Flavor Any Season

Cultivate your herbs indoors this winter to flavor your decor and your meals! Local landscaping professionals give us a tip or two on growing these edible beauties inside.

Edited by Moe Godat

Category:

Gardens

Use a well-draining soil and don't water too often as most herbs like to stay on the dry side and can be prone to fungus in an indoor setting.—Laura Hill, Frisella Nursery.

Be sure to place herbs in your sunniest window, and be careful that the temperature stays consistent between 60-70 degrees. Watch for drafts around windows or leaves touching the glass panes, which can cause foliar damage to some temperamental herbs such as basil. When watering, make sure you see water coming out from the bottom of the pot and drain off any residual water which collects in your saucer or cache pot to prevent root rot. —Justin McCoy, Chesterfield Valley Nursery.

Clip generously and use often. Herbs are essentially aromatic weeds that adapt easily to many outdoor conditions but don’t care for the restrictions and coddling of growing indoors. Most will give you a good six to eight months of flavor and easy harvest, after which they might be replaced and their remaining foliage clipped and dried for later use.—Kathie Hoyer, Bowood Farms.

Use quality organic potting soil and healthy starter plants. Bright light is required or can be supplemented with LED grow lights. The new trend is growing a living wall of herbs with planting pouches that can be switched out once used up. —David Sherwood, Sherwood’s Forest Nursery.

Most herbs need as much natural light as possible to grow well indoors, ideally in a bright spot near a window that faces south and receives at least six hours of sun. Mint, parsley and thyme require less light and will grow well in west-facing windows. Rubbing lavender leaves with your hands can remove strong odors like garlic or onion. —Ann Lapides, Sugar Creek Gardens.