Pin It

January 20, 2014

How To Grow Herbs Indoors For The Winter


Source


There's nothing like a few leaves of fresh parsley or a sprig of mint to liven up a pasta dish or cup of hot tea. 


Their is a solution 


Grow your herbs indoors for the winter!



Here are two easy peasy ways to achieve this....



Grow Your Herbs In Water


No access to potted or ready-to-be-potted plants? 

Do not fear...........

The effortless way to bring outdoor herbs into your kitchen is to put a few cut stems, or "cuttings," in water. 


Yep water.....


it's that simple.

You can use stems cut from your own garden or some bought from your local farmers market. 


You could even buy fresh herbs in the produce section of the grocery store........



They can  possibly be fresh enough to thrive and grow for weeks or months in a jar of water.




Mints, pineapple sage, Basil, oregano, stevia, thyme, sage, and many other herb cuttings will grow very well in a jar of water on your windowsill for months.





Herbs that don't grow well in water are annual herbs, such as cilantro and dill which cycle is to live long enough to flower and then go to seed.



To grow these cuttings in water, select healthy, young, actively growing herbs with stems about 6 inches long.


With a very sharp pair of scissors or pruners cut them off the plant


Strip off all of the leaves from the lower 2/3rd’s  of the stem ….You can save these stripped leaves for your favorite dish!


Now go get you a clean jar,  fill it with water that is deep enough to cover the stripped portion of the cuttings.



Source



DO NOT use distilled water, as it doesn't have trace minerals that your growing herbs will need.


Put the jar in a warm, sunny place…….



Now is the time to watch for the roots to grow.......



Once roots show their pretty little faces, you'll start to see new growth on the shoots.



Harvest individual leaves, or cut off the shoot tips as needed.........



If you don't see any roots within a couple of weeks, toss out any cuttings that are rotting




Light.......You’ll need to provide your herbs with at least six hours of direct sunlight each day. 


A sunny window sill?  


or perhaps a special grow light or even a 40-watt fluorescent bulb



Re-pot Your Outdoor Herbs

Growing herbs indoors can be as easy as digging up the roots of your outdoor garden herbs and putting them in a pot ……




you can then set them on a sunny windowsill for the duration of the winter.


Herbs flourish the best in cool temperatures—between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit 

Later on when the spring arrives, rather than buying a new herb seedling from a nursery, you can just replant your potted herbs back in the garden.

Bingo, money saver!


Happy herb growing





Until next time,
Photobucket

1 Thoughtful Comments:

Shabby Sweet Tea said...

I need to save a buck or two and grow my own inside! I love the first planter box pictured.

Photography

Shoot Fly Shoot