Although alternative lighting sources may be needed to sustain an indoor herb garden long term, this one designed for a kitchen by design firm ColePrevost is a stylish way to mix the contemporary, culinary, and natural worlds. Photo by Lydia Cutter
The aroma of sage biscuits fills the kitchen as you lean towards the windowsill to snip a few sprigs of fresh rosemary for the beef stew. Before the guests arrive, you whip up softened butter and chives and sprinkle the dill on the green salad. Finally, you place the last few mint leaves around the chocolate mousse you will serve for dessert.
Wouldn’t you like to have fresh herbs on hand for cooking year round? You could create pesto with the basil, pluck a bay leaf for bouillabaisse, garnish dishes with parsley, add oregano and thyme to pizza, and spice up rice with cilantro. Growing herbs indoors not only provides fresh flavors, it also adds greenery and fragrance in the kitchen.
“It is not that difficult to grow herbs indoors as long as you have the light and a little patience,” said Francesco DeBaggio, owner of DeBaggio’s Herb Farm & Nursery and member of the Herb Society of America’s Potomac Unit. “They are not tropical houseplants that love shade. Herbs need attention, not that they are more work, but they need your attention to their needs.”
For those who have never grown herbs indoors, the following are recommended as fairly easy to grow: rosemary, basil, mint, parsley, chives, oregano, chervil, thyme, dill, marjoram, cilantro, and sweet bay laurel. Although the herbs you have in your garden can be potted and placed indoors in the fall, there are many advantages to buying new, small plants in the fall for a winter garden. New plants are usually for sale in the same size pots and are the same age and height; therefore, they are easier to fit under lights, along a windowsill, or clustered in a basket. Nursery grown plants are also 99% pest and disease free and will acclimatize themselves better to your home than a plant grown outside all summer long.
“I start with new plants,” said Pat Kenny, who also belongs to the Potomac Unit and has been growing, propagating, and teaching about herbs for over 30 years. “I visit the herb growers and nurseries and buy clean [pest and disease free] plants. If they are root bound, I take them out and put them in a larger pot.”
Start off with the ones you will use often in the kitchen. Be aware that a single harvest of chives will deplete your inventory for a few weeks (until it grows again) whereas multiple snips from a bushy, small-leaved thyme or rosemary will not affect the supply drastically. Some may not last long, such as cold-sensitive basil, while shrub-like sweet bay laurel will last for years if nurtured.
Herbs for your kitchen garden: Parsley, Chives, Oregano, Chervil, Thyme
Parsley: May need more than one plant if using for both garnishing and recipes. Use in salads, salsa, peas, potatoes, eggs; can be deep-fried.
Chives: Has a mild onion flavor so can substitute some times for onions. Use with vegetables, cheese and egg dishes, creamy sauces, potatoes, soups, stews, meat, and fish.
Oregano/marjoram: Member of the same genus, these herbs are actually cousins. Marjoram is a sweet mild form of oregano, often called sweet (knot) marjoram, while oregano has a strong peppery flavor. Marjoram is used for Italian, French, and Portuguese dishes, tomato sauces, pasta, beans, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, eggplant, spinach, potatoes, eggs, cheese spreads, soups, and stuffing. Oregano is used in Italian, Greek, Brazilian, Mexican, Spanish, and Cuban cuisine.
Chervil: Chervil, whose flavor is part anise and part parsley, can be used as a garnish. Can use both leaves and stems in cooking; use in French cooking, carrots, eggs, fish, spinach, cheese, and corn.
Thyme: Tastes green with faint clove after-taste, but there are many different types including lemon, nutmeg, and caraway flavored. Best to use English thyme for cooking and works well with almost any type of food, particularly Italian and French.
“You are always trying to achieve a balance between light, water, and the root ball requirements,” says Pat. Most of the culinary herbs require 5-6 hours of sunlight a day, much like vegetables. “Sometimes a south facing window is sufficient, but I always supplement using fluorescent tubes,” she continues. It is best to place the plants in the window that receives the most light and watch how they react first. If the plant leans toward the window just a little and seems healthy, it may just have to be turned every day to keep a balanced, symmetrical shape. If the stems elongate too much or the plant seems to be dying, you may have to invest in supplemental lighting. Although there are special grow lights for plants, most homeowners choose the cheapest route: standard, cool white fluorescent tubes at the hardware store. But in order to provide enough additional light, the tubes have to be on for about 14 hours a day, and placed about 5 inches from the top of the plants.
“The more the light the better,” says Francesco. “I don’t think it is possible to overexpose a plant to light in the winter.”
Because the plants are in low light conditions (compared to being outside in the summer sun all day), they will need minimal water. “The most common problem is over watering,” cautions Francesco. “Let the pots dry out before watering a second time.” An exception is mint, which needs slightly moist soil.
Herbs for your kitchen garden: Dill, Sage, Cilantro, Rosemary, Basil, Mint
Dill: In the house, grow dill for foliage, not for seeds. Best to have a few pots for multiple harvests. Purchase a dwarf form since this is a tall plant. Dill works well with fish, eggs, lamb, pork, vegetables, salads, soups, sauces, and spreads.
Sage: There are several different flavors as well as colored leaves, including a pineapple sage. Best with eggs, yeast breads, and rolls, sausage, poultry, stuffing, meat pies, vegetables, beans, and lentils.
Cilantro: In the house, grow for foliage, not seeds (which are the source of coriander). Cilantro is used often in Mexican and Thai dishes, and also with onions, sausage, clams, oysters, potatoes, pilafs, pasta salads, and fried rice.
Sweet Bay Laural: Grows well in a container all year long and can be trained to be a standard (lollipop shape). Use fresh or dried leaves for stews, soups, tomato sauces, shellfish boils, and meat dishes.
Rosemary: Used in Italian and Mediterranean cooking, including meat dishes, stews, roasted potatoes, vegetables, pastas, tomotao dishes, and yeast breads.
Basil: These aremany types of basil with different colored leaves and flavors. Basil is used in Italian, Mediterranean, and Thai cooking. Use in pasta, tomato sauces, veal, lamb, fish, poultry, vegetables, stews, and pesto. Best to purchase a dwarf or compact form for indoors as it can get large.
Mint: There are many types, including spearmint, peppermint, apple, pineapple, chocolate, and orange mint. Mint can be used as a garnish, in drinks, salads, jellies, desserts, pork, and lamb.
Fortunately, herbs prefer the same room temperature as people, 65-700 F, and fresh, circulating air, not drafts. You can place them on a tray of pebbles to increase the humidity but don’t crowd them, as they will need to have air circulate among the leaves and between plants. Every second or third watering, apply 1/2 to 1/4 strength of a balanced fertilizer or fish emulsion. Because they are edible plants, you will need to use a non-toxic spray such as pyrethrin, insecticidal soap, or neem oil if you see anything crawling on the leaves. Rosemary is known for its tendency to develop powdery mildew, which can be remedied by spraying with a solution of one tablespoon of baking soda dissolved in one quart of water.
This fall, try growing a few of our recommended culinary herbs in your sunniest window. Sprinkle them in your usual dishes for added zing or experiment with new recipes based on the herbs themselves. If you are planning on buying a new home or renovating your kitchen, consider this new twist: make your herb garden the central focal point of the kitchen so everyone can enjoy them all the time.
Click here for photos of indoor herb garden choices.
Peggy Riccio is a Contributing Editor for ChesapeakeHome.
Local Herb Sources:
Bittersweet Hill Nursery: bittersweethill.com or 410-798-0231
Buffalo Springs Herb Farm: buffaloherbs.com or 540-348-1083
Valley View Farms: valleyviewfarms.com or 410-527-0700
Willow Pond Farm: willowpondherbs.com or 717-642-6387
Other (Mail Order) Sources:
DeBaggio’s Herb Farm & Nursery: debaggioherbs.com or 703-327-6976
Goodwin Creek Gardens: goodwincreekgardens.com or 800-846-7359
Le Jardin du Gourmet: artisticgardens.com or 800-659-1446
Sandy Mush Herb Nursery: sandymushherbs.com or 828-683-2014
Well-Sweep Herb Farm: wellsweep.com or 908-852-5390
