July 13, 2009

Organic Herbal Gardening On Small Indoor Plots

By Susan Honeywell

Working on organic herbal gardening inside a building is a great way to provide your family with fresh produce and also with beautiful greenery. In fact the sweet-smelling herbs not only look and smell good; they are also great for adding flavor to your cooking.

By growing organic herbs indoors, you will be able to enjoy out-of-season delicacies and not worry about a sudden spell of cold ruining your crop. Another great advantage is that you won't need a huge amount of space; just a few pots will allow you to improve your cooking with fresh and free produce.

There are very few herbs that cannot be grown organically indoors, so rather than thinking about herbs to avoid you should focus on the plants that will go well together. It is great to have an organic garden theme!

If you like Italian herbs, go for rosemary, chives, capers, oregano, fennel and basil. Burnished earthen pots will make your garden look authentically Italian. If on the other hand you are a fan of French and Provencal aromas plant lots of parsley, sage, lemon basil, marjoram.

Another important consideration for your organic herbal gardening plan is the kind of containers that you will employ. You will want to choose pots according to the specific herbs you intend to grow, as some are not suitable for small pots.

First and foremost, those minuscule herb peat pots sold in discount stores give the wrong idea. These are for saplings, and your indoor organic herbal gardening efforts will go nowhere with such small thinking.

Container size is important, so begin with those that are a bit larger than those in which the live nursery plants were purchased. This will give your plants room to start growing. Once your herbs are stabilized and growing well, transplant them into larger containers. This is important to ensure growth and so that nutrients make it from the soil into the plant.

To garden organically, it is important to only use earth that is organically certified. The soil should not be too alkaline or too acid, a medium acidity is just about right. And any fertilizers you choose to use should be organic too.

In most cases, available natural lighting will be enough, although some growers may want to try out electric growing bulbs. But in normal circumstances, these won't be needed. Check if your chosen plants prefer sun or shade, and then place the sun-lovers on a south-facing window. The others should go where there is plenty indirect sunlight.

Make it a habit to regularly tend your organic herbal garden, and you will find that your food will improve much at little expense, and also that you will have brought a piece of nature to your home. - 27105

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