is one of the most convenient and economical gardening styles. You could grow as many as twenty different herbs right inside your own home. This is possible because of diverse pots.

Indoor gardening is commonly associated with container gardening. On the other hand, indoor herb gardens could also be as wide ranging as a full green house or an atrium.

Container gardening and tips for keeping soil moisture

This type of gardening is conducive for those who live in buildings with not much outdoor space for bed gardens. This is also suitable for places where the soil moisture and content cannot sustain plant life.

Planting in pots could also mean healthier growth. Weed growth and external factors that could wilt your herbs can be easily controlled.

There are various containers for indoor home herb gardens. The best ones are the 5″ by 4″ pots for countertop spaces. You can also opt for vertical planters where you can hangsix to eight pot. If you have adequate leg room, you could use big pots and steel oblong basins. These could accommodate up to six different herbs. You can also make use of home made or ready made self watering containers so you won’t spend too much time watering plants.

A sample herb combination is as such: arugula, chives, basil, cilantro, parsley and thyme. Since they do not have expanse root growths, they are best kept in one medium sized tub-like container.

You need to place the potted plants near areas where sunlight could still reach them. You can also have a lamp placed over the plants if you happen to lack room. You can use a 300 watt bulbs to provide heat for the plants. Every two days, you can have the lamp on for at least five to eight hours.

In watering indoor potted herbs, you need to always check the soil moisture. Grab some soil and squeeze it. If it oozes, you need not water the plants. The ideal time for watering plants is about three times a week.

Also, you could do these following steps in keeping soil moisture to last longer. Line the bottom of your containers with plastic wrap or newspaper before filling in the soil. You could also use baby diapers. The polymers in the diapers absorb and maintain moisture in the soil.

Greenhouses and Atriums

These two areas are mainly used by people who have less healthy soil components in backyards and lawns. These are ideal for gardeners who already have over fifty matured potted herbs. These could be separate locations outside the house proper.

Since these are assumed to be at least four cubic meters wide, you could combine variedly sized pots and container beds. The latter look a lot like mattress frames and are wooden. The soil you should use is organic composts, available in sacks at gardening stores.

Both of these locations should have natural lighting. The roofing should use transparent polymer plastic so the light can penetrate easily yet not exposing the indoor herbs to too much sunlight and heat.

Now you see that growing herbs indoors could be diverse. You are not limited to your kitchen countertops to enjoy hundreds of herbs.

The cilantro plant, which will grow up to 3 feet high, has been gaining in popularity for years in Tex-Mex cooking. If you take a quick look at cilantro you might belive that it is parsley, but its sweet and musky flavor will verify it’s certainly unlike any parsley I know of. It may surprise you to know that cilantro (the foliage which has awesome pink flowers) and coriander (the plant that comes from the seeds) are from the same plant.

You can pick-up your cilantro from your local nursery, but I like to start mine from seeds. Because it’s an annual, you can be starting fresh with new plants each year. I like to germinate my seeds in late winter and line the containers up on my kitchen windowsill so I don’t miss the small sprouts that will pop up in 7 to 10 days.

Cilantro herbs prefer moist, rich dirt, so it is best to grow them in a raised bed after the weather gets sunny. If you live in a hot climate, make sure you provide some shade for your cilantro. Don’t forget that if your cilantro gets too much sun or too much heat it will go bitter.

It can take about nine weeks for your cilantro herb to go from seed to its beautiful white, pale pink or lavender blooms. If you want to skip growing in containers, just wait until it gets warmer and plant the seeds outside. With clear skies, nice temperatures and some rain you’ll have cilantro sprouts in about 2 weeks.

You’ll get the strongest flavor from your cilantro in the summer. You can lop off a couple of leaves and either add them whole or chop them and add to your favorite Mexican meal.

Don’t forget to dry some cilantro for the fall, winter and spring dinners. Try to lop off the foliage just before the plant blooms so that the foliage can have a heavy concentration of oils. Use a drying rack for really good outcomes. Remember that you will need more of the dried cilantro than you will the fresh because the taste won’t be as concentrated.

The very best way to cure the coriander seed is by hanging it upside down in a paper bag to dry. Once the seeds have dried, you can release them from the pod by rolling them between your hands. Next freeze the seeds for a minimum of 2 days before storing the seeds in a cool, dark place.

Because it is one of the curry spices, you can use the crushed coriander seeds as a powder in baking, stews, soups and casseroles.

Good luck with your herb gardening. Be sure to let me know how your herb garden grows.

Here is more information on Herb Garden Plants. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Herb Gardens.

Because of their strong flavors, herbs like chives, thyme, basil, sage, savory, and marjoram are generally used in small quantities to add flavor to different types of food. Parsley is an extremely popular herb that is used mostly as a garnish. Fragrant herbs have wonderful smelling foliage or flowers. The oils from herbs like mint, loyage and rosemarycan be used to make all kinds of perfume, scents and toilet water. Certain herb plants can be used in the home to fragrance linen or clothes. For more visit our blog: Herb Gardens Blog

Drying them will allow them to retain their aroma for longer and be used in products such as potpourri.  Great herbs for this are lemon verbena and lavender. Some herbs are also used for medicinal purposes. For centuries herbs have been thought to have the ability to cure the body. Present medical knowledge recognizes that some herbs are beneficial to one’s health, others are overrated. Herbs used for medicinal purposes should be used carefully. Some herbs are harmless but others can be dangerous if eaten.

Some herbs are not used for their flavor, power to heal or fragrance. Some herbs are used for their beauty. can have brilliantly colored flowes and foliage. Many have whitish or various light colored flowers like valerian which has crimson blossoms and borage and chicory which grow gorgeous blue flowers. Even thought herbs can have these different categories, many of them have multiple uses. For example, mint may be used for cooking, tea, and pest control. By taking the time to understand herbs, whatever your reason, you will be able to choose the ones most beneficial to you. Click here for more: Herb Garden Information

Annuals like basil, cilantro, and summer savory will not survive a frost.  each year, these types of herbs need to be planted from a seed or a young herb plant.  Perennials like sage and winter savory can survive colder temperatures and will return year after year.  Herb garden plants that grow leaves in their first growing season, flowers and seed in the second, then die. are called biennials.

Biennial herb garden plants like parsley, angelica, or caraway should be sown in late spring directly into the garden.  You should first work the soil by making it into a fine texture and making it slightly wet.  Then the seeds should be sown in shallow rows making the soil firm on top of them.  Fine seeds can be planted in a mixture of sand which will allow them to spread more evenly.  You can also cover the bed with wet burlap or paper in order to keep the soil moist during germination.

Herbs are also grouped into the categories for which they are used.  perhaps the most useful to herb growers are culinary herb garden plants.  There is a wide range of uses for herbs in cooking.  Because of their strong flavors, herbs like chives, thyme, basil, sage, savory, and marjoram are generally used in small quantities to add flavor to different types of food.  A very famous herb that is used mostly as decoration is parsley.

Aromatic herbs have pleasant smelling flowers or foliage.  Oils from aromatic herbs like loyage, mint, and rosemary can be used to make different types of perfumes, toilet water, or other various scents.  Parts of aromatic herb garden plants used intact can also be used in the home to scent linens or clothing.  They can also be dried and made into potpourri which will enable them to be able to retain their aroma for a long period of time.  Lavender and lemon verbena are great herbs to use for potpourri.

Some herbs are also used for medicinal purposes.  For centuries herbs have been thought to have the ability to cure the body.  Present medical knowledge recognizes that some herb garden plants are beneficial to one’s health, others are overrated.  Herbs used for medicinal purposes should be used carefully.  Some herbs are harmless but others can be dangerous if eaten.

Some herbs are not used for their flavor, power to heal or fragrance.  Some herbs are also used for their beauty.  Ornamental herb garden plants have brightly colored flowers and foliage.  Many of them come in white or light-colored flowers like valerian which has delicate  crimson flowers, and borage and chicory which has attractive blue flowers.

While herbs can be categorized into these different categories of uses, many herbs have multiple purposes.  Mint may also be used as insect repellent or as flavor enhancer.  Whatever the reason you have an interest in herbs, by understanding herb garden plants you are able to pick the herbs that will be most useful to you.

Buy Non-Hybrid Heirloom Seeds for healthy, good tasting, and continuous harvesting of your favorite herbs for many years to come.

For Food Storage Secrets for All you favorite herbs, click here.