How to Grow Herbs Indoors

Aside from buying your favorites from the supermarket, learning how to grow herbs indoors is one of the best ways to ensure that you have a yearlong supply.

Fortunately, it isn’t nearly as difficult as it sounds – especially if you’re only growing a couple hardy types, like parsley and chive, at a time!

1. Choose the type of herbs you want to grow. It’s important to remember that some herbs are more difficult to cultivate indoors, like basil, and should probably be left until you have more experience with growing herbs indoors. Parsley, mint and oregano are a good place to start. If you decide to go with a difficult type of herb, then you will need to purchase the correct type of grow light – there are 3 different types used for indoor gardening: fluorescent grow lights, high pressure sodium grow lights, and metal halide grow lights.

2. Decide on the type of grow system you plan to use. Many herbs can easily be grown in just a pot filled with soil provided that they receive enough sunlight – if the leaves start falling off or wilting, then you will need to move them to an area that has a better source of direct light. However, if you would like to add more variety to your indoor herb garden, then you may want to learn how to make a hydroponic system because it will enable you to widen your selection – it’s isn’t difficult to build a hydro system at home.

3. Purchase your seeds and get started! There’s no wrong time to start planting seeds when you’re growing herbs indoors because the seedlings won’t be subjected to harsh temperature changes. If you don’t want to wait for your seeds to sprout and grow, then start with an older plant so you can start harvesting the leaves earlier.

However, when you grow herbs indoors it’s important to remember that some will not be robust enough to thrive inside regardless of your efforts because they require very specific conditions, like warmer temperatures and more light. Additionally, it will be easier to grow a consistent fresh supply if you group your herbs into planters based on their needs – don’t attempt to keep plants with drastically different grow requirements, like lighting and soil type, in the same container.