Window sill herb garden

A window sill herb garden is a good bet for all those with green fingers and culinary leanings but bereft of a proper garden area or lack of space and time to maintain one. An indoor kitchen garden with herbs to flavor meals not only adds color and charm to the window sills but may well be the answer to the otherwise hibernated urge to winter gardening due to the constraints of cold weather.

The placement of a window sill herb garden:

Most of these herbs require five to six hours of sunlight daily and a sunny window sill is a good option for a herb garden. Another option would be to put the plants and pots in a well-lit spot and then move them around in the sun for a few hours, as and when possible. Window sill herb garden enthusiasts are spoilt for choice when it comes to a range of artificial light options as there are fluorescent lights and special grow lamps that work if left on about 14 to 16 hours daily and do away with the necessity of shunting around the herbs for sunlight These must be placed 12 to 18 inches above the tops of the plants to ensure they receive sufficient light to grow.

Temperatures needed for the window sill herb garden:

Humidity that is 30 to 50 percent and daytime temperatures of 68 to 70 degrees F are needed for sustained growth of herb gardens on windowsills with a potting mix of vermiculite or equal parts peat moss, garden loam and coarse sand is needed to be put in any container with good drainage. While sowing the seeds, ensure that it does not exceed twice the diameter of the seed. Next, the bottom of the container should be soaked in a pan of water until the surface is wet and the container placed inside a plastic bag to create a green house effect though the top is left slightly open to allow some air and humidity to escape. Germination takes about 3 weeks and then the plastic should be removed and the container moved to an area that has a temperature of 60-70 degrees F to receive indirect sunlight. After a while, the sunlight exposure can be increased gradually and the plants turned around for 'even tanning' with a little water everyday to ensure growth.

Some easy annuals in the herbs category for the kitchen garden would be basil, dill, oregano, chives, coriander and anise. These can easily be transplanted to the main garden the following spring too.

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