Planting Herbs In Pots and Trays

Herbs have the ability to basically grow anywhere from pots, window boxes, hanging baskets, or an outdoor garden. Contrary to what you might think, growing herbs indoors isn't much different from growing them outdoors. Growing requirements are very similar .

There are 3 main factors that you have to get right for your plants to grow properly: water, sunlight, and soil. Your herbs, as with plants, need sunlight. If you plan to grow them indoors, place them near a window that faces west or south. Different herbs have varying light requirements but most of them should be placed in a sunny area.

If you're serious about being an herb grower, you may use fluorescent lamps or 'grow lamps' to supplement your light source. They want soil that is well drained and not very rich. The ideal soil mixture in containers would be if you mix 2 parts of potting soil that had been sterilized with 1 part perlite or coarse sand. To make sure that your plant would have good drainage, place gravel (about 2 centimeters thick) at the bottom.

The soil for these indoor herbs would have to be sweet enough so to supplement that, you can add 1 teaspoon of lime for each 5-inch pot. To maintain humid conditions, you can mist the plants. Another way is to moisten the pebbles. Compared to grown in a garden, they require more water. However, do not get the roots soggy or drenched.

When you have the herbs in a pot, you can transfer them from one place to another with ease. Annual may spend 100% of the time indoors. During summer, it will do your perennial a lot of good if you place them outside. Remember to bring it indoors before the frost sets in to prevent foliage loss. You can overlook this rule for the tarragon, chives, and mint will enter a certain rest period before forming fresher and firmer growth after introducing them to light frost.

While all of these will grow in containers, there are some herbs that are better kept in them than outdoors. One example is mint, which should be contained since it has a tendency to do a takeover of the garden. Maintaining an herb garden isn't difficult at all. The added advantage is that when you need the herbs for you cooking, you can reach for them anytime.

To keep them healthy, it's recommended that you perform light feeding periodically. Annual repotting is also suggested. Create a schedule and plot when you should be replanting your annual. Keep in mind too when to transfer your perennials outdoors. When you prune your plants, new leaves soon grow to take their place. If you have more than enough for your cooking, you can certainly offer them to your friends.