Starting an indoor herb garden is a lot easier than most in-home gardening endeavours. In fact, a lot of herbs thrive in the mild, controlled temperature of our homes, provided you’ve got adequate sunlight coming in from the windows. The weather fluctuates quite a lot here in Edmonton, so for year-round fresh herbs to add to your home-cooked meals, your best bet is to set some pots up on the kitchen windowsill. Some herbs can actually bolt if the weather is too warm (that means they produce flowers instead of directing their energy toward making more edible leaves), so a temperate room like the kitchen suits them just fine.
An indoor kitchen garden full of fresh herbs is a very worthwhile project for both beginner gardeners and experts alike. After all, anyone can benefit from tastier food with fresh, organic ingredients. Plus, if you tend to be a bit of a space cadet and are constantly forgetting to water your plants, it’s convenient to keep them just a few paces away from the sink. It’s also much harder to forget about your plants when they’re in one of the most frequently visited rooms in your home!
To get started with growing herbs indoors, take a look at our top recommendations for easy herbs to grow inside, as well as some bonus tips for keeping them lush n’ green all year.
The Easiest Herbs To Grow Indoors In Edmonton
You’ll have no trouble at all getting these seeds started at home. Pick some up from our garden centre today, and before you know it, you’ll have tasty, harvestable herbs right at your fingertips!
Cilantro: Who knew a culinary herb could spurn such heated debates? Whether you’re pro-cilantro, or you insist it tastes like soap, there’s no denying this spice is a staple in cuisines around the globe. One of the best parts about growing cilantro is how quickly it sprouts up, so if you’ve got kids, this would be a great project for them. Fill a few cups with potting soil, pop in two seeds to every cup, keep the soil moist, and within a few days, you’ll start to see some green poking up!
Mint: This fragrant herb pretty much grows like a weed, so it’s hard to mess this one up. If you’re a beginner gardener, you’ll get a lot out of growing mint at home””literally. With enough sun and some regular watering, you’ll be able to harvest bunches of leaves off your plant every week. Seems like a pretty good excuse to make some mojitos!
Sage: A traditional medicinal herb that has been used for centuries for a multitude of purposes, sage is pretty iconic. Personally, I’m all about that sage and brown butter sauce””seriously, have you ever had sage butter on butternut squash ravioli? It’s a transcendent experience. Sage likes the sun, so it’s best if you place it on a south-facing window, but as far as watering goes, it’s relatively drought-tolerant. If it’s looking a bit tired, give it some water, but you can usually wait until the top few inches of soil have dried out before watering it again.
Basil: Basil comes from the same family as mint, and similarly, it grows pretty quickly. Plus, there are so many cool varieties to choose from! Thai basil, lemon basil, sweet basil””the list goes on and on. It has a lovely ornamental appeal, too, since it also produces cute white flowers. Smells great, tastes great, looks great, and it can complement so many different dishes””it’s pretty much the perfect herb plant.
Rosemary: There are endless ways to use this classic savoury herb, so it will never go to waste. It can be grown inside, but it can be a bit finicky at times, so it’s essential to make sure conditions are just right. A pot with good drainage and loose soil is key, so it doesn’t get waterlogged. Lots of sunshine is a must, and a bit of a draft or some air circulation will help too because, once in a while, it can fall victim to powdery mildew if the foliage stays moist for too long. You can avoid that by watering the soil directly, instead of pouring it all over the plant.
Thyme: I’m not gonna lie, half the reason I love to grow this herb is for the puns. (“What thyme is it? It’s culinary thyme!”) However, it’s also pretty simple to cultivate, so that’s a bonus. Thyme grows inside as easily as it grows outside, as long as it’s getting enough sun. Wait for the soil to dry up a bit between watering, add some diluted liquid fertilizer every two weeks, and you’ll have plenty to harvest””plus some cute purple flowers to enjoy!
Growing Herbs Indoors Without Sunlight
Now, if sunlight isn’t in high supply in your home, or if we end up having dreary grey skies for a bit longer than anticipated (certainly not out of the realm of possibility here in Alberta), your plants might start to wilt, and you’ll need to call in some backup. An indoor herb garden light will provide your plants with an extra blast of rays so they can photosynthesize the energy they need. We have some of the best grow lights for herbs available at our greenhouse in Edmonton, so stop by Salisbury and we’ll hook you up with the perfect setup depending on the size of your herb garden, and the available space you have in your home.
Now is the perfect time to start seeding your in-home herb garden, so be sure to visit us at Salisbury so we can help you find the best collection of seeds based on your cooking habits and preferred culinary styles. It’s one of the easiest garden projects with one of the biggest payoffs, so you may as well dive right in and start growing a full-on spice rack!
