How to Plant a Kitchen Herb Garden

Growing a kitchen herb garden right on your windowsill is easier than you think, giving you fresh flavoring for your dishes on demand. Most herbs are well-suited to the slightly cooler indoor temperatures common in winter.

The challenge will be providing them with enough light and keeping the humidity levels optimal. If you meet their needs you'll have a never-ending supply of newly harvested culinary herbs. Read on to learn how to plant a kitchen herb garden.

Which Herbs Can Grow in the Kitchen?

Not all herbs are well-suited for growing indoors. Those with a woody, bushy growth, such as rosemary, are usually too big for indoor herb gardens unless you have the room. Try other more reliable herbs for an indoor kitchen garden, such as chives, oregano, thyme, dill, mint, basil, cilantro, sage, and creeping savory.

Every herb has unique growing needs, so check that you have the right light, humidity, and air circulation conditions the plant requires. If you use one large container, all the plants need the same amount of sun and water. For example, chives and cilantro don't always need as much sun as dill and most oregano varieties.

Companion Plants for Herb Gardens

Companion planting for different herbs based on their watering needs—like planting lavender with thyme or planting basil with chives—is best to keep both plants healthy. Avoid companion planting with catnip, lemon balm, and mint, which need separate pots because they spread quickly and can overtake the other plants in your indoor herb garden.

When to Plant an Indoor Herb Garden

Make an herb garden for your kitchen by rooting cuttings from your outdoor plants starting in the fall as the weather cools. If you choose to sow your indoor herb garden from purchased seeds, begin a few weeks before the expected first frost of the season. With most herbs, begin snipping them for harvest within just a few weeks, so there's no reason to plant too far in advance.

12 Tips for Growing an Indoor Herb Garden

Planting and growing a successful indoor herb garden is easy for any gardener. The following growing tips can help your herb garden produce a great harvest year-round:

• Allow herbs to receive at least six hours of full sun near a south-facing window, or opt for a plant grow light that runs 14 to 16 hours daily.
• Consider setting up a timed grow light setup, where you plug your grow light into an outlet timer.
• Research which herbs have the same needs before you plant them together. For example, sage prefers dryer soil than parsley.
• Think about which herbs you enjoy and grow what you'll eat.
  
• Water the herbs once the soil feels dry to the touch.
• Fertilize herbs regularly with a water-soluble fertilizer high in nitrogen for healthy leaf growth.
• Ensure temperatures stay between 65 to 70 degrees during the day and 55 to 60 degrees at night.
• Avoid putting herb pots near drafts, radiators, or heat ducts which will dry them out.
• Maintain elevated humidity levels using a mister or humidifier.
• Rotate herbs periodically when grown in windows to let each part of the plant receive sunlight.
• Trim back flowering sections before they bloom for healthier leaves. Cut right above a section where the plant is growing in two directions.
• Prune new growth on young plants weekly to encourage a fuller mature plant.