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It doesn’t matter whether you live in an urban high rise, brownstone or suburban-style apartment you can have a wonderful herb garden and enjoy many of the benefits herbs have to offer. When I got my first apartment, one of the first things I did was start herb gardening in containers, including basil, oregano and parsley.
In addition to those outdoors, I added some indoor herbs. Congregated around the only southern facing window in the place were a number of other small herbs like lemongrass and lavender, which smelled great together, and to those I added my outdoor herb plants when winter came..
In a later apartment in the city I had almost no sun because what little I could have had was blocked by an iron grate that covered the whole opening. I constructed my own flower bed to hang on outside the grating, using chicken wire and a host of materials that allowed the right amount of drainage. Next I added a mixture of herb plants and hanging vines. It looked fantastic, but needed to be watered too frequently.
You can enjoy the same successes that I have experienced if you take a couple of basic rules of thumb to herb gardening and apply them to your apartment or living space.
Evaluate your space to determine where you could raise your herb plants—do you have a stoop, front porch, balcony, deck, window or anywhere else that you could put your herb plants? Do not believe that you need some large elaborate spot either. Did you know that a number of herbs will thrive in little spaces? For example, you can raise chives for your next baked potato in a pot about the size of an espresso cup—provided it has enough drainage.
Check out your lighting to see what will work. The right amount of lighting is crucial to your plants’ growth. Not enough light or the wrong kind and you’ll have some pretty pathetic plants. In an apartment I had in the city several years ago I had 2 windows in the whole spot: one faced east, which meant that it got the full morning sun, but nothing else and the other, a tiny window in the bathroom faced south—which is the best way to face—and that one became my herb garden window. I actually believe it worked out ok, because the plants really seemed to benefit from the moisture and steam in the bathroom.
Once you determine where you can create your herb garden and the quality, type and amount of sun that your chosen area has, you are ready to decide which herb plants you want to grow. There are a lot of herbs to select from. Do not get overwhelmed. What you purchase will depend on how you plan to use your herb plants. Are you looking to grow culinary herbs, florals, first-aid or healing herb plants? Maybe you are looking for the right ingredients for your lotions or shampoos. For just about any need you have, there’s an herb out there with your name on it. Start by flipping through a book on herb gardening and focus on herbs that have the light needs that your space will respond to. Before you know it, you will be all set!
Good luck with your herb gardening. Be sure to let me know how your herb garden grows.
Here is more information on Windowsill Herb Garden. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Herb Gardens.
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