Smart Solutions
Episode SSL-811
(Aired December 19, 2002)
This episode will air several times.  Check your local listings.

Indoor Herb Garden

 

GUEST:
Cynthia Brian, ASID, IDS
Starstyle Productions

 Gardening expert Cynthia Brian, one of the authors of Chicken Soup for the Gardener's Soul, tells how to make an indoor barbecue garden.  

PO Box 422
Moraga, CA 94556
Phone: 925-377-STAR (7827)
Website: www.star-style.com
Author of Chicken Soup for the Gardener's Soul, HCI, 2001
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Author of Be the Star You Are!, Ten Speed Press, 2001
Order this title from Amazon.com
Indoor Herb Garden

An indoor herb garden
planted in a window 
box lets you have fresh
flavor for your 
barbeques all year long.

Materials:

window box
three to four bricks
plastic sheets
stones
herbs and vegetables*
individual pots
dried moss

Steps:

  1. Start with a window box. Put three to four bricks on the bottom and cover with a sheet of plastic. Sprinkle stones on top for drainage.
  2. Place herbs and vegetables in individual pots on top of the stones. Keeping their soil separate like this allows you to water each according to their particular needs.
  3. Fill in around the plants with dried moss for a finished look.

* Use rosemary, lavender, thyme, basil, cilantro, parsley, sage, tarragon, oregano, dill and marjoram. You could also grow peppers, tomatoes, and Japanese eggplant.

 
 
Tips
  • Be sure to fertilize plants regularly. An easy way to do this is to saturate coffee grinds with water.
  • An alternative to the box is a smaller container, like a cracked, recycled cup and saucer or sugar bowl for single herbs or small groups.
  • Place herbs in bright, indirect sun. To increase the sunlight they get, tuck a piece of aluminum foil in the pot behind the plants to reflect the sunlight (see photo at right). A fluorescent light is also good.
  • Use the woody plants like rosemary and lavender on the on the coals of the grill when barbequing to smoke and flavor the food. They can also be used as skewers. Other herbs can just be laid directly on top of the food.
 		   
     

For information, contact cynthia@NOSPAMstar-style.com
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Last Updated October 4, 2003