The Mud Pit

Indoor Organic Herb Garden

Growing an organic herb garden is a delightful project. The fragrant plants not only look and smell good; they are also good for flavoring foods.

Indoor organic herb gardens have the advantage of being year-round, giving a continuous supply of fresh herbs. An indoor organic herb garden can be as small as a few pots on a window sill or as large as a greenhouse filled with containers of aromatic organic herbs.

Herb Choices

There are many ways to decide which herbs to include in your organic herb garden. Here are some ideas.

1. Italian Herb Garden: Plant rosemary, oregano, basil, fennel, and chives. Terra cotta containers will make your indoor organic herb garden look authentically old world.

2. French Herb Garden: Begin with lemon basil, marjoram, and parsley, and add other herbs you like to use in French cooking.

3. Fragrant Herb Garden: Choose angelica, bergamot, catmint, chamomile, thyme, lavender, lemon balm, mint, and sage. This organic herb garden is a natural air freshener.

4. Tea Herb Garden: If you enjoy herbal teas, your organic herb garden might focus on appropriate herbs for your tea: catnip, chamomile, lavender, lemon grass, mint, and peppermint.

You may not want to theme your indoor organic herb garden, but simply grow a few herbs that appeal to you.

Containers

Many herbs are well-suited to container gardening, but you will want to choose containers according to the herbs you intend to grow.

1. Those tiny herb peat pots sold in discount stores give the wrong idea. Your indoor organic herb garden will not last long with such small thinking.

2. Begin with containers a bit larger than those in which the live nursery plants were purchased. This will give your plants room to start growing.

3. Once your herbs are stabilized and growing well, transplant them into larger containers.

4. Basil, mint, oregano, and sage are examples of herbs that can be grown in pots of about 8 to 10 inches.

5. If you want a large crop of herbs that is constantly being replenished in your organic herb garden, use 3 to 5 gallon containers. This will assure you of having plenty of rosemary, basil, etc. when you want it.

Container Soil

Indoor organic herb gardens call for building organic soil. Your soil should have a pH of about 7, since herbs prefer a more alkaline soil. If yours is too acid, add some calcified seaweed. Be sure you use only organic fertilizers to build your soil.

Indoor Lighting

An indoor organic herb garden will need lighting, especially if your room is not sunny. Lighting is especially important for year-round indoor gardens.

Different plants have different light requirements, some preferring bright sun and others preferring shade. Most herbs prefer full sun, but there are exceptions, so learn what each of your herbs needs.

Incandescent lights, even though called “grow lights”, are a poor choice for your indoor organic herb garden. Fluorescent lights are better, and have the advantage of being inexpensive, easily available, and easy to set up. The best choice for lighting your indoor organic herb garden is high intensity discharge lighting, often called HID lights. These are even more affordable and efficient.

Useful and Beautiful

An indoor organic herb garden can be both useful and beautiful. Herbs are generally eager to please, and require little maintenance. Simply give them the right food, water, and sunlight, and they will reward you abundantly.

About the Author

© 2007, Anna Hart. Anna Hart invites you to read more of her articles about organic gardening at
http://www.organicspringtime.com
. Anna is posting new articles every week on that site, each one dealing with some facet of organic gardening. If you want information on
locating live organic herb plants
for your organic herb garden, you won’t want to miss Anna’s article on the subject.

How to Create & Manage an Organic Garden : Starting an Indoor Organic Garden

EarthBox 1010002 Garden Kit, Terra Cotta $32.25 Includes container, aeration screen, casters, fill tube, 2 b/w mulch covers, 1 red mulch cover, fertilizer, dolomiteSelf Watering 3 gallon reservoir w/ overflow hole prevents over/under wateringcasters for mobilityaeration screen prevents root rotBonus Red Mulch Cover include for tomato growingMade with UV-Stabilized, Food-Grade 100% recycleable plastic in the USA…

Worm Factory DS3GT 3-Tray Worm Composter, Green $79.95 The Worm Factory Composting System Worm composting is an incredibly efficient way to convert kitchen scraps into nutrient-rich compost for your garden. Most ‘Master Gardeners’ consider worm castings to be the very best compost available. Your plants will thrive with this all-natural compost. Sorting out the undigested scraps can be a messy, inconvenient chore with ordinary worm composters. The Wor…

Worm Factory 360 WF360B Worm Composter, Black $109.95 Similar in design to the popular Worm Factory 4-Tray Composter (CAD002) the Worm Factory 360 Composter features a thicker sturdier design with an improved base and lid. This composter can hold up to 8 trays instead of 7 and it includes a handy compost accessory kit featuring a coir brick hand rake scraper and thermometer which make maintaining your system cleaner and easier.The Worm Factory 360 co…

Seed Sprouting Jar, Glass Half Gallon – 1 pc,(Handy Pantry) $14.95 This half gallon sprout jar is everything you need to learn the basic aspects of sprouting virtually every kind of organic seed, bean or grain is here for you in this sprout jar! A perfect way to get started in sprouting….

Alfalfa Sprouts Certified Organic Seeds 50 Grams $3.99 Nutritious, delicious, and easy to grow! Alfalfa sprouts are high in many essential nutrients and low in calories. Their sweet, slightly nutty flavor and crisp, tender texture is delectable in salads, sandwiches, soups, and dozens more dishes. No need for a lot of space, time or fancy equipment this is a garden anyone can grow in any climate year round! For pennies a day, you can have the freshest…

Miracle-Gro 0149302-556 Potting Mix – 16 Quart $5.00 Miracle-Gro, 16 QT, Potting Mix, Superior Blend Of Composted Bark, Sphagnum Peat Moss and Perlite, Enriched With Miracle-Gro Plant Food, Feeds Instantly and Continuously For Quick Root Development and Sturdy Growth, Stand Up Resealable Waterproof Bag….

Garden Safe Fungicide3 Insecticide/Fungicide/Miticide Ready to Use 24-Ounce Spray 10414X $6.69 Garden Safe Brand. 3 garden products in 1: Fungicide, insecticide, and miticide. Prevents and controls black spot, powdery mildew, and other fungal diseases. Kills eggs, larvae, and adult stages of insects. Use on houseplants, ornamental trees, shrubs, fruits, and vegetables. 24 oz. Ready to use. Contains extract of Neem Oil….

One Quart Glass Sprouter Jar w/ Sprouting Strainer Lid: Grow Sprouts: Includes 2 Oz. Organic Alfalfa Sprout Seeds & Sprouting Instructions $9.95 This one quart sprouting jar is everything you need to learn the basic aspects of sprouting virtually every kind of organic seed, bean or grain is here for you in this starter pack! A perfect way to get started in sprout jars….

Adjust-A-Wing with Cord – Size Large $139.99 Twice the power and efficiency of most other reflectors Increase the growing area under each lamp by up to 75% Increase yield per lamp up to 50% The adjustable light spread allows growers to create ideal lighting conditions across all stages of plant growth for increased vitality, health and yield Sold in 17 countries across 4 continents, Adjust-A-Wings are the reflector of choice for many of the …

Green Toys Indoor Gardening Kit $14.33 This hands-on indoor planting set is complete with organic seeds and soil. Includes three yellow planters, one green planter tray, orange trowel, three packets of organic seeds (teddy bear sunflower, zinnia and basil), and three expandable soil disks. Made from recycled milk jugs. Made in the USA….