Indoor  Herb garden ..Getting started

The great thing about herbs are they are easy to grow ,require little space and  can practically be grown anywhere.
 Before growing anything you have to be clear about 3 things 

1 ) Container:
 Ideally all edible plants should be grown in food safe containers.Try to avoid plastic as far as possible. Terracotta pottery,stainless steel are good non leaching  material for growing edible herbs.

This is important  as plastic when reused often has toxic elements  leaching into the soil.
This causes the roots to take them up and finally they end up in your body.

Container must have 3 to 4 holes at the bottom of the container for drainage.
If holes are not there make them with a screw driver



Size of the pot should be 10 to 20% larger than the root ball.
This is important  as you want your baby plant to be comfortable  and grow well.

Gravel or no gravel
Some experts suggest that you should put gravel at the bottom of your pot for good drainage. Others say gravel actually blocks up the holes at the bottom of the container and makes the root waterlogged!

Now over the past 2 years that's been my research topic too.

I personally prefer not to put gravel at the bottom as they make my pots heavy to carry around  and I have had good results without gravel.

 Type of container and watering needs 
 
Porosity of container  varies according to type of material  and that determines  the water requirement.
Natural  material like unglazed terracotta,clay,timber paper pulp are highly porous.

This helps to draw out excess water and allows air to circulate around the roots .


Plastic and metal plantar don't lose water from their body surface so  they need less frequent watering.

 When it comes to drainage terracotta pottery pots have microdroplets leaching throughout their body so less chance  of waterlogging of roots 

The downside is they need more frequent watering during hot dry summers.

Place a saucer below your pots if you are placing on a windowsill or table so that while watering the water doesn't make a puddle .
Pour away the water in the saucer into your watering can and use it for later.





That's a terracotta  planter.Those are my chillies growing in abandon.
The planter is not yet painted.




2)Potting material 

I would suggest you start with a good quality potting  mixture.Buying from the local nursery is the cheapest.But if you are time strapped and Time is money then there are many online options available .


I generally mix 2 teaspoon of  bonemeal with the potting mix for every plant I transplant.

Put the potting mix  up to about 2cm from the top of the container.That is a gap of about 2cm between  the top of the soil and container rim should be present .
This prevents spillage of water from the edge of the container.




3)Light.
If you have a sunny window sill great then you can have a window box or hanging basket full of herbs.
But if you have hardly any sunlight and it's strictly indoors.
Get a GROW LIGHT.(More about the light in the next lesson)
I have a long  northeast balcony and it's not very sunny specially in winter.So I keep a regular LED light burning in the evening to provide the plants with some more light.


4)Things you need to start on a budget

Rubber gloves to protect your hands.
Sharp scissors  to cut the bags containing potting mix etc.

*Newspaper and Bin liner bags to spread on your floor/table where you plan to transplant  your baby plants (This is important  if you want to avoid sweeping vacuuming and cleaning your  floor/table after planting activity)

 The container of your choice.


 
That's a picture of another terracotta  planter which is painted, hung with nylon ropes from the rails.
My basil is growing in another planter below.

Container  hygiene :Always wash your containers with biodegradable soap and water before repotting. 






Write to me at dramrita@healthwealthbridge.com and tell me what’s the 

#1 Problem you have with your  indoor garden