Indoor herb gardens allows you to have fresh herbs whenever you want. Nothing beats the taste of freshly grown herbs. Well, herbs can also be bought from the market, but mostly they are in their dry form. It’s hard to find real fresh herbs nowadays so nothing would really compare to the pleasure of knowing that the herbs you use are from your very own garden.

Herbs are quite easy to grow and generally do not require a lot of effort. For your first indoor herb garden, you may want to purchase one of those indoor herb garden kits that come complete with seed packets, peat pellets (just add water to let it expand and be ready for planting), and all the other things you need to start your very own indoor herb garden.

If you want to start from scratch, start with determining which herbs you want to have in your garden. Every herb garden must have the basics: Basil, rosemary, and thyme. Even if you have only these 3 herbs, there’s a lot that you can do with them already. Other herbs that you can add to the list are parsley, sage, chives, cilantro, and oregano. While these herbs are most common, you can also choose to plant herbs for the purpose of making tea – chamomile, lavender, peppermint, anise, and feverfew, to name some. Medicinal herbs are also great for indoor herb gardens. Herbs such as Echinacea, milk thistle, yarrow root, valerian, and burdock are great herbs to address a variety of ailments.

Next comes purchase of the soil you are going to use. You don’t really need much as this is an indoor garden. You can go to your backyard to get some. You also need to buy the proper garden containers to hold your herbs. These are usually available for purchase in home and garden stores, so you won’t have that much trouble finding one. The size would depend on the available space you have. Most indoor herb gardens are placed on window sills so you may want an rectangular garden container. Also allow ample space between seeds when planting them. You don’t want an overcrowded indoor garden.

Keeping the soil and the area around the plant warm and moist is basically one of the things that you have to keep an eye on when growing an indoor herb garden. Most herb garden are placed on window sills to catch the sun, but if you live somewhere cold and dry, you may want to invest in some grow lights and keep watering the soil (without over-watering it) to keep it moist.

Try your hand at having your very own herb garden. The rewards are definitely worth the effort.

I was a childhood anomaly. I actually loved vegetables growing up. I still do. While my sister had to force her veggies down with a glass of water (as though she was taking pills), I relished my veggies, chewing them slowly, and actually enjoying them. Little girls wanted flower gardens. I begged my parents to buy me those packets of veggie seeds but we didn’t have any space to plant them in the backyard. They did allow me a papaya plant and a pepper plant for a time, but that’s about it.

I still have that dream of having a full-blown vegetable garden. Probably not Martha Stewart levels (have you seen hers, by the way? Jaw dropping) but of considerable size perhaps that I’d never have to buy the usual vegetables I use. I also know now that a vegetable garden requires a lot of planning. A lot. Some vegetables require a ton of sunlight, some grow best in the shade; some thrive in spring, others in the fall. But a girl can dream, and so I shall. The planning can come when I actually have a plot of land to plant on.

I believe it’s going to be really satisfying to eat something that comes from your very own garden. The papayas and peppers from my childhood vegetable “garden” were the best ever and I want to get that feeling again. I’ve been looking at this how-to on vegetable garden layout and which to plant. I think it looks good and easy enough for me to do. My dream vegetable garden will definitely have cabbages that luscious. I also want lettuce and other greens, because I’m big on greens. Tomato plants are always a good idea. Must also not forget carrots and asparagus, and also broccoli. And oh, HERBS! A herb garden somewhere there would be awesome. Imagine the possibilities!

Do you have a vegetable garden? How did you start with it and what are your proudest harvests? I want to know.