Sometimes winter is great! Sometimes winter isn't so great! One way I've always dealt with not being able to garden outside is to garden indoors. Growing edible herbs indoors when it's cold outside helps ward off the winter blues. It's also great to have fresh, great-tasting herbs from the comfort of your home.
In my life, if I'm not growing, I'm more likely to be found in the kitchen. There is nothing better than enjoying the wonderful aroma and flavor of food cooked with fresh herbs. Not all herbs are suitable for growing indoors, but there are many herbs that are really easy to grow. If you're new to indoor gardening, grow herbs that you'll use to enhance the food you love to cook. Second, try to grow these herbs small so they don't get too big for your growing space.
Most herbs worship the sun. Light in our homes – Even if you place your herbs in direct sunlight it will not be enough to promote healthy growth. You will have to provide additional light for your herbs. There are many options for providing adequate lighting for production growth. Many economical LED lighting fixtures are now readily available and consume minimal electricity. Be sure to do some research into what will suit your space as the light should be adjustable to ensure any plants get enough light throughout their life. Be aware that the amount of footcandles or lux (both common measures of the brightness of light falling on a given area) reaching your plants decreases dramatically with the distance the light travels. Ideally, you never want to keep the lights closer than 8 inches from the lower leaves.
Although light is the most important factor for success, soil or media also matters. Weeds always prefer good drainage, so make sure the soil or media mixture drains very quickly. Feed your herbs once a week as they grow and water less and more thoroughly. If you wait until the soil is dry to the touch, you will be sure to not “drown” your herbs before you have a chance to enjoy them.
Many herbs you may want to grow are easily started from seed. Basil, dill, oregano, cilantro, and mint are easy to grow from seed. Other herbs such as rosemary, lavender and lemon balm should be started by taking cuttings. Cuttings are a type of asexual reproduction that some also refer to as clone plants. Every part of the plant will be genetically identical to the parent plant and will not exhibit the diversity that occurs when growing plants from seed.
General guidelines for taking cuttings are to choose a healthy plant to take cuttings from. If possible, take a 4- to 6-inch piece of stem with the leaves attached to ensure there are a number of nodes located where the current leaves are growing. Use pruners, secateurs or a clean, sharp knife and remove all but two of the leaves at the top of the stem and then gently pinch off the top leaf or cutting tip. Removing the apical meristemma (the top leaf or growing point) will trigger a number of internal processes that will help the plant grow new roots more quickly and then continue to grow stems and leaves. By removing the lower leaves, the nodes where the leaves used to be are usually the easiest point for new tissue to grow.
Place the cutting in a moist mixture without soil, vermiculite or peat moss. Place some plastic over the cuttings to retain moisture and place the cuttings in bright light. Monitor the cuttings until you see roots and new growth. Gradually remove the moisture tent and transplant into growing medium if necessary.
Hanbidge is a master orchid gardener. Follow us at www.orchidhort.com; Via email at info@orchidhort.com; On Facebook @orchidhort and on Instagram at #orchidhort. Follow GROW live on our Facebook page or visit GROW's YouTube channel.
