Growing herbs at home on a windowsill: dill, parsley, onions, green salad

Growing herbs at home on a windowsill is accessible to absolutely anyone. It just requires a little diligence and a lot of desire. Growing herbs is usually done in winter. Here are some important tips for beginning gardeners.

Greenery at home

To grow greens at home, you may need:

• wide and shallow pots or containers;
• high-quality substrate for vegetable seedlings - the best is a combination of vermicompost and coconut fiber in a ratio of 1:2;
• drainage material – small pebbles or expanded clay;
• polyethylene caps or bags for creating mini-greenhouses;
• fine sprayer for soil irrigation;
• liquid mineral or organic fertilizer;
• phytolamps or fluorescent lamps to provide long daylight hours.

You can grow greens on the windowsill You can also grow herbs from seeds, or you can buy them already planted in pots and containers at a garden center, transplant them into larger containers at home, and care for them by harvesting them—these plants will last you several months. You can also propagate purchased herbs from cuttings. However, you'll enjoy herbs grown from seeds for longer.

Low-growing plants are usually chosen for windowsill growing. When purchasing seeds, be sure to check their expiration dates, as some plants quickly lose their viability. When choosing varieties, choose early-ripening, bushy varieties.

Read also:

• Spraying tomatoes with boric acid
• How to deal with yellowed leaves on cucumbers?

What plants are grown on the windowsill?

Leafy salads, herbs (parsley, dill, basil, cilantro, marjoram, lemon balm, mint), green onions and garlic, spinach and mustard.

How to grow parsley?

Planting and caring for parsley at home doesn't require much effort. Planting methods are divided into:

1. Sowing root crops. To do this, plant the root vegetables in a pot with soil, spacing them 3 cm apart. Water generously, preferably daily. The sprouts will appear in 2-3 days. Rotate the pot daily to ensure even exposure to the light as the sprouts emerge.
2. Sowing seeds. With this method, greenery will appear no sooner than a month later. Before planting, the seeds should be soaked in a bright solution of potassium permanganate. You can sow the seeds by transplanting or without transplanting. When transplanting, sow the seeds first in small pots. Then, once they sprout, select the strongest seedlings and transplant them into the main, larger container filled with soil.

Planting herbs indoors on a windowsill also requires proper care. The optimal ambient temperature for parsley is around 15°C (59°F). When it's too warm, the leaves will lighten. Temperatures can drop below that, but nothing harmful will happen.

It's also a good idea to fertilize the greens to improve the quality of the harvest. Any garden fertilizer will do.

Growing dill

Dill can be grown indoors year-round. However, growing dill on a windowsill in winter requires a bit more effort than in summer and spring. It's essential to maintain the right temperature and choose the right lighting.

Before planting, the seeds should also be soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate. Be sure to add drainage to the bottom of the pot. Once the seeds are sown, be sure to cover the pot with plastic wrap.

Dill prefers temperatures around 18 degrees Celsius. A slight rise or fall in temperature is fine. The plant loves moisture, so it will need more frequent watering in the summer. In winter, the amount of water can be reduced. The first harvest should appear 30 days after sowing.

Growing onions

Many housewives grow onions year-round. If the bulb hasn't sprouted, it should be cut at the bottom before planting. You can soak it first. The best temperature for growing onions is 18-24 degrees Celsius. However, if it gets too hot, above 30 degrees Celsius, the onions may stop growing.

Everyone knows that onions can grow even without soil. To do this, simply place the bulb in a jar of water. However, this method often leads to rot. To prevent this, raise the bulb above the water surface. Cut circles of cardboard or paper the size of the bulb and secure them to the surface of the container. A solution of potassium permanganate should also be added.

For the first ten days after planting, onions should be kept away from light. This is the period when roots are forming. Then, they should be exposed to light. Ideally, an electric lamp.

Growing green salad

You can grow delicious and healthy green salad all year round. However, once the plant has produced a harvest, it should be harvested and then replanted with new seeds.

Lettuce is a moisture-loving, light-loving plant. It requires frequent watering, even sprinkling the leaves. In winter, it requires maximum light.

After planting the seeds in containers on your windowsill, cover them with plastic wrap until the sprouts appear. They usually sprout within three days. The ambient temperature for lettuce should be 18 degrees Celsius (64 degrees Fahrenheit).