic wrap to hold in moisture and warmth.
   Keep soil moist but not damp.

Tips & Warnings

• Once your herbs start growing, give them a bit of fertilizer every two weeks to keep them growing strong.

References

• Growing herbs indoors