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Do you like fresh herbs for cooking? Growing your own herbs with a windowsill herb garden is a great way to easily have all of your favorite culinary herbs like basil, cilantro, oregano, dill, rosemary and chives right within an arm’s reach while you cook.
A kitchen window sill herb garden is not only functional – it can also add a lot of charm and character to your kitchen! Nothing livens up a space like beautiful, healthy plants growing!
In this post today, we’ll share how you can get started easily learning how to grow your own herbs indoors right from your very own kitchen. It’s fun and you are sure to enjoy the many benefits!
Which Culinary Herbs Are Best to Grow in a Window Herb Garden?
The first thing that is important is to choose the best types of plants for your to grow in your indoor spot. There are several factors to consider: the amount of sunlight the spot receives, the amount of space available, and of course which types of culinary herbs you like to cook with the most!
Here are some of the most common types of herbs to grow indoors:
- Basil
- Dill
- Chives
- Mint
- Parsley
- Rosemary
- Cilantro
- Oregano
You can also find some inspiration on the types of herbs to grow on our list of best indoor herb garden plants.
While it’s tempting to want to grow every type of herb out there, it is important to remember that some herbs can grow quite large!
Fortunately, with enough trimming, you can grow almost any type of plant you’d like on the sunny edges of your windows – you just need to make sure that the pot itself will fit along the ledge.
You can choose to grow your plants from seed, or you can often purchase common herb varieties from many local nurseries and garden centers.
The advantage to starting from seed is that it will cost significantly less and you will be able to grow more plants. However, it can sometimes be difficult to get seeds to start.
If you struggle with starting your own seeds, buying a young plant ready to grow is a great option. Another advantage to this is many home and garden centers offer guarantees on all of their live plants.
If for some reason your plant does not survive, you can often bring it in for a refund or exchange – just be sure to keep your receipt!
Start Your Own Windowsill Herb Garden with Easy Herb Gardening Kits
One of the easiest ways to get started with growing your own indoor windowsill herb garden is by using a ready-made kit. A kit will have all the supplies you need, often including soil, containers, seeds, and instructions. If you are new to growing herbs indoors, this can be a great low-risk way to get started.
There are many kits available to choose from that have everything you need. These kits make it very easy to get started with growing your herbs – just buy the kit, follow the directions to plant the herbs, and wait for them to grow!
Indoor Herb Gardening Kits to Start Your Garden
These are some of our best picks for ways to start growing your own indoor herbs easily at home. These gardening kits have everything you need to get started with growing your own plants.
This indoor herb garden kit, The Rustic Trio Window Garden, features just-the-right size pots for many windows, and most importantly, the pots are the type which allow for proper drainage when you are growing your plants. The kit includes everything you need to get started with growing your own herbs indoors, include the seeds, specially formulates soil and real slate markers, so that you can write the names of the herbs.
AeroGarden with Gourmet Herbs
Aerogardens have revolutionized indoor herb gardening with a complete hydroponic LED system. These plants do not require any type of soil to grow, and are grown entirely in water. This is also an idea solution if you don’t get a lot of natural sunlight in your kitchen or if you wish to grow a lot of herbs but don’t have a lot of space on your window sill. This complete Aerogarden Gourmet Herbs kit comes with everything you need to get started.
Easy to use herb gardening kits such as the ones we show here are a great way to get started in learning how to grow herbs indoors without having to do a lot of research or worrying about whether you have all the necessary supplies to get started.
If you want to grow your garden without a lot of effort, time, or research and just enjoy the bounty of your beautiful plants, a ready-to-plant herb gardening kit makes it easy!
How to Create Your Own DIY Window Sill Herb Garden
Of course, you do not need to necessarily start with a kit. While most kits have a great selection of culinary herbs to grow and choose from, you may wish to choose plants that are more difficult to find, such as dill or mint.
Choosing the DIY approach gives you the most control and flexibility over what types of plants you will grow and the design of the containers you can use.
DIY Window Sill Garden: Supplies Needed
Of course, you can always choose to go the DIY approach for growing your indoor herb garden on a window sill. It is very important of course that you have the basic supplies, such as potting soil, seeds, and pots.
Choosing the Best Pots for Your Garden
The types of pots you use for your indoor garden are very important. Choosing pots or containers with drainage holes and trays is extremely important in order for your plants to be healthy.
You should make sure that whatever containers you choose have holes at the bottom to allow water for drain, and a tray or saucer to collect the water so it does not make a mess all over your kitchen!
White Window Box Planter Set on Amazon
This is a very basic and stylish window box planter set. Each container has a drain hole to allow water to drain when necessary, and this is very important for healthy herbs!
A good indoor herb gardening pot should be no less than 6″ in size if you are serious about growing your own herbs indoors. While this may be too large for some windowsill garden areas, you will get better results the larger the pot, as the plant will have more space to grow.
Drainage, as mentioned before, is also very important. Choose a pot that has drainage holes and a saucer tray for the best results. We can’t emphasize the importance of this enough!
Choosing the Right Soil & Fertilizer for Indoor Herb Gardens
Most indoor herbs will do fine with standard potting soil. However, drainage is very important, so you may wish to get a potting soil which contains perlite, which look like tiny white beads in the soil. These tiny pellets will help whatever water is not absorbed by the soil to properly drain and flow.
Garden soils with Perlite can be very helpful for small garden containers, as it helps ensure the root system of your plants does not become over watered.
Do you need Fertilizer?
In most cases, you do not need to use fertilizer unless the plant needs it. If you use too much fertilizer, you plants will not be able to survive, as too much can cause the plant to burn.
Another downfall of using fertilizer for indoor herbs is that it can cause the plant to grow very large, but it will have less concentration of the properties of the plant which give the plant its flavor. Having a gigantic basil plant may sound great, but if the basil is not as flavorful it is not worth fertilizing.
In some cases, if your plant is not thriving as well as you think it should, it may be beneficial to use a fertilizer. If you do use a fertilizer, be sure to get one recommended for herbs, and to follow the specifications according to the manufacturer.
How to Grow a Windowsill Herb Garden:
It’s easy to get started growing your plants in indoor windowsill herb gardens. Follow these simple steps to get started growing your indoor herb garden today!
Step 1: Gather Your Supplies and Materials
If you are using a indoor herb gardening kit such as these ones, you will want to make sure you follow any directions that come with the set. Each seed or seed pod that you grow may have special instructions. While most herbs will thrive in the same growing conditions, there are a couple that may require different planting instructions.
It’s also a good idea to give yourself enough of a workspace to properly plant and set up everything. You may wish to work outside at first if the weather is nice, or you can always start planting at your kitchen table. The extra space can be helpful!
Step 2: Plant the Seeds and Water
Watering the seeds of the plants is very important when they are first planted, as this will help with the germination process. Most plants will take at least 3-5 days to start sprouting, some plants may take up to 10 days or longer.
To know whether or not to water your herbs, it is helpful to keep the soil damp to the touch, but it should not be wet or dry. If the soil is too wet or too dry, your plants may not grow or may start to yellow and wilt.
Step 3: Watch Your Plants for Growth
As your sprouts begin to grow, you will notice your plants will be taking off quite nicely! It’s important that you give the plants time to mature before you start snipping away and harvesting.
Some plants can be harvested right away, such as cilantro. Others, such as basil you may wish to wait about a week or two so the leaves can get a large enough. Of course, if you are cooking and want to use the herbs, don’t be afraid to use what is there! Herbs grow easily enough that they will soon replenish what you use as long as the plant is well cared for!
Tips for Caring for Herbs in Your Window Sill
Taking care of your plants is one of the most important things you can do. It is a good idea to research a little bit about the different herbs you are growing and what types of soil conditions, watering schedule, and amount of sunlight is necessary for them to grow properly.
We have a number of plants listed in our Herbs section in our online plant encyclopedia where you can learn all of this important information for growing each plant.
In researching your plants, it can be helpful to write down the details in a little notebook that you keep in your kitchen. It’s also a good idea to keep track of when you water your plants and when you harvest them.
This can be done with a simple plant watering chart or log you write down, or there are even many smartphone Apps that can help you keep track of whether or not you watered the plants.
Ensuring Proper Growing Conditions With Sunlight & Temperature
Most herbs will grow indoors just fine without much maintenance, but one important factor is to make sure your plant gets enough sunlight! Certain herbs require a lot of sunlight to grow well. Popular culinary herbs like rosemary and sage require a lot of sunlight to do their best.
If you do not get enough sunlight for your kitchen herb plants, you can consider investing in an inexpensive grow light. They have a wide variety of different models of grow lights. available.
You can also choose to replace your standard lightbulbs with special led grow lightbulbs that output the correct color temperature and light conditions to mimic natural sunlight.
Harvesting The Herbs
Each different type of plant will have its own set of instructions for harvesting of course, but most herbs are similar in how they grow and when it is the best time to use them.
You should harvest only the newest growth from your plants, as the stronger, earlier growth from the original sprouts is necessary to help it to continue to produce.
You should also harvest frequently, even if you are not cooking with the herbs that often. Most herbs can be dried, or you can freeze some when mixed with oil or butter for cooking at a later time. Drying your own herbs is an easy process and will give you a long term supply of every ingredient you need for cooking all of your favorite dishes!
It’s also important to know that some herbs simply do not have a long life span. Cilantro is one such herb, as it grows very quickly, but once it is done, it is done!
I always thought I was a horrible gardener for not being able to keep my cilantro alive after a few weeks, never realizing most of the problem was that cilantro simply only grows for a short time span!
Fortunately, with most of these plants that do not have a long life-span, you can always learn how to collect the seeds and propagate the plants to have a steady supply of your favorite herbs year-round.
So Many Benefits to Growing a Kitchen Herb Garden in the Window!
There are so many great reasons to grow your own indoor herbs inside on a kitchen windowsill.
For starters, when the herbs are in your kitchen, you will be able to easily reach for them any time you are cooking. This gives you super fresh herbs for cooking with, and it is very convenient to get them.
Another big advantage to growing your own plants inside your kitchen window box is that you’ll be able to save a lot of money. If you’ve ever noticed grocery store prices for fresh organic herbs, you’ll see you can spend more for a few sparse leaves than it would cost for an entire seed packet!
There are also many health benefits to using freshly picked herbs. Several culinary herbs also have medicinal use. Rosemary and Oregano are popular choices that are used not just for flavoring your favorite dishes, but helping with staying healthy and well!
I hope you find this resource helpful in learning how to grow a windowsill herb garden. Starting one today can help you enjoy all of the benefits of a fresh kitchen herb garden year-round for many more years of cooking to come!
What Are Your Thoughts?
Do you have any questions about getting started with growing your own herbs? Do you already have a kitchen window sill garden that you love? Share your experiences and ask any questions you may have in the comments section below!