We install boxes to leave a gap between the back of the box and the siding to allow for air circulation, especially important if your house has wood siding. Just scatter the seeds across the surface of the compost, water regularly and thin out the seedlings as they start to grow if needed. I simply reach out the kitchen window for a last-minute addition to our dinner salad—a rain-washed sprig of cucumber-flavored salad burnet.

Fresh herbs can be bought from your local supermarket all year round, and these can be planted out in the compost and given plenty of water. Be sure to choose a location in which you can hopefully enjoy the scent and beauty of your culinary herbs. As mentioned above, herbs are fast-growing little plants that don’t require too much in the way of maintenance, so you should expect to see results without too long a wait. If you frequently trim your herb plant, the supporting structure is not as bulky and won’t require as much water and nutrition. Tarragon, chervil, sweet marjoram, creeping winter savory, many of the oreganos, sweet woodruff, and chives are but a few possibilities.

If you live where the ground freezes, dig up any sensitive plants and winter them in a sunny, enclosed space where the temperature remains above 40°F.

If you choose to keep your windowsill herb garden indoors, you may find you need to supplement the light. This will help to prevent the accumulation of salt inside the soil (visible in the form of a white build-up on the top surface), which can inhibit the growth of your seedlings. This will help prevent unwanted water and soil markings on your windowsill, and many have been designed to help provide resistance to both warm and cold temperatures indoors. When it comes time to harvest your herbs, you’ll often find that the more regularly you trim them back, the more heartily they’ll grow. The most important thing to remember is that by cultivating even the smallest inside space, will lift your mood and add lovely scents and lots of greenery to your home.Of course, it is much easier if you use one of the numerous windowsill herb garden kits on the market today. Among them are miniature thymes, compact oregano, dwarf sage, and small forms of parsley, basil, chives, and dill. This perennial herb will keep coming back year after year – harvest it at your leisure during spring, summer and autumn, but don’t worry when it dies away in winter. Sow your seed in the planter and water sparingly, starting to snip them back when the seedlings are about 2.

Herbs generally will grow more slowly in the winter than in the summer and will need less food then. Although oregano, sweet marjoram, rosemary, and sage are happiest in a southern exposure, they still grow well with only a half day of sun, and the basils, leaf celery, and parsley appreciate the afternoon shade.DECORATIVE - Attractive and durable, this set of 3 pots is the ideal addition to any kitchen window, or a thoughtful cooking gift for a new home owner or someone who loves gardening all year round! You want to make sure there will be enough leaves left on the plant to support new growth," says Meyers. He holds the Royal Horticultural Society’s Master of Horticulture award and has a particular interest in horticultural ecology and naturalistic planting for habitat and climate resilience. Thyme: This small leaved evergreen herb will form mounds of edible foliage all year round but it is best to ‘rest’ the plant in winter when it isn’t actively growing. The decorative metal is actually copper tape and intended to deter slugs and snails from munching on your garden.

Of the two varieties available, the curly-leaved parsley is commonly used as a garnish or in parsley sauce. It’s also handy in that all parts of the plant can be consumed, though the leaves and the seeds are the most common ingredients in recipes. Turning off the personalised advertising setting won’t stop you from seeing Etsy ads, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive. There are various sizes to choose from depending on how many herbs you'll be growing and each box has drainage holes in the base.Colin is a Horticulturist and Horticultural Consultant with experience in a range of practical and managerial roles across heritage, commercial and public horticulture. In general, they will need to be placed close to the plants (within roughly 18 inches) and kept on for about 10 hours per day to make up for their lack of intensity. This design ensures that excess water escapes, preventing overwatering and promoting healthy plant growth. Herbs dislike being waterlogged so you need to make sure that nothing blocks the drainage holes and stops water flowing out freely. Applied every 2-3 weeks, it will boost the growth of your herb plants, keeping them healthy throughout the growing season.