Top 5 Herbs To Grow Indoors

I’d love to have a big garden where I could grow my food, but that seems to be a rare luxury in NYC. We can(and should!) all join community gardens or at least visit farmer's’ markets to access fresh local food, but it’s nice to be able to grow something at home too. Fear not tiny-apartment-dwellers! If you have a windowsill, you have space to grow edibles. Herbs are great indoor edibles that you can grow and enjoy all year round. Here is our top 5 favorite herbs for growing inside!

Chives

Chives is one of the easiest herbs to grow indoors or out! It has a mild onion flavor that compliments many savory dishes. Keep your chives in a sunny window and water when the soil surface feels dry. The tips will turn yellow if it is too dry. Harvest when the plant is more than 6in tall, leaving two inches at the base for more to grow back.  

Mints

A great herb for making those refreshing summer drinks! Mints such as peppermint, M. x piperita and spearmint, M. spicata are very easy to grow indoors. They actually grows like a weed so they should have own container as to not overcrowd your other herbs. Mint grows well in indirect sunlight, so a good one if you don’t have sunny south facing windows. Mint likes moist soil but not overly wet and a good misting in between waterings keeps up the humidity which mints like.

Oregano

Your classic Italian cooking herb! Oregano prefers a sunny window and well-drained soil. Water about once a week. Oregano is susceptible to root rot so make sure not to overwater. You can start oregano from seed or a cutting from another plant. Harvest your plant regularly to encourage growth. Your plant will be productive for two years. When it becomes woody it can be replaced (or plant it in a larger pot and start a new smaller one from a cutting!).

Sage

Sage is a super tough herb. I recently visited a clients yard and noticed they had herbs sitting outside in the plastic containers they were bought in last year. They sat out over winter. All were dead except the sage! To grow sage indoors, place your plant in medium to full sun. Sage is pretty drought tolerant and should dry out between waterings. Have you ever smelled pineapple sage? It’s amazing!

Thyme

Thyme is an excellent compliment to most meat dishes. Thyme also prefers full sun. Use a well-drained sandy soil, or cactus potting mix. Thyme likes to dry out between waterings and once it is established it is pretty drought resistant, so a good one to grow if you’re always forgetting to water!

Check out our posts on winter wellness herbs and the many uses of herbs too!
If you are growing your herbs indoors year-round, make sure not to have them too close to a window during the winter or they may die! Your herbs will grow less actively during the winter months so they will need less watering. Herbs are susceptible of pests so keep an eye out for any buggers before they take over. You can easily start new plants from cuttings by taking a 5in stem, removing the bottom few leaves, and sticking it in some water. Countless new plants to be had! Enjoy.