indoor herb garden how to?

[Antiochus Epiphanes]

it's late in the season and I have some herbs I want to start. How do I start them indoors with a minimum of fuss and mess? My wife is a "neat freak" and we have potted plants indoors but it's got to be presentable.

I have chive started outdoors, but it would be much more convenient to have a good start indoors. Also I have seed for mint and dill.

Any suggestions?

[Sean Martin]

A lot of light, water and heat with some healthy potting soil. It is on clearance now so this is the best time to hit Wal-mart and get cheap indoor gardening accessories.

[Antiochus Epiphanes]

........get cheap indoor gardening accessories.

like what exactly? I went into walmart a couple months ago for some of those egg-carton like seed starters, and they didnt even have that. I have those now which I got from a catalog. Should I start my herbs in those things and then transplant them to pots, or start them in pots?

[Sean Martin]

I didn’t have much time to post earlier as I was leaving.

Here are some of the things you need, pots and potting soil. Then some seeds. This is all I used this year and all my herbs turned out very nice. Tall herbs must be harvested very young and planted sparingly. Herbs such as Dill and such. Basil will grow 4 feet tall in the ground but usually only grows about a foot in a pot. I get better quality herbs from a pot than I do from the ground.

Chives sprinkle liberally in a square or rectangle pot for best results. The ones I use are about 4 inches by 5 inches. For other herbs I use regular flower pots. If you want them to be attractive buy some L shaped shelf makers. You can buy these for about 4 for a dollar at any dollar mart. Then take a flat board and make shelves across a window. You plants will be attractive and grow better like that. If you are interested in this type of thing you can grow indoor tomato plants this way also. Push the root through a hole in the bottom of the pot and hang the thing. I posted pics of mine in a thread by She-wolf of the NA. This works very well and is an interesting conversation piece.

Depending on the herb you plant some deep and others you just sprinkle on top of the dirt. I plant basil and dill about an inch or so deep. Chives I sprinkle across the top of the soil, and with parsley I plant about a quarter an inch deep.

If you eat a lot fast plant them very thick if not sow them sparingly. Also when your old ones are ready to eat plant new ones. I do this and I have fresh stuff longer or all year.

I never transplant herbs. Every single time I have tried the ones that didn’t die were lowered in quality. But if they are in a pot they need that miracle grow soil with the 3-month release. Wal-mart has it now for $3.00 a bag where it was $8.00 a bag a month ago. Then give them plenty of water with a spray bottle in addition to regular water. I use a mister you can use a 409 bottle (wash it thoroughly) for this.

[Antiochus Epiphanes]

Thanks I will definitely be undertaking that this fall.