Jul 24, 2009

Tips For Growing Herbs Indoors

Herbs, valued for their exotic flavor, pleasing fragrance and, many-a-times, medicinal properties, have been used by people since ages. Apart from cooking and medicine, they find a use in spiritual endeavors as well. In case you are a regular user of herbs, why not grow them yourself? If, by any chance, the absence of a garden is stopping you from the same, we have the perfect solution for you. You can start growing herbs indoors as well. How? The tips given below will help you know that.

How To Grow Indoor Herbs

Supplies Needed

-Fish Emulsions
-Flowerpots
-Herb Plants
-Planting Containers
-Potting Soil
-Sand
-Screen Mesh
-Seaweed Extract
-Mushroom Compost Makers


Instructions

-In order to grow herbs inside your house, you will first have to choose the perfect location for the same. Make sure that place has good ventilation, but does not receive direct drafts. At the same time, it should not suffer from great fluctuations in temperature

-The location that you choose for the herbs should receive at least 4 hours of direct sunlight in a day. You can also supplement the same with fluorescent lights, if necessary.

-Now that you have the best location in your mind, it is the time to choose the herbs that you want to grow therein. This will require you to determine how you want to use the herbs - for cooking, making potpourri or enjoying their foliage and fragrance. For the purpose, you can study books about herbs and browse through catalogs.

-The herb selection made; now is the time to go to a nursery that specializes in herbs and buy plants from the place. In case you get a bit confused, take the help of the nursery staff, which will mostly likely be knowledgeable as well as helpful.

-Get containers in which you will plant the herbs. They need to be 8 inches deep and 6 to 8 inches across. In case you want to plant a number of herbs in the same container, make sure that it is big enough to allow 6 to 8 inches of space between the plants.

-As the next step, start preparing the container for the plants. For the purpose, you will need to arrange pieces of screen mesh over the drainage holes of the container.

-Next, mix premium-quality, well-draining potting soil with coarse sand and mushroom compost.
-After combining the two, place a layer of the same over the wire mesh.
You will need to ensure proper drainage for the herbs as well. This purpose can be achieved by setting the containers on a tray that has been filled with gravel.

-By now, the container has been prepared completely. So, you have to set the plants inside them, making sure to place them at the same depth as they were growing in their nursery pots.

-Watering the herbs will be the next step. As for the regular watering, stick to a good soaking once or twice a week. You can stand each pot in about an inch of tepid water, till the soil gets moist, but is not saturated.

-When your herbs are growing at an active pace, you will need to feed them once in a week. For the purpose, make use of seaweed extract or fish emulsion.

-You have successfully grown the herbs indoors. Now is the time to harvest them. In order to do this, clip only the outer leaves or sprigs (as and when you need them), leaving plenty of vigorous growth on the plant.
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