How to Grow Herbs Inside

Rosemary

Herb gardens are tasty ways to add flavor to your cooking. In the summertime, many people grow herbs in backyard gardens and window boxes. You can enjoy the same freshness and quality all year round by planting an herb garden inside your home. If you love to cook growing herbs in your kitchen is a great way to always have fresh ingredients available. Herbs are a beautiful addition to your kitchen decor and also provide a fresh aroma.

Things You'll Need

• Potting soil
• Herb seeds
• Four-inch pots with drainage holes and bases.
• Plastic wrap
• Fluorescent light
• Spray bottle

Instructions

1. 

   Soak the herb seeds in room temperature water overnight. Be sure to label the soaking containers so that you know which herbs are being in which pots.

2. Prepare your pots for planting. Fill each pot three quarters full with potting soil, and pack it down to eliminate pockets of air.

3. Gently push your seeds into the soil; do not plant them deeper than three times their size. Spray the soil with water. Stretch a piece of plastic wrap to cover the top of each pot. Place your pots in a warm windowsill. Keep the pots several inches from each other.

4. Once the seeds begin to sprout, remove the plastic wrap. Set up the fluorescent lights 2 to 4 inches above the seedlings; raise the lights as the seedlings grow. Keep the lights on for 14 to 16 hours each day.

5. 

   Water your herbs with room temperature water whenever the soil is dry. Rosemary is the only herb that should be watered while the soil is still damp.

6. Feed the herb plants once a month with an organic plant food, which is available at many gardening centers. Fertilizing your herbs boosts production and plant health, but doing so more than once per month can result in a loss of flavor.

References

• Marion Owen