Jar Pot

23 Dec, 2004 in art pottery by admin

Jar Pot
Jar Pot

All About Growing Herbs In Pots

Do you want to know about growing herbs? For most of us, herbs are those little dry flakes that come in glass jars. They aren’t appetizing to look at and they don’t taste great either. Some herbs work ok in dried form, notably thyme, oregano, sage and bay leaf, but they’re still never as good as fresh. Personally, using dried herbs always makes me feel like I’m sprinkling fish food on my nice cooking!

So what is the answer to this desperate situation? Well it’s not to buy fresh herbs every time you need them either. Whenever I do that I find I spend $3, use a handful, and the rest slowly goes to waste, wilting sadly in a glass of water on my kitchen windowsill.

No, if you want to cook delicious food for yourself and your family, you need fresh herbs to do it with, and the only good way get them is to grow your own. Happily, it’s not time-consuming or difficult to do that. Let’s take a look at what you need to get started:

Pots. You’ll need to pick up some little plastic flowerpots to put your herbs in, one per variety. An alternative is to get one of those ‘mini garden’ planters that can fit multiple plants in their own little sections, often sticking out the sides. Still another alternative is to get a long rectangular window box and plant all your herbs in it together. This is a space saver if you live in a smaller apartment.

Potting mix. Even if you have your own garden, it’s best to use store-bought potting mix. That’s because your garden soil won’t be sterilized and is bound to contain some seeds, so you’ll get a random selection of other plants growing with your herbs.

Seeds. Can’t forget these! Pick your favorites, but the easiest to grow are generally thought to be chives, Kaffir lime, lemongrass, mint, Vietnamese coriander, and parsley. Rosemary, oregano and thyme are do-able also; they just need a lot of light and are a little more sensitive to their environment.

Extra lighting. If you live somewhere where your indoor herbs can get a good 4-6 hours of sunlight per day, then extra lighting might not be necessary. But because the vast majority of herbs are originally from sunny Mediterranean climes, they really are light-hungry, so if you live in the chilly north you might need to invest in a fluorescent grow lights to supplement the natural light, especially during winter.

Once you’ve assembled these essentials the process of putting potting mix in your pots and planting your seeds is easy. Plant, water once a week, wait a few weeks…and viola! Fresh herbs on-demand. Now that's all you really need to know about growing herbs in pots.

To learn more about growing herbs, visit www.herbgrowingcenter.com

About the Author

My name is Arthur McLay I am an herb growing enthusiast. My book “The Secrets to Growing Herbs” is an informative guide on both indoor and outdoor herbs. I enjoy helping others to grow a healthy herb garden as well as their culinary uses. You can visit my website at www.herbgrowingcenter.com for more on herbs.

can you freeze normal jam from a large jar in small pots?

When transferring to smaller pots,providing they are clean and sterilised you can reseal them (maybe using a wax disc) and tight lid, throw them in the cupboard and forget about them for a year or so. The sugars natural preservative will keep them.

weed box / drug box / wooden joint jar