Herbs
Basil, oregano, thyme … there are so many herbs that you can grow indoors all year and who doesn’t love cooking with fresh herbs? You can either start them from seed indoors or bring a few inside from your outdoor garden. Herbs are also a fun project with kids, teaching them healthy food habits and a love of gardening. Here are a few tips:
- If you’re bringing plants inside from your outdoor garden, be sure to wash their leaves and flush the soil with water so as to rid the plant of any pests before bringing it inside.
- If starting from seed, we recommend the Jiffy peat pellet starter system. It worked really well. Keep soil moist but well drained. We started them in a basement nursery, so they grew a little slower, but we also had a heater for a few hours during the day, an oscillating fan, and of course, grow lights.
- Repot into 4″ cups and then place mature plants into your Upotic Planter. We recommend creating a water reservoir and watering from the bottom cup. In winter, let soil dry out between waterings.
- Indoors, your herbs will need plenty of sunlight, either natural and/or with grow lights.
- Harvest plants a few snippets at a time. If you prune over 25% of the plant it could go into shock.
- Be sure to acclimatize plants when transitioning them back outside. Light is one of the biggest factors contributing to plant shock. Keep them in a sheltered, shadier place with indirect light before moving them into the sun.
Read more at Gardening Know How and visit our friends at Platt Hill Nursery.
The Upotic Planter 