Thursday, January 29, 2009

Organic Herbal Gardening In Small Apartments

By Susan Honeywell

Deciding to begin an organic herbal garden inside your house will not only have a dramatic and positive effect on your heath, but it will also make your abode more beautiful thanks to the beautiful plants that will grace your windowsills and balconies.

Organic herbal gardening indoors has the benefit of being year-round, giving a nonstop supply of fresh herbs. An indoor organic herb garden can be as minute as a few pots on a windowpane sill or as big as a conservatory full of containers of perfumed organic herbs.

Regarding the herbs that you can use, most of the varieties that you can grow outdoors are also good indoors. There are many themes around which to plan indoor organic herbal gardening, and of course you can combine these. Here is an example.

For instance, for a fragrant note you can grow angelica, bergamot, catmint, chamomile, thyme, lavender, lemon balm, and mint. This organic herb garden is also a great organic air freshener, ideal for indoor gardens in small flats.

As for the pots, you need to make sure that the ones you get are right for the herbs you want. Not all herbs are suitable to all kinds of containers. Specifically, for some plants you need a pot with a minimum size.

Make sure that you don't get any tiny pots meant for growing from seed, unless that is your original intention! In fact, better to get slightly bigger pots if you have the space in your growing area.

Also, don't leave the plants for long in the pots you bought them in, or it will stunt their growth. It is important to re-pot any herbs that you buy, if you are not growing from seed. Don't forget to water the plants well before repotting, to diminish the shock.

Of course, organic herbal gardening indoors calls for using organic soil. Your soil should have a pH of about 7, as herbs prefer a more alkaline soil. If yours is too acid, you can add some calcified seaweed. Make sure that only organic fertilizers make it into your soil.

In most cases, available natural lighting will be enough, although some growers may want to try out electric growing bulbs. But in normal circumstances, these won't be needed. Check if your chosen plants prefer sun or shade, and then place the sun-lovers on a south-facing window. The others should go where there is plenty indirect sunlight.

If you give it a start, you will quickly find that organic herbal gardening is a pleasant and engrossing hobby, as well as a very handy one. It's not hard, and with a minimum of effort your cooking will end up being much more flavorsome. - 16459

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