Questions on growing herbs in an apartment

BillyBoy

Hi Guys,

I was hoping you could help me out by answering a few questions. I have tried to do a bit of research but haven't found the exact answers that I am looking for or have found conflicting advice.

I saw that Aldi are selling potted herbs this Thursday and was thinking of trying my hand out at growing them. The questions I have are

1) Are these pots any good? I have read in a couple of places online that supermarket herbs are not great for growing, you should buy seeds instead?

2) The most important question! My apartment is north facing Is it possible to grow any of the herbs available (Mint, Parsley, Oregano, Sage, Thyme, Rosemary or Lavender) in a north facing apartment? The kitchen and bedroom windows, the largest windows, are both north facing. We have a small bedroom window facing east. Is there any hope?

3) Would it be worth buying a small light to help them grow? Are these expensive, or could anybody recommend one? Any suggestions would be great.

If you can offer any advice or hope I would be very greatful!

Thanks
Bill

pwurple

Thyme should be fine for you in terracotta. It likes sun alright, but I have it growing happily in a shady corner outdoors.
Rosemary and Lavendar are tough to kill as well. They should be ok for you too, but the pot size will catch you... they will grow out of it in 6 months and get rootbound unless you move them up to a bigger one.


Mint I think is a bit leggy for pots in general, and especially that one. It'll be ok for a while, then shoot up tall, and topple over.
Parsley I would skip. It'll go yellow in a north window.
Oregano and Sage are both soft.. would be ok for a while, until you overwater them accidentally.

redser7

Better light would be good but nothing ventured ...
Best thing is to pot them up into new compost in a bigger pot once you get them home. It's a great way to grow herbs. From seed is good of course but can take ages to get a crop and you have to face certain challenges to get them there. Just take care of them and take off any flower buds that form and they'll last you ages for next to nothing and no effort.

looksee

I have bought supermarket basil and discovered the best way to treat it was to take the leaves till it looks a bit sad, then give it a complete haircut, remove the lot. The new growth will be tougher and stand better indoors.

In the end though most of these shrubs/plants normally grow outdoors and are happier outside, I find they succumb to greenfly, mildew or whatever indoors eventually. Rosemary makes a big, very sturdy bush, sage does too to a lesser extent, and mint would just burst out of a small pot.

Happyman42

looksee wrote: »

then give it a complete haircut, remove the lot.

.

Confused.com. Do you mean prune off branches or just strip all the leaf growth?

looksee

Basil from the supermarket is just soft leaf growth on stems, not really branches. I just cut the whole lot off about an inch above the base. You should see new growth starting from the bottom.

wildlifeboy

wrap the inside of a wardrobe with tinfoil and get some strong heat lamps and perhaps something to hide the smell.

BillyBoy

Thanks for all the replies guys. I think at the price they are, I am just going to give it a go and see what happens. Will get myself some new pots and compost from Woodies and go from there!

How often would you recommend watering them? Once every couple of days be sufficient? As far as I can tell from research, less is better with herbs. Would it be worth getting any fertiliser as well, or will compost and water suffice?

Thanks again, knew I could count on boards for several answers!

looksee

Compost has enough fertiliser in it to get plants going for a couple of months. After that I would suggest a liquid feed for indoor plants - though you want a leaf producer rather than something for lots of flowers.

How often you water depends on the plant and the size of the pot in relation to it. Water when the compost starts to dry - if it gets too dry it is difficult to get wet again, but don't keep the compost soggy. A mist of water every couple of days would be good.

Good luck with your project, but I have to say that I find plants that should be outdoors really have limited success indoors, still its worth a try!

redser7

have you any sort of balcony or ledge you could safely put pots out in?

BillyBoy

redser7 wrote: »

have you any sort of balcony or ledge you could safely put pots out in?

I do actually, never thought of that. Probably wouldn't be putting them out in the weather we are having at the moment though!

Although having said that, we went over today at lunch time, and they were all sold out, bar the parsley. Didn't think it would be the type of thing to fly out the door but obviously I was wrong! I think I may still give it a go though, I'll have a look around in the local garden centres or Woodies to see if I can pick something up.

Thanks again for all the help and tips guys, it was very much appreciated.

redser7

Great. Well get them going on the window ledges for now and gradually move them outside as the weather improves. Put them out for a few hours if the weather allows. They'll do fine.
Most supermarkets sell potted herb plants these days so check out all the usual suspects. It's definately worth doing. But do a little reading and youtubing on how to keep them healthy to get the most out of the them.

looksee

The only tender plants in the list you give are parsley and (slightly) oregano, and even they are not very tender. All the others would be perfectly happy outside, though a north facing balcony would not be the best.