Once upon a time, there was a little girl who wanted to grow an herb garden. She was fascinated by their flavors and scents, and dreamed of a lush harvest for making recipes, natural spa & beauty treatments, and healing teas and tinctures. This little girl grew into an adult who relentlessly bought and rebought Trader Joe’s herbs after they died in her kitchen windowsill 2 days later, until one day, she finally learned a secret: plants need water–but not too much. And they need sun–but not too much. And they need good soil–but you can’t overfertilize them.
This would be the end, or maybe Groundhog’s Day, except, after spending untold riches on TJ’s herbs, she did figure out a few things to keep them alive, and this is what she learned:
- Replant ASAP in a pot with good drainage. A self-watering pot helps those who are less consistent (like the person in this story). I like these because they’re cute & they have both (good drainage & self-watering): https://amzn.to/4f81dQ7
- Water when the soil gets mostly dry. Again, the self-watering pot adds a little wiggle-room. Here’s a very pretty little watering can that I use for inside: https://amzn.to/3ApK3hS And a bigger utilitarian one I use for outside: https://amzn.to/3UyqkmU
- Use a grow lamp. This works like magic. I discovered how important this was especially when living for many gray months in a 6th floor apartment in Oklahoma City with only north facing windows. After using it, my plants thrived! You want to get one that is “full spectrum” in order to not be a purple/weird color that reminds you of your friends’ illegal bedroom grows from back in the day. Mine has arms that you can position as needed, and you can also select brightness and even set it to automatically come on/shut off. I used it as a wake-up alarm at one point, and now I use it as my coffee light in the wee morning hours, avoiding the eye-punch of the big kitchen lights. Similar grow lamp (mine is no longer sold): https://amzn.to/48w7h2o
- Bonus tip: use old banana peels to make a nutritious and delicious snack for your plants. For this, just throw your peels in a jar, cover with water, and then use your banana water every couple of days to water your herbs. They love it! Toss the peel when it gets gross after a few days.
The herb-loving little girl may have had a more picturesque garden in mind along with some really big product dreams, but the adult is living pretty happily ever after with fresh herbs & plants that [rarely] have to be re-bought.
The End.
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