Avant Gardener: Satisfy Need to Garden with Indoor Herbs

  • By Kyle Valentini
  • November 19, 2010
  • 227
                        
I am not a houseplant person. I don’t want to fuss with ferns, spider plants or African violets. I forget to water them, struggle to find the “right” kind of light and usually find their remains strewn about the house after they are attacked by the cats. Some houseplants are pretty but they always remind me of that part of the supermarket where you find overpriced plants intermingling with Mylar balloons of Sponge Bob and refrigerator magnets that say cute little things like, “ I’m your mother not your housekeeper”. I don’t want my house to look like that. I do long for green leaves and the smell of soil in winter but choose rather to grow herbs inside to satisfy this need. Growing herbs indoors is almost easier than growing them outdoors. There are no weeds to contend with, few pests if any and elements like wind and rain are not an issue. Most herbs need a lot of light, full sun as it were, in order to thrive. If you don’t have a lot of natural light you can supplement with artificial grow lights. I find them terribly unattractive, however and would only use them when absolutely necessary, say for seed starting but for some their ugliness is worth an indoor garden. The whole point of growing herbs indoors is for the sweet smell, taste and beauty herbs bring. Whether you use them in a culinary capacity, for drying or just to have something green in winter, herbs are not demanding and need very little care. Lavender and Rosemary are slow growing but starting them indoors now will give you a head start when spring arrives. They will beautify your window sill in winter and can be placed in the garden when temperatures warm and the danger of frost has passed. Flat leaf parsley is a staple in the kitchen. It doesn’t need as much light as some other herbs and will continue to grow even as you pick leaves off for cooking. Be certain to choose flat leaf varieties. The curly kind is terrible in cooking and frankly a waste of soil. Thyme comes in more varieties than I can count from lemon to pepper to cinnamon. Low growing and compact, thyme can even be planted as a “ground cover” with other potted herbs. Pick leaves from new growth. Stems that have become woody will produce fewer leaves and can be pruned or cut out. Thyme is a perennial and can be added to the outdoor garden in spring. Sage is beautiful but very distinctive in flavor. If you do choose to grow it you might find you don’t use it in the kitchen very often. It is the perfect herb to dry and add to potpourri or sachets when you want insecticidal properties. Sage comes in many varieties as well. Basil is the taste and smell of summer. Without a lot of light it will become leggy and produce fewer leaves but it is still worth the effort. There is nothing like fresh basil when the ground is frozen and the landscape grey. Experiment with different varieties like African Blue or bush which produce much smaller leaves than the standard Genovese. Basils are annuals and will not be able to be planted in the garden in spring. Once basil begins to flower leaf production stops. You can pinch flowers off to further the leaf production but eventually the plant will stop producing. You’ll find growing herbs indoors satisfies culinary and crafty needs but more importantly it allows the year round garden to be just that…a gardener.


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