Thursday, June 13, 2013

Growing a Windowsill Herb Garden

Herbs can be grown outdoor or indoor. You may want to start with a small garden that you can easily take care of, and if you want to be with your plants for the whole year or just for the winter season. If you want to plant indoors, better cultivate a windowsill herb garden so your herbs will receive their needed sunlight.

A windowsill herb garden is good for gardeners who want to stay close to their herbs. Also, these plants need minimum care to keep them thriving. You need to take note of some requirements, however, as herbs will not live if you totally neglect them. The basic necessities of any plants are light and water. Herbs are no different.

In your windowsill herb garden, include only plants that do not grow tall or big. Make sure you can fit your plants to the windowsill. Trim your plants regularly to keep them under control. Trimming will also make your herbs thick and bushy. Refrain from clipping the plants in winter time. It is encouraged to allow them to grow back a little so they will have protection against intense cold.

A windowsill herb garden is best placed in area facing south. Southern exposure receives the brightest and longest sunlight, and herbs need about 10-12 hours of sunlight everyday. Although this is usually the case, this is not true for all herbs. Some tender plants will prefer weaker light, but find out the nature of the herb first before you plant. Expose every part of the herb by rotating it every now and then within the week.

Most of the time, a windowsill herb garden facing south still does not receive enough sunlight. Herbalists provide an artificial light to make sure their plants receive the right amount of light and heat, as these plants love light. You can use fluorescent for this.

Herbs can be placed on any containers as long as these containers have good drainage outlet. Pots with small holes at the bottom will make a good haven for herbs, as extra water cannot collect at the bottom of the container. Use a light potting mix instead of garden soil to prevent extra moisture from being stuck at the roots. Too much water will cause the roots to decay and will even encourage some diseases. Water your plants sparingly, especially if the topsoil is a little dry.

Choose plants that will easily thrive in an indoor environment, like chives, mint, rosemary, oregano, thyme, sage, basil, marjoram and parsley. They are manageable also and they don't grow very big. Keep your windowsill herb garden fertilized, but not too much. An over fertilized plant will grow weak. Worse, it may not be as tasty anymore. Fertilizer is also not advisable in winter as herbs grow slowly by this time.

Growing herbs on a windowsill is such a versatile way of utilising space in your home whilst providing you delicious and fragrant herbs.

I truly love windowsill herb gardens, there are herbs growing on all my South facing windowsills. Over the years I have learnt the art from trial and error, and found to truly succeed at herb gardening you need a lot of the correct knowledge and clear instructions.

Mike Jacovelli is a gardening enthusiast who loves bringing his hard work into the kitchen, the most important ingredients to him are the wonderful aromatic herbs grown in his dedicated herb garden. He is a passionate herb gardener and has a burning desire to show others how to become successful herb gardeners.
http://www.successherbgardening.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Jacovelli

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