Get Started Growing Indoor Herbs

I keep a potted herb garden for all my culinary needs. Bay, thyme, mint, chives, parsley, rosemary, cilantro, scallions, et al. It really comes in handy and isn't terribly demanding.

My mother almost destroyed her garden when she decided to plant mint. The stuff is a weed!

HarcourtArmstrong

i lol'ed when i saw this post's title.

around here 'indoor herbs' almost definitely mean weed.

Simon Wong

Since these herbs are used for their "healthy green" leaves. They should be taken out in the sun often or as mentioned by others put in places (e.g. window sill) where they could have enough light. For control of insects, applying soapy water on the leaves may be an option.

@HarcourtArmstrong: A delicious weed!

SpartanFry

I wonder if you could grow tea, green teat in a pot!

SpartanFry

Plus oregano, basil, sage, and tarragon.

@SpartanFry: "green teat in a pot!"? That sh!t sounds dangerous, man.

I have a cat that can beat me up

@DigablePlanet: Wait...is that more a flower than an herb?

DigablePlanet

I wanna grow saffron...I can never find it in stores!

DigablePlanet

@SpartanFry: Ummm...green teat in a pot??

DigablePlanet

i love my herb garden

Witherslick

@Simon Wong: Aw I was looking forward to LH's best advice on picking an indoor grow light and how to best hide it from the cops.

Let me know when there are instructions for growing cloves. Cloves are EXPENSIVE!

HarcourtArmstrong

@DigablePlanet: If memory serves, it's the stigma (or is it stamen?) of a flower. It's so expensive (and difficult to find) due to the need for manual (read: low-paid human labor) retrieval.

[en.wikipedia.org] has the article.

We grew most of those last summer as well. Cilantro was hard as hell though to keep growing. Everything else turned out pretty well, thyme, basil, etc.

@SpartanFry: You mean disgusting weed. I hate mint. :/

@HarcourtArmstrong: Mint is weed? I might plant some then...

Perfect now I can start my own business selling herb. When the cops come for me I'm blaming it on you Lifehacker. It's all on you.

eagles3

@HarcourtArmstrong:

Plant mint in a pot whether it is grown inside in your house or out in your garden. You need something that can isolate the runners which can grow up to six inches underground and pop up somewhere else.

If mint happens to become rampant in a garden, your best bet is to stifle the area from sunlight and water. Use an opaque plastic sheeting weed guard and let the sun cook it out for a month or so.

Farnsworthiness

My mother uses the Aerogarden system to grow her herbs... if I knew my cats wouldn't eat them, I would try some myself.

@kikolani: You might consider trying chives, cats often aren't a fan.

@SpartanFry: I'm not going to harp on the same thing as the others, but my green tea is usually in a pot....from the time I begin to steep it until I pour it into a cup, at least.

@HarcourtArmstrong: Cloves are the spent flower bud (think the bottom section of an artichoke). I believe they grow in a tree rather than a small plant, and they have very specific climate needs. So no dice there...

hdskifreak

@Matt: Not to mention how to set up a good hydroponics system. :(

duncanyoyo1

@hdskifreak: And cloves are spice, not an herb.

Lulupasternak

Why all this cross posting with AT?

Lulupasternak

@Junkan: does that control those little gnats? I started an herb garden last year in pots outside and then brought them in for the winter. GNATS EVERYWHERE. I even bought some crazy chemical, tried underwatering, bought some coconut husk to kill the eggs, NADA. Finally had to junk the plants.

the_deliverator

I like to use SmartPots gardening containers to grow my herbs. They're easy to use, portable, and involves no mess. Check them out here: http://www.SmartPots.com

RoryFlick

Cool post! However, I've found that basil isn't that hard to grow. I had a "balcony garden" last year and while I had help from a green-thumb with starting my mini-herb garden, it did fine during the summer months.

It really depends on what you actually use though. I really only made use of the cilantro and basil.

[www.poweredbytofu.com]

@duncanyoyo1:

+ Watch video

Snorbalp

@Junkan: I don't know, it seems that often times people see their plants are dying so they figure they must need more sun and take them outside. A plant that isn't used to being under intense direct sunlight will be shocked and probably die at that point if it wasn't doing that well to begin with. How would you like it if you hadn't been out in the sun for months and then you're suddenly forced to lay out in it all day?

@kikolani: Or try catnip, they won't care about anything else that you've got.

Jake712

@eKiTeL: I just paid 5,000 bucks to do exactly that. Well, there was beer too.

So you're saying my plants need beer? I can see that.

Jake712

@Log1c: Cilantro tends to bolt (go to flower) pretty quickly for me too. But, you can harvest the seeds on the flowers for use as coriander! I mainly use mine to replant as I don't like coriander particularly. I have PLENTY to share.

LoganNarberth

@HarcourtArmstrong: We have the same problem. The folks who lived in our house before us had the yard really well landscaped, but they had planted mint. It gets out of hand quickly, so we just dug it all up this week and we're planning on putting a small waterfall in its place.

@Matt: Best way to do a covert indoor grow is to set up a grow cabinet using something like a refrigerator box, old speaker cabinet, or large plastic tubs/garbage cans. You just need to make sure no light can get out, and it can sit in your closet without catching anyone's eye.

Once you get the cabinet set up, you need to get air flow and lighting. Small air blowers can be found at any hardware store, as can carbon air scrubbers to keep the smell to a minimum. Then, just set up a few CFLs (those new-fangled fluorescent bulbs), water as needed, and watch your beautiful herb flourish.

Weed is called weed for a reason: it's pretty damn easy to grow it.

I live in a fairly small apartment now since my divorce. I think a big pot of a variety of herbs is really nice because it's usually just me, or me and perhaps a lucky lady, so I don't need a lot. It looks nice and keeps the apartment smelling fresh. I agree that mint needs to be quarantined (bamboo too, if you are planting outdoors) but you have to have mint for the cocktail hour.

LawrenceLiverless

@HarcourtArmstrong: Cloves should not be expensive, it is just some of the spice manufacturers keeping it that way. I can buy a HUGE bottle of cloves for $3 from a local market where the owner packs the bottle herself, or I can spend $6 for less than 1/4 the amount at the local supermarket. Guess what I choose.

LutherGadgie

@DigablePlanet:

It's the stamen of a particular crocus that grows in a particular part of the world, hence why it is so precious.

Of course, only a few threads are required to flavor a whole bunch of rice.

Try looking online for saffron. Otherwise, try the Goya Sazon seasoning Con Azafran. It's pretty good for getting some saffron color and flavor on the cheap.

dragynphyre

@HarcourtArmstrong: Mint can be a useful weed. I'm using it with great success controlling morning glories. Mint is a water hog, it sucks all the water out of the ground so nothing else can grow.

Carmen Loetz Foster

Bush basil is tough and doesn't go all weedy when left to its own devices over a long weekend. It can cope with drying out and is resistant to pests. It tastes wonderful - it doesn't have the anise-y flavor of Thai basil that some people don't like for Italian cooking. Its texture makes it better for raw and stir fry applications though. If you're going to use it for pesto, you have to process it very fine and leave it overnight in the oil to get the full flavor. On pasta it works just fine in a chiffonade as long as you can fold those little leaves up tiny enough.

JazzyCalidus

@HarcourtArmstrong: Buy online to avoid gauging. Looks like the going rate is $10/8oz or $18/lb which is better than the $200/lb you'll pay at some super-lame-market

orlo

+ Watch video

kangaroo

I've had my own hydroponic herb garden going for a few years now. My favorites are Basil, Rosemary, and Italian Parsley. Hydroponics is the way to go if you really want great yields and fast-growing plants, but it does require a bit more know-how.

nicepants

oohhh. I'd like to have one of this. Too bad, we have a rat infested street, these aromatic herbs would most likely entice them.