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When Moving Herbs Indoors Providing Adequate Light is a Critical Component

You can bring your herb plants in from the garden in the fall, but your indoor herbs will need artificial light in order to thrive. In place of outdoor summer sun, 10-12 hours of artificial light is required to successfully grow herbs indoors. 

  • Even though you have placed the herbs in a nice south-facing window, there will be less light available for normal growth.

  • Less light will produce weak, spindly stems and leaves with little flavor or fragrance. 

In and north of USDA growing zone 5, during the shorter days of winter the sun is available for fewer hours per day . Also, the intensity of sunlight passing through even the sunniest widow is half that of direct sunlight out of doors! So, while your herbs are snug and warm on your nicest window-sill, your herbs grown inside must struggle to survive on fewer hours of weaker sunlight!

When growing herbs indoors, over watering is the another common danger.

Herbs should be grown in containers with proper drainage. Let the soil in the container dry out at least to1/2 inch below the surface before watering. Don’t let the plants wilt between watering, but don’t let the soil remain soggy. A direct result of continuously wet soil is root rot. Root rot is a common problem for those who are winter growing herbs indoors.

When growing herbs indoors some of the  more common herbs are basil, dill, fennel, marjoram, oregano, parsley, sage, summer savory or thyme.

Herbs such as Rosemary, Tarragon and the mints are more difficult to grow indoors. The biggest challenge with these herbs is moving them from the garden to pots without destroying the tender root structure.

Fertilize sparingly with a mild solution of soluble fertilizer

One teaspoon of All Purpose MiracleGro or other soluble fertilizer per gallon of water is an adequate mix. Water made from melted snow is a treat for your herbs! Scoop up clean snow in a well-rinsed bucket and place it inside until it melts to room temperature. Melted snow is the closest thing to rain water you will find in those cold and dreary winter months!

Thomas Kueny, Publisher       http://www.growing-herbs.com

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