text: Indoor Herb Box - Dollar Stretcher Community
  Dollar Stretcher Community » Self Sufficiency and Living Green » Gardening » Indoor Herb Box
  Last post Wed, Jan 2 2008 4:05 PM by chamomile. 10 replies.
  Thu, Dec 6 2007 10:11 AM
  There has been some discussion on growing our own foods. I found this article with planting plans for indoor herbs.
  Country Living's Indoor Herb Box
  Do you think this would work well? Do you have ideas to add to this concept?
  Thu, Dec 6 2007 10:46 AM In reply to
  Re: Indoor Herb Box
  I see no reason why it wouldn't work. Herbs are easily grown in containers and most of them do well indoors. I wouldn't fertilize so often, at least at first, unless the plants looked like they needed it. Most herbs don't need as much as vegetables do in the way of soil nutrients.
  Thu, Dec 6 2007 3:00 PM In reply to
  I usually transplant some parsley, chives and thyme from the garden, before a hard freeze gets them, and bring them indoors. It doesn't take any more than a 6 to10-inch terra cotta pot and a sunny south window. I think they grow best if you keep them snipped off. One problem I have experienced is when you have U-V treated windows. I don't think the plants get a full spectrum of light and don't grow as well. To combat this, just put the pot outside in mid-day sun for a short period of time if the weather isn't in a "deep freeze" (some herbs can take a lot of cold weather), or use a grow light. I've even grown a small container of tomatoes (a special variety that works very well in a container - Red Robin).
  I've put my homemade cold frame (two plastic window well covers and some bricks painted black to help hold in heat overnight) over my garden herbs and even though we've had many cold nights in the teens, I still have parsley, chives, sage, thyme, rosemary and lemon balm I can harvest from outside.
  Wed, Dec 19 2007 12:07 AM In reply to
  sure it would work. I have pots of basil, mint, parsely and rosemary that live inside during winter and outside once it warms up. They grow better outside, (the mint doesn't like being inside) but I still get enough to use during the winter.
  Wed, Dec 19 2007 7:31 AM In reply to
  I like having some plants indoors. I was thinking I might be able to make a nice arrangement with edibles.
  Tue, Jan 1 2008 10:46 AM In reply to
  Dear All, I only have Northern exposure, & that is across a short alley with large buildings there that cut off the sunlight even more. I successfully grow a Chinese plant called Snowdrop, 2 pots of (Chinese again) bamboo that look quite different from one another, an umbrella plant, a Chinese(!) evergreen, & philodrendron. I've tried herbs again & again, & they die on me no matter what I do, & it's not like I have a purple thumb (see above). I know that Grow Lights would help, but I can't afford them. It would cost more for Grow Lights than to buy dried herbs at the store.
  Tue, Jan 1 2008 6:55 PM In reply to
  I have a similar situation, lightwaise. Our house is built into a hill, with a northeastern exposure. I have brought herbs inside in the fall, and put them on the windowsill..only to watch them grow leggy and gasp their last...is kind of sad. I'm content with low light houseplants and dried herbs, too.
  Tue, Jan 1 2008 7:16 PM In reply to
  Doesn't a northeastern exposure make your house cold, too? For some unknown reason, my building (built in 1912, as I recall) is warm all the time. Nice in winter, a bit much in our Sept-Oct summer. While there are 2 apts on each floor that face north, the rest of the apts either face west or east, & 2 apts at the other end of the hall face south, lucky them! I bet THEY can grow herbs inside! Yours in Him, Deb
  Wed, Jan 2 2008 6:11 AM In reply to
  I'm not sure, only because it's always colder here anyway! Up on the hill, it's generally 10 to 15 degrees cooler than it is in town, only a couple miles away. We often even get moe snow and it takes a bit longer for things to green up in the spring...something to look forward to : ) It is a real blessing in the summer.
  Maybe those lucky southern facers swelter in hot weather, though?
  Wed, Jan 2 2008 11:16 AM In reply to
  Ah, Yes, Chamomile! The southern-exposure apartments probably ARE nearly unbearablle in hot weather!
  I've always wondered about your "handle." Is your favorite tea chamomile, or is it your handle for anogther reason? Yours in Him, Deb