Keep These Herbs on A Kitchen Windowsill to Take Your Dishes to The Next Level

Apart from adding a wonderful aroma and taste to your food, herbs such as parsley, basil, and chives have bioactive compounds that may promote good health. They’re low in calories, sodium, and fat. Herbs are obtained from the leaves of aromatic plants and can be used in larger amounts than spices. While both dry and fresh herbs have their rightful place in the kitchen, knowing when to use each one is critical. Think about the dish you’re making, as some herbs go well with certain foods. You can try out different combinations until you find your personal favourite.

Growing herbs indoors is easy enough. The best spot for them is by a sunny window, so you can have fresh ingredients in your kitchen without even venturing outside to your garden. A well-lit window at a pantry is a fantastic place to grow plants – you’ll have a fresh supply for your dishes all year round. You can save the seeds at the end of the year before composting the plants rather than purchasing them from a supplier annually. If you’re confused about which herbs to pick, keep on reading.

A Kitchen Windowsill Is All You Need to Grow a Variety of Herbs

Whether you’re redoing the entire kitchen or only looking to update it a little, don’t forget about the brightest spots – the windows. Many herbs are easy to grow in small pots on a windowsill; starting your seeds early means you still have time for a do-over. The windowsill can look just as modern and beautiful as the rest of the kitchen units, so transform it into the focal point it deserves. When in doubt, opt for lush boxes filled with greenery. They can easily be moved around when you need a change. Your container companions are a small addition that can significantly impact your décor setup.

The kitchen windowsill allows your herbs to get lots and lots of natural sunlight. You can grow herbs all year round, but if you decide to start your garden during a cold month or season, there are a few things to keep in mind. Temperatures much below five °C will kill basil and other tender herbs, so you should move them away from the windowsill to avoid cold damage. It’s recommended to water these plants in the evening so they don’t have wet roots at night, which can create the perfect environment for damage to occur. Avoid fertilising in January when growth is slow.

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Some Excellent Candidates for Kitchen Windowsill Growing Are:

Oregano

Oregano has a slightly sweet, earthly aroma, and using it will have a dramatic impact on any recipe. It goes well with tomatoes, aubergine and lamb; fresh oregano can be added near the end of cooking. If you want to grow oregano indoors, start with a tip that’s been cut from an outdoor plant. It’s best to grow tip cuttings in a soilless potting mix, which allows for more water and oxygen to pass through. If the plant becomes too woody, cut the stems all the way back to the ground.

Sage

Sage is renowned for its intense aroma – it’s earthy, somewhat peppery, with hints of eucalyptus, mint, and lemon. You can try adding sage to roasts, soups, and vegetables. The sunny window might not give the plant enough light to thrive, so supplemental lighting is often necessary. You’ll be rewarded with dazzling silver foliage, not to mention a nice aroma. Keep the soil on the drier side, with a little moisture.

Parsley

Even if parsley likes full sun, it’ll flourish in an east- or west-facing window. Parsley adds balance to any dish, ranging from soup to sauces; you can reserve a tablespoon or two to sprinkle as fresh garnish upon serving. You can grow parsley from seeds, so select a variety that’s suitable for container growing. During the growing season, it might need additional fertiliser. Only chop as much parsley as necessary for the recipe.

Thyme

Thyme has a sharp, minty flavour and can add complexity to various dishes. It doesn’t matter if you’re a seasoned chef or a novice cook; learning how to use thyme in your culinary repertoire will take your dishes to the next level. Thyme can tolerate indirect sunlight, but you’ll obtain the best results when it receives six hours of daylight. Harvest springs on an as-needed basis. It’s a good idea to have a stash of dried thyme on hand (you can infuse the leaves in honey and vinegar).

Chives

Chives have an oniony taste but with a milder, more delicate flavour. They’re perfect for dips, soups, mashed/baked potatoes, seafood, omelettes, and so on. Although chives love bright light, they’re drought-tolerant. In early winter, you should move the pot to the coolest indoor spot for a couple of days. Harvest the chives by snipping the leaves from the base of the plant.

Caring For Windowsill Herbs Is Relatively Low Maintenance

A kitchen windowsill garden requires similar maintenance to a formal garden. To be more precise, it requires regular watering, healthy soil, and good draining. If your herbs start to wilt or drop leaves, underwatering or overwatering might be the issue. It’s important to adjust your watering schedule until all your plants are thriving; it might take some trial and error. Fertiliser provides much-needed energy for the herbs to grow. You don’t need special products to have a thriving windowsill garden. For example, boiling potatoes and other vegetables releases nutrients into the water, which you can use to water the herbs.

Harvesting herbs is good for your plants – the more you harvest, the more growth you encourage. Remove no more than a third of the overall growth. You can use a pair of gardening shears to keep the aromatic plants looking good and help the wounds close swiftly. You can take your herbs outside from time to time to create a heady scent on a warm, sunny day. If you find that you have more herbs than you can possibly use, store them for use in the future.