Herbs, in Winter?

Yes, you can grow herbs through the winter! If you have a window sill in your kitchen or some space near a southern facing window or sliding glass door in your basement, you can grow herbs during the cold months of winter. You could actually do it even just using grow lights. But that might be another post, because I'm just starting out on this adventure for the second year and I haven't used the lights yet. I might this winter...

Last year I moved some of the herbs inside that I had growing in containers. As the cold weather approached and they still looked fairly hardy I hated to just let them die in the bitter cold (and to see them go to waste!) I knew it could be done, I just wasn't sure it could be done by ME! LOL They actually did really well, and I even was able to move them back outdoors in the Spring when it warmed up enough. Some of those may even be candidates for coming back in again.

There are so many herbs and some of the most popular ones are good choices for growing indoors. Parsley, rosemary, thyme, and basil are among the easiest and most popular for cooking with in my kitchen.

If you have them growing already outdoors in containers, just plan to bring them in and give them some extra TLC while they adjust to the change in light, temperature and humidity. They need well drained soil so make sure your container has holes for drainage in the bottom and place something under it to catch the runoff in a way that prevents the roots of the plant from sitting in water for long periods, and protects your floors and/or table surfaces from water damage. Make sure you watch for pesky little bugs that may hitch a ride indoors! They can wreak havoc on your plants and they aren't much fun to have indoors.

I'm fairly certain that most of the nurseries and big box stores have long ago put away all seeds and gardening supplies, but you might be able to find some available late in summer - give it a try. But if you're like me, you have a stash of seeds lying around somewhere that you had hoped to get in the ground in this past Spring (and didn't). All you need are some containers (if they don't already have them, make sure to drill holes in them before you start filling them up with soil), garden soil and/or other appropriate growing medium, and your choice of seeds, plants starts, or cuttings for propagating.

I could walk you through doing this, but there are so many great sites that have already done it. I'm just going to point you in their direction!! No point in re-creating the wheel, right?

Heres a good one to start with:  Grow a Good Life

Let me know if you decide to try it and how it goes!!