John Myers
If a herb garden completes the kitchen, stale monotony in hot and cold dishes is a thing of the past. Juicy chives, crunchy basil leaves, and freshly harvested parsley from our own cultivation trump as a treat for the palate beyond withered, lame herbs from the discounter. This guide is packed with ideas, tips & tricks on how to create an enviably beautiful herb garden for the kitchen.
- Herbs in the kitchen can be grown in a tin, in a mini greenhouse, in a gutter, or even vertically
- Herbs do well indoors as long as they get enough light
Using the kitchen wall as a growing area – tips & tricks
An active radiator under the windowsill is pure poison for a herb garden. In combination with direct sunlight, short-term temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius occur and make the plants languish. You can turn off the heat and freeze in your kitchen, or use a wall as a growing area. We have put together a colorful array of creative options for a vertical herb garden in the kitchen for you below:
- edible wall: Buy a carpet with plant pockets made of breathable material or sew it yourself
- Wall shelf: Screw wooden boards on top of each other and fill them with herb pots
- Hanging garden: Plant hanging baskets with herbs, and hang them on hooks or ceiling rails on several levels
- Upcycling version: cut the old PET bottles open at the side, plant them with herbs, and attach them to the wall
Are you in the mood for a spectacular vertical herb garden for the kitchen? Then consider the original Green Wall. It is a wall construction made of a frame with a wooden panel that is covered with pond liner and plant fleece. A receptacle is placed on the floor to catch runoff irrigation water. In the luxury version, a pump system supplements the walled garden for automatic watering. The Flower Company in Innsbruck created the magnificent vertical garden in their business premises using the DIY method and documented the work step by step. Herbs, succulents, and flowering plants with edible flowers are equally suitable for planting.
Let there be light – herb garden with lighting
The secret to the success of juicy green herbs from the kitchen garden is additional light. If sage, chives, or dill fade and die indoors after a short time, the herbal treasures usually suffer from a lack of light. Since life-giving daylight is scarce in winter, even plants on the south-facing windowsill fall victim to the dilemma. Thanks to resourceful inventors, we have ingenious planters with built-in lighting for the perfect indoor herb farm with guaranteed growth. The following product selection gives an insight into the multifaceted offer for every budget:
- Mini herb garden for the windowsill with LED lighting from Romberg from 34.99 euros
- narrow, white shelf for 3 herb pots and 14-watt lighting from Shada from 42.90 euros
- small herb garden with height-adjustable plant lamp for 3 purchased herb pots from Proventa from 54.90 euros
- mobile plant lamp for attaching to boxes, pots, and windowsills from Lediary from 9.38 euros
With a little imagination and manual skills, you can make an illuminated mini herb garden for the kitchen yourself. You can conjure up a productive herb garden for the kitchen from a conventional shelf by simply mounting the lighting underneath the next higher shelf. Simply hang the lighting for plant boxes and pots on the window sill on the curtain rod. It is important to note an adequate distance between the light source and herbal plants of 20 to 30 centimeters. Please buy special LED plant lamps that generate little waste heat. This saves on electricity bills, guarantees an ideal beam angle, and does not allow local temperatures to skyrocket.
Planting ideas for boxes and traffic lights
Your favorites for the herb garden in the kitchen won’t let you down if you grow the plants yourself from seeds. Pre-cultivated herbs from the garden center, hardware store, or supermarket are often pre-stressed due to improper care, poor lighting conditions, and temperatures that are too low. You can avoid this shortcoming by buying certified seed, sowing it from the end of February, and caring for it with a loving hand.
