Have fresh herbs at your fingertips

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Have fresh herbs at your fingertips

Who wouldn’t want herbs all winter? Most of us just buckle down and buy those tiny packages of expensive herbs at the grocery store when a recipe we’re following calls for fresh herbs. Why do we do this when we could have fresh tasty herbs at our fingertips?

Bringing potted herbs inside during the winter is a great way to keep from having to buy expensive herbs from the store. You simply need a couple of things, mainly, sufficient light. Like houseplants, most herbs need at least four hours of sunlight, preferably six hours to do well inside.

Bright direct light is great. A shelf in front of a window or a spot in a bright room is what you need.

So, which herbs do best inside? I think you could experiment with any of them. My go-to book for herbs, the Rodale’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs suggests basil, bay, chives, ginger, marjoram, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage and savory herbs do well inside. That’s quite a list!

Personally, if I had a spot in my kitchen I would have chives, rosemary, sage and basil as my top choice herbs. I talked with a Minnetrista volunteer this past weekend and learned they brought their basil plant into their garage to have it for winter. If the garage is heated to about 70 degrees during the day and no lower than 50 degrees at night, it shouldn’t be a problem. Basil is so sensitive to cold temperatures and can’t be put in a drafty spot. Just water it when it feels dry and keep it pinched back (harvested) so it doesn’t get too stretched or lanky.

Chives like the same temperatures as basil to really thrive inside. Only water when the soil is drying out. To harvest, just snip off a leaf or leaves. Rosemary also requires the same temperatures, but can’t dry out completely between watering, so you want to keep the soil evenly moist (not too wet).

Trying to determine how much and how often to water a plant can be tricky. I like to give it a little water when the soil surface is just drying out. The trick to caring for rosemary, and not over-watering, is the soil it’s planted in.

Sage is one of my favorite herbs for soups. Like rosemary, sage prefers to be potted in a well-drained potting soil. This plant can dry out between waterings, so if you know you tend to forget to water your plants, this is the herb for you. Trim the plant tips or pinch off a leaf to harvest.

If you are too late to bring your herbs in this winter, you can go a buy a small potted herb to keep inside or start some new herbs from seed or a cutting. Happy gardening!

Clair Burt is the gardener at Minnetrista and is responsible for the ornamental gardens such as the Rose Garden, Herb Garden and Children’s Garden. She can be reached at 213-3576 or [email protected].

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