Indoor Herb Gardens

What could be as lovely -- or practical -- as having an herb garden growing all year round? Indoor herb gardens  are perfect for maintaining less hardy perennial herbs throughout the winter and put fresh herbs at your fingertips whenever you have the urge to spice up your food, make tea or treat ailments like poor digestion or the common cold. Creating your very own indoor herb garden is easy with the proper supplies. Below you'll find the basic info on what you'll need to get started. For those who don't want to go through all the steps it takes to make a garden from scratch, there are several indoor gardening kits  that make the process a breeze.

What You'll Need to Start

If you are interested in starting an indoor herb garden the old fashioned way, there are a few basic supplies you'll need.

Pots  or Planters  These can be made of terracotta,  wood  or ceramic.  Plastic pots are also available and inexpensive, but they are less durable and don't look as nice. Whichever style planter you choose, be sure that it has a good drainage system. If water sits in the bottom of the container, it will rot the roots.	Potting Soil  The next step is to layer the bottom of the pots with bark chips  or stones to provide aeration. This gives the roots some room to breathe and help decrease the chances for rot. Then fill the rest of the planter with loose potting soil.  Every so often, add some fertilizer  to the plants as per the instructions on the packaging.	Seeds  or Starter Herbs  You can use seeds  to start an indoor garden or starter herbs,  an easy way to get growing herbs fast. Herbs that you can pick up from your local garden supply center can planted one of two ways: directly into the soil, container and all or without the container. If you plan to transplant the herbs in the spring, keep them in their containers. If not, remove them so that they can root and grow bigger.	Grow Light   A grow light,  designed specifically for indoor use, is sometimes needed to provide the plants with artificial sunlight. This is only needed if they are unable to get enough otherwise (about 10 to 12 hours worth a day). There are three types: incandescent (mediocre), fluorescent (very common), and high intensity discharge. For more information about grow lights, please visit Home Harvest.	Fan  If plants were outside, they would be getting natural sun, water and air. Indoors you have to simulate everything, including a soft breeze. Place a fan  near the herbs to keep air circulating and bugs away. Without plenty of fresh air, the herbs will be less likely to grow well. The fan also keeps the grow lights from creating too much heat.

Great Containers

When a plain old terracotta planter  seems too passé for your tastes, you might want to try some of these other options. Remember, it is very important to get a container that has some method of drainage. Galvanized planters, tin cans and whiskey barrels can all be drilled to make holes for drainage. However, cups, bowls and the like may look very pretty, but are less functional. To make them work, and not destroy the plants, be cautious about how often and how heavily you water the herbs. If the leaves begin to turn yellow or if the herbs grow to be very leggy, it's a sure sign that they are getting too much water.

Try an antique looking kitchen canister  for a retro look.	How about catnip  in a cat dish ? Fluffy will be in kitty heaven.	Japanese tea cups  all lined up along a windowsill would look very pretty.	Galvanized planters  can be used in many ways and are very versatile.	Whiskey barrels  are perfect for big crops.

Sample Garden Ideas

When planning an indoor garden, you'll need to buy seeds or plants to start. If you are not a natural green thumb or gourmet chef you might wonder where to start. Below are some ideas for starting different types of gardens. Depending on how much space you have, you may or may not want to include all of the herbs in a list in your garden. You may only want two or three because you commonly cook with those herbs. Either way, the bottom line is there are no rules and you should pick and choose according to your needs.

• Tea Garden: chamomile,  mint,  lavender,  rose hips,  fennel,  bergamot,  hibiscus,  lemon balm,  sage,  jasmine  and anise. 
• Basic Medicinal Garden: yarrow,  feverfew,  St. John's wort,  plume poppy,  milk thistle,  pale coneflower  and purple coneflower. 
• Salad Herb Garden: arugula,  chervil,  chives,  dill,  dwarf basil,  red basil,  flat-leaf parsley,  mustard,  nasturtiums,  sorrel,  summer savory  and tarragon. 
• Salsa Garden: cilantro,  Spanish onion,  chilies,  jalapeños  and tomatillo. 
• Provencal Garden: sweet cucumbers,  garlic chives,  baby leeks,  sweet apple peppers,  French relishes,  baby carrots,  summer squash,  naturtiums  and yellow tomatoes. 
• Italian Herb Garden: arugula,  basil,  bay leaves,  dill,  fennel,  garlic chives,  marjoram,  rosemary,  sage  and thyme. 
• Fish Herb Garden: bay leaves,  dill,  fennel,  lemon basil,  lemon grass,  lemon thyme,  parsley,  rosemary,  sage,  savory  and tarragon. 
• Salt Substitute Herb Garden: basil,  bay leaves,  dill,  lovage, parsley,  rosemary,  sage,  savory,  thyme  and tarragon. 
• Dessert Herb Garden: anise,  caraway,  lemon balm,  lemon verbena,  nasturtiums,  orange mint,  pineapple mint,  spearmint,  scented geraniums  and violets. 

The majority of this list has been taken from Diabetic Lifestyle. You might also be interested in checking out our Herb Seeds Guide and  Herb Gardening Tips Guide for more ideas.

Quick and Easy Herb Kits

Many companies make herb kits  to choose from, which you'll see below. The idea of the kits is to make starting an herb garden hassle free. The majority of them come with the container, soil, nutrients, instructions and seeds. All you have to provide is a sunny location and some water. Prices vary, but they are generally inexpensive.

The main concern you should have when selecting a kit is where you plan to put the garden, whether you want something for your kitchen counter, windowsill or a room elsewhere in the house. Not all of the kits are small and not all have a great aesthetic, so consider if you want the kit for ornamental or practical purposes, or both.

Culinary Herb Garden Kit  This is a basic garden herb kit with 10 herbs such as oregano, basil, thyme, cilantro and mint. Tins are included for starting the herbs, which will then need to be transferred to bigger planters.	Herbal Tea Herb Garden Starter Kit  or Medicinal Herb Starter Kit  Both models contain a little "greenhouse" with 50 spots for the jiffy pellets. Sow the seeds, watch them grow and then transplant them to bigger pots or to the garden.	Itty Bitty Italian Herb Kit  It's little, but perfect to keep in the kitchen. The kit includes the planter, soil pellets, seeds, instructions and a recipe booklet for growing chives, basil and oregano. For less than $15, it's a deal.	Stack and Grow Planter  This is a large planter, about two feet wide. It does not include soil or seeds, so you'll have to take care of that yourself. Nonetheless, it's a great looking planter that holds up to 20 plants.	Herb Garden Colander  Perfect gift! Once the colander arrives, all the recipient must do is water it to get rosemary, sage and oregano. Once it grows, snip to your heart's content!

Herbs in a Bag  Choose from a variety of single herb types, such as basil or chives. Inexpensive and easy, all you have to do is add water.	French Herb Garden  Enjoy herbes de provence (marjoram, lemon basil and parsley) in this trio of ceramic planters with a drip tray. Includes seeds, organic soil and instructions. Perfect for the windowsill.	Topsy Turvy Tomato Planter  Okay, so tomatoes aren't herbs, but this unique product makes growing veggies or herbs easy. Simply add the plants and soil and you're ready to see an umbrella of plants emerge -- upside down.	Upside Down Tomato Garden  Ready to make pasta sauce? With this, you can. On top, plant basil and oregano (or any other herbs) and on the bottom, grow tomatoes or other veggies. Perfect for cramped spaces, highrises, etc.

Egglings  This is a cute little planter shaped like, well, an egg. Crack the top open, water and have an herb or flower growing. Choose from basil, Italian parsley, mint or thyme. Great as a gift!	Chia Herb Garden  From the makers of the famous Chia Pet,  comes the Chia Herb Garden. The kit includes four pots and peat pellets, six packets of gourmet seeds, and markers.	Nyokki  Made by the same company that makes Egglings, these cute egglike creatures with soft cloth legs are great for kids. They come ready to grow grass, but you could easily replace it with wheatgrass or another herb.	Boot Herb Planter  It's a quirky, but cute, painted terracotta planter (covered in dragonflies and plants) that can be used indoors or out. Fill it with soil and your favorite plants or give it as a gift.	Brisky Garden of Eatin' Wheatgrass Kit  Wheatgrass is known for helping digestion and for being packed with nutrients and vitamins. This particular kit is meant for Fido or Fluffy, but plenty of wheatgrass kits  are available for those with two legs.

Move Over Hydroponics... It's Aeroponics

Hydroponics and aeroponics are methods of growing that suspend the plant's roots in water or air to optimize growth (see a diagram about how hydroponics and aeroponics work). They are faster methods of growing plants than the traditional method that eliminates having to fumble about with containers and soil. The benefit of these technologies is that they allow you to grow plants in a tropical environment right in your home, speeding up the growth period so that in just one month's time, you get to harvest your favorite herbs and vegetables. The results are rapid, healthy growth with little hassle.

The Aerospring Aeroponic Garden  is a popular, but large system (about the size of a large Rubbermaid storage tub) that can easily be used for high volume production of plants, vegetables and herbs in the home. The entire system (with lights, light stand, and expansion kit) will run about $300 to $500 depending on the size of the model you choose. A similar product is the Green Machine 20,  a hybrid hydroponic/aeroponic grow system. Other aeroponic systems  are available, but most are quite costly, require lots of space, and are geared more towards commercial use. The AeroGarden,  shown left, is an intelligent aeroponic system for growing greens, herbs, chili peppers, cherry tomatoes, cascading petunias and several types of basil. It's as easy to use as plugging it in and popping in the bio-dome seed pods; it's even small enough to keep on the kitchen counter. The system takes care of itself, monitoring nutrient delivery, the light cycle and water levels depending on the plant types that are growing. When the plants need water or nutrients, the garden beeps to remind you. For $150 you'll have a constant supply of fresh herbs and the simplest, most convenient way of managing a personal indoor herb garden.

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Gardening Hand Tools	Herb Seeds	Greenhouses	Vegetable Seeds