Greenie59
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Indoor organic herb gardening

Greetings from Delaware,

We have been in a state of emergency due to the snowfall over the weekend. The snow makes everything look picturesque. I started an indoor organic herbal garden in the summer of 2015. Right now, I have herbs on the window sill and patio. Some of them are losing their luster. In the summer they were beautiful. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

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applestar
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What kind of herbs are they? Different herbs have different light, temperature, and water needs. Depending on the direction and with extended cloudy days, some of them will find it too dim. But I love the sunny days after snowstorm like this because the slid snowcover reflects the sun and we get extra brightness from all the windows. :D

Basil in particular will not be able to handle the cold windowsill. Even if weathertight, cold transfers from the window panes. Typically annuals, only basil variety I have been successful in "overwintering" (still sheds leaves and turns into a stump) and having return with new basal growths as lush plant from year to year has been a Thai basil. I do still have one lemon or lime basil barely hanging on.

On the other hand, some borderline winter hardy herbs like Rosemary needs special care and do best in cold but not freezing temperatures -- there are several threads about overwintering Rosemary.

You need to be very careful not to overwater since they will grow slowly if at all.

And it will be normal for perennial herbs to become scraggly-looking and some go into complete dormancy -- dried up-browned leaves, last year's stems die off -- around winter solstice.

Finally, this is time of the year when it's super cold outside and the heat is cranking inside, plummeting the relative humidity. The plants that ARE still green and growing will benefit from daily misting and open containers of water evaporating around them, and you need to be more vigilant for signs of indoor pests.

Post some photos if in doubt of what is causing them to stress.

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applestar
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Here are photo collages of my Winter Indoor Herb "Garden". I grow all of these outside during the warmer months -- some in containers, others in the ground and then dug up and potted for winter. These are mostly ones that don't survive the winter outside here. The ones that normally survive outside or are "borderline" (sometimes survives and sometimes not) are harder to keep indoors during the winter.

Top 3 : Rosemary in Garage V8, FR Cool Gang, rooted cuttings with Jasmine and tea cuttings (rooted stevia cutting behind) in WP2
Middle 3 : Marjoram and Thyme in YBR, Thyme, Celery, and Marjoram in V8, Marjoram in WPPH
Bottom 3 : Lemon Verbena in YBR, Thai Basil behind Dunkel Violetter in WP2, Lemongrass in BBR
image.jpg
Rooted cuttings of Stevia behind marjoram in V8; Dormant stevia in Green Room
image.jpg
Curry Leaf Plant in WPPH; Turmeric above Cool Gang
image.jpg
These are all Kaffir lime cuttings that were rooted last winter.
image.jpg

...haha, looking through these photos, I realized there are some missing :lol:
I'll add those later if I get the chance. I'll also come back and label/ID them, too, but not right now.
Last edited by applestar on Sun Jan 31, 2016 10:06 am, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: Added ID's for herbs in the photo collages.

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applestar
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Labeled the herbs in the photo collages.

...so, are you growing any of these Greenie59? If you are, I might be able to help you. :wink:



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