How to Make a Kitchen Herb Garden

Overview

Fresh herbs are both easy to grow and hardy when planted indoors. Herbs for culinary or medicinal uses, fragrance and natural cleaning products can all be grown indoors with much success. Best of all, a kitchen herb garden is guaranteed to be free of insects and pesticides, ensuring picture perfect harvests every time.

Step 1

Find a place in the house that receives the most sunlight. Herbs like the sun, so the ideal amount of sunlight from the window would be at least 6 hours every day.

Step 2

Determine the number of herbs and their purpose. If planting both medicinal and culinary herbs, they will need to be grown in separate pots. If desiring to combine herbs in a single pot, check the herbs required area of growth to ensure none of the plants are overcrowded. Also, determine the nature and tendency of each herb, as some, such as mint, will take over a pot completely.

Step 3

Fill the pots three-quarters of the way with potting soil and place on their trays. Do not use outdoor soil for an indoor garden as it could contain insect eggs, which would mean an indoor infestation given the optimal indoor temperatures of most homes.

Step 4

Sprinkle the seeds into the pot. If sharing pots with multiple herbs, consider using Popsicle sticks as dividers while the seeds are germinating to ensure they do not combine. Cover the seeds with an additional inch of soil and gently compress the soil using your hand.

Step 5

Using a permanent marker, write the name of each herb onto a Popsicle stick and place the sticks at the edge of the pot with the names facing outward. This will allow for easy identification while waiting for the herbs to mature enough to recognize.

Step 6

Water the herbs and place on or near the window where they will receive the most sunlight.