5 Benefits of Growing an Indoor Herb Garden

Indoor herb garden-Potted herbs in windowsill
My Garden Life
April 3, 2023
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An indoor herb garden puts fresh herbs at your fingertips any time of the year. Growing herbs indoors is also a perfect solution for anyone who doesn’t have access to growing spaces outdoors. Best of all, herb plants are easy to grow and care for, so they won’t take up a lot of your free time. An indoor herb garden can be an incredibly rewarding experience, bringing life to your home and cuisine as well as saving you money in the long run.  

More people are starting to grow their own herbs inside because they want to know exactly what they’re eating and where it comes from. 

Reasons to Grow an Indoor Herb Garden

1. Save money by growing your own herbs

Growing your own herbs is a fantastic way to save money! Herbs are expensive at the grocery store, but they’re easy to grow–and they taste better when they’re fresh. You can also enjoy fresh herbs year-round if you live in a cold climate where they aren’t available during the winter months. Growing your own herbs allows you to have fresh herbs any time of year, which can reduce food costs.

Indoor herb garden-couple selecting packaged herbs at grocery store-supermarket

2. Upgrade your recipes with fresh herbs

If you eat a lot of fresh foods, like salads, soups, and stews, then fresh herbs make it easy to add flavor without breaking the budget. You can even use herbs in recipes like bread and cakes. There’s nothing more pleasing than having fresh herbs at your fingertips while cooking dinner or entertaining guests over dinner. Plus, they look pretty growing in your house or apartment!

Indoor herb garden-man preparing food with fresh herbs harvested from pots on a modern kitchen counter.

3. Homegrown herbs taste better 

When you buy fresh herbs at the grocery store, they’ve had time to lose their flavor while sitting on the shelf waiting for someone like you to purchase them. If you grow your own herbs, it takes only a short time to reap the rewards of your efforts. Most herb seeds typically germinate within 10 to 14 days.

Homegrown herbs taste better than store-bought because they’re fresher, which makes them more flavorful. There’s another factor too – the love that goes into growing them. When you harvest those plants and use their leaves in your cooking, you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor–literally!

Indoor herb garden-cutting board with dish of herb butter made from fresh parsley and rosemary and spread on sliced whole grain bread.

4. An indoor herb garden will make your home smell better 

Herbs have a variety of uses from cooking to cleaning, but they also make your house smell good! Growing herbs indoors means that you can enjoy their scents all year long. The foliage of herb plants contains fragrant oils that are released in the warmth of a sunny window. Growing potted herbs to freshen the air in your home is a healthy, natural alternative to exposing yourself to the chemicals used in many air-freshening sprays or candles.

Indoor herb garden-a long wicker basket with two pots of basil growing in a sunny windowsill with fresh red tomatoes on the counter.

5. Growing fresh herbs is easy 

Herbs are easy to grow indoors and require little maintenance. Just place them in a sunny window where they can thrive and water your herb plants when the top inch of soil is dry to the touch. You can harvest your herbs as needed or you can cut and preserve entire plants for later use. Just clean and sterilize the pots and you’ll be ready to start a new crop of herbs. If you do plan to just snip plants as needed, your potted herbs will benefit from occasional feeding using a general liquid fertilizer at half the rate recommended on the product packaging.

Indoor herb garden-close up of woman's hands using pruners to snip a sprig from a potted marjoram plant growing in a windowsill.

Indoor Herb Garden Tips for Beginners  

1. Use containers that are large enough for your plants to grow in, but not too big that they will be hard to move around if you need to.

2. Choose a sunny window that gets at least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day (more is better) and pick herbs that do well under those conditions. If you don’t have a sunny window, you can also grow herbs indoors using artificial lighting

3. Make sure there is good drainage in your potting soil and don’t overwater! You want the soil moist but not soggy. A good rule of thumb is to water when the top 1-2 inches of soil is dry to the touch.

Indoor herb garden-woman working at a table potting a variety of herb plants into clay pots.

Growing your own herbs is a way to save money, have fresh ingredients for your recipes, and have a little piece of nature in your home while enjoying the benefits of fresh herbs year-round.  So, what are you waiting for? Start growing your own indoor herbs today! 

Wondering which herbs to grow? Take a look at our guide on the best herbs for container gardens.

Indoor herb garden-a variety of herb plants growing in pots on a deck.

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