Not ready to say goodbye to your garden? You don’t have to! You can bring your herb garden indoors for the winter. Here are a few simple steps to follow to ensure the success of your Window Herb Garden:

Light: You will need to ensure that the location you select will provide the right type of sun and for a long enough period of time each day. Plants will need at least a few hours of direct sunlight to grow and survive the winter. If you don’t have a window that can provide you with this amount of light, you will need to provide some type of additional lighting.

Plant: Starting from seeds will be a less expensive option, but it will require more attention and will be several months before you can start harvesting your crop. Your other option would be to start with small plants,

Pot: If you are starting with plants instead of seeds be sure to get a container that is at least 6-12 inches deep. You can put plants in individual pots that are about 6 inches wide, or you can put several plants in a wide or long container. Just like with outdoor container gardening, your pot will need to have plenty of drainage holes. Since these pots will be inside and likely on a windowsill you will want to have a saucer to catch the drainage so it doesn’t damage anything.

Soil: You can certainly use soil right from your outside garden for your windowsill herbs, but garden soil comes with two disadvantages:

1. You don’t know what’s coming in with it. There are all kinds bacteria, insects and other unwanted materials that can hide in garden soil.

2. Lack of drainage. Garden soil tends to be heavy and compresses over time which can be hard on the tender roots of fresh plants or seedlings.

Try opting for a soil-less potting mix, which will give you more control in addition to being free of disease and other contaminants.

Get Started: Start by putting 2-3 inch layer of potting mix into the bottom of the container. You can place a coffee filter in the bottom of the pot first if you are worried about dirt coming out of the holes in the bottom. Carefully remove the plant from its original container and gently loosen the roots. Place the plant in the new container with the roots flared out. Finish filling in with the potting mix and press firmly on the dirt around the plant. Leave about an inch at the top of the container for watering.

Watering: Water your herbs sparingly as they don’t like to sit in wet soil. Drain the saucers when excess water accumulates. Not sure when to water? Just poke your finger into the soil, and if it feels dry an inch or two below the surface, it’s time to water. If not, walk away and resist the urge to water more. When you do water, always try to do so until the excess drains out of the bottom of the container. This insures that the roots are at least getting wet.

Feeding: Plants need food too! Feed your herbs every other month with a fertilizer labeled for use on edibles. Start with about ½ the recommended strength and then add more only if needed. Herbs have more concentrated flavor if they are grown without a lot of fertilizer.

Harvesting: Allow the herbs some time to acclimate to their new home. Once you start to notice new growth, you can start harvesting. With most herbs, it’s safe to snip 2-3 inches off from the tips to encourage more branching. For bushy herbs like parsley and cilantro, cut entire stems from the outside of the plants and new growth will fill in.