Ever thought of swapping common houseplants for herbs? In addition to the distinctive touch, you will have fresh ingredients for cooking! The best types to plant indoors are easy to grow as long as you create the right conditions. They are sturdy, useful and beautiful.
For most, especially Mediterranean types like sage and thyme, you need a sunny windowsill with at least four to six hours of sun a day.
Herbs also need heat: 18 to 24°C and no less than 10°C. Make sure they have a good drainagethen use vases with holes and an all-purpose, peat-free compost mixed with sand.
Because they develop quickly, replanting in a larger pot, when the roots appear at the bottom, is very important. Also, moisture is needed, so place the containers on pebble saucers of water. Trimming the foliage is another essential step as well, as it helps your plants produce new, tasty leaves.
Herbs come in all shapes, sizes and flavors. Therefore, your choice depends on whether you are looking for aesthetics or taste. Discover the selection of the best herbs to grow indoors and start building your indoor garden:
1. mint
Spearmint has bright green foliage and a fresh taste. It can be used to make teas, sauces and the famous mojito drink. Propagating the species through cuttings is very easy and they will root easily when kept in water.
It likes rich, moist soil, but in an environment with a temperature between 15 to 21ºC. Just beware of its rampant producing trait, as it can spread quickly. So give her her own big pot and never plant it with other herbs.
2. Blonde
Famous for being used in the seasoning of beans, laurel is one of the best trees to grow in containers. In addition to its structural beauty, its foliage has wonderful aromatic properties.
Keep it in a vase inside your home, in a sunny location with good ventilation. Spray the leaves frequently and watch out for pests such as mealybugs.
3. Parsley
Parsley is invaluable in the kitchen and doesn’t need as much sun as other herbs. Choose from the flat-leaf, stronger-flavored varieties or the decorative curly-leaf types.
Learning how to grow parsley from seed is complicated, so we recommend that you buy small seedlings. Alternatively, if you have outdoor parsley plants, you can dig them up before winter, divide and plant on your kitchen windowsill.
Don’t worry about the amount of leaves you will cut for cooking, it will keep producing more and more. Parsley is a biennial, so it will thin out in the winter and needs to be replaced every spring.
4. lemon verbena
The species has a lemony aroma and is easily grown from cuttings. The fact that it is not completely resistant makes it perfect to be positioned indoors. Make a refreshing tea or add the leaves to fruit salads and ice cream.
It grows up to 2 m in gardens, so cut the stems to restrict growth if you’re short on space indoors. Keep it ventilated and spray frequently to protect against red spider mite.
5. Thyme
Thyme is an essential ingredient in every kitchen, with small aromatic leaves on strong flavored stems. Perfect for adding to savory dishes such as roast beef. It grows easily from seed and is highly ornamental, with tiny pink or mauve flowers in summer.
As a Mediterranean herb, it should be kept dry and in a sunny location. Choose from lemon thyme or thymus pulegioides. Keep cutting the stems to encourage fresh new growth, and use the flowers if you want a stronger flavor.
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6. Basil
Basil loves heat but not bright sun, and can handle a little shade. Plant them, from seed, in the spring. And position the pots on a warm windowsill out of direct sunlight or on the kitchen wall as a vertical garden idea. When they start to grow, keep trimming and using the scented leaves. They’re great with tomatoes or mixed into pasta sauce.
Basil needs to be kept moist, but not soggy, and replanted frequently as it grows quickly. Different varieties include a beet-colored purple leaf basil and the Greek small leaf basil.
7. Chives
With its thin green stems and small flowers, chives are very attractive. Obtain a seedling from seed in the spring, or dig up the seedling from the garden and repot in sections with peat-free all-purpose compost in the fall to have a supply of fresh chives on hand through the winter.
Trim your branch if the foliage looks yellow so it keeps producing new leaves, and avoid developing flowers if you’re growing for flavor.
8. Rosemary
This evergreen Mediterranean shrub does well in containers, but it can be tricky to keep indoors. As it is prone to mildew, keep it well ventilated. It needs at least 6 to 8 hours of sun, so select the sunniest room in the house.
keep your rosemary plants in slightly moist, but not soggy soil. And let the soil dry out between waterings.
9. Sage
The smoky flavor of sage leaves is perfect for stuffing meat and also makes a good tea. Another of the Mediterranean perennial herbs, the type can be positioned indoors but needs to be really sunny. Keep it warm at 21°C.
It likes good drainage, so it’s best to set it in a terracotta pot and let it dry out between waterings. There are several varieties to choose from: the more attractive looking purple (common sage) and a golden-leaved version (salvia officinalis ‘Icterina’). These can also be used for cooking but are less flavorful than the other species.
If you are going to fix them in the garden, prioritize placing them in the vegetable bed near your potatoes, as they are companions of this herb.
10. Marjoram
Marjoram can be compared to oregano, but has a more subtle flavor. It will be happy on an inside window in a warm place, ideally at a temperature of 18-21°C. The small leaves can be cut off the seedlings and added to salad dressings and pasta dishes.
Prepare the seeds in the spring or buy small branches. Prepare a mixture of all-purpose compost, without peat, and with sand or perlite for maximum drainage. Cut without fear at the end of summer.
11. Oregano
Sunlight is essential and soggy soil should be avoided. The types with golden, variegated leaves are best grown in light shade to avoid scorching.
Spray regularly and trim hard in late summer.
12. Myrtle
Myrtle is a shrub with highly fragrant aromatic leaves, which can be added to roast pork at the end of cooking. Attractive all year round, it produces fluffy white flowers in summer, followed by small blue-black berries.
The type needs the sunniest place you can give it, but keep in mind that it can grow up to 3 m. Choose the variety myrtus subsp. tarentina for indoor environments, which is more compact than the species.
13. Sardines (pelargonium)
The fragrant cousins of the popular flowering hardy geraniums do well indoors. Keep them at 13°C during winter. They have fragrant foliage, but insignificant flowers.
Select from pink (p. capitatum), lemon (p.crispum) and peppermint (p. tomentosum) varieties. Use them in cosmetics or cake making, and to flavor fruit dishes and ice cream.
They easily grow from cuttings in spring water. Cut the plants back in the fall, water sparingly in the winter, and don’t replant until really necessary.
*Via gardeningetc