My Husband and I live in a small duplex with no space for a regular garden. We also live on the shady side of the duplex, so all of our windows get very little natural light. However, we figured out a way to make a simple indoor herb garden that fits in our kitchen window.
You can buy tabletop herb gardens complete with a grow light, but their cost (often $100 or more) can be excessive. For example, here's a link to a very nice Tabletop Herb Garden Kit, but it costs over $100. Our goal was to avoid buying expensive fresh herbs from the produce isle, so why would we want to spend $100+ to do that? Our little Herb Garden cost us about $25, but would be even less expensive if you already owned a suitable florescent light that you could re-purpose for the project.
We needed to supplement the amount of natural light provided by our north facing kitchen window. To do this we purchased an inexpensive 18" fluorescent light fixture (fitted with an 18" grow light) and attached it to the bottom of the window blinds. By attaching the light to the blinds we could easily raise and lower the light, as well as set the light at an angle if necessary to maximize the amount of light reaching the herbs.
When choosing your window, be sure to pick a window that is neither too hot or two cold for your herbs. For example, a south facing window in Arizona might get too much light and heat for your herbs scorching them in the hot sun, while a poorly insulated (i.e. single pane) window in North Dakota during a chilly winter might expose your herbs to air that is too cold to allow your herbs to sprout. In other words, your kitchen window may or may not be the best window for this project. You'll want a nice cosy warm (but not hot) environment for your herbs to sprout.
You can buy tabletop herb gardens complete with a grow light, but their cost (often $100 or more) can be excessive. For example, here's a link to a very nice Tabletop Herb Garden Kit, but it costs over $100. Our goal was to avoid buying expensive fresh herbs from the produce isle, so why would we want to spend $100+ to do that? Our little Herb Garden cost us about $25, but would be even less expensive if you already owned a suitable florescent light that you could re-purpose for the project.
We needed to supplement the amount of natural light provided by our north facing kitchen window. To do this we purchased an inexpensive 18" fluorescent light fixture (fitted with an 18" grow light) and attached it to the bottom of the window blinds. By attaching the light to the blinds we could easily raise and lower the light, as well as set the light at an angle if necessary to maximize the amount of light reaching the herbs.
When choosing your window, be sure to pick a window that is neither too hot or two cold for your herbs. For example, a south facing window in Arizona might get too much light and heat for your herbs scorching them in the hot sun, while a poorly insulated (i.e. single pane) window in North Dakota during a chilly winter might expose your herbs to air that is too cold to allow your herbs to sprout. In other words, your kitchen window may or may not be the best window for this project. You'll want a nice cosy warm (but not hot) environment for your herbs to sprout.
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Signing UpStep 1: Materials Needed
1. Fluorescent Light Fixture (18") - $10 from Home Depot
2. Grow Light (bulb) - $8 from Home Depot
3. Windowsill Herb Garden Kit - $10 from Home Depot
4. Velcro strips or Zip Ties to attach the light to your window blinds (not pictured)
5. (Optional) 1/2 quart Starter Herbs (use these if you prefer not to grow your herbs from seed).
Pick a light fixture that is a suitable size for your window. We have a 24" kitchen window, so an 18" light was just the right size.
You'll need to replace the bulb with a proper grow light. A regular fluorescent doesn't provide the complete spectrum of light your herbs will need to grow big and strong. Make sure you find the right size (in both length and diameter) for your fixture. If your fixture takes an 18" T5 bulb, an 18" T13 bulb won't fit. Ask a sales associate for help to make sure you get the right replacement grow light for your fixture.
The windowsill herb kit is optional. You could also purchase 4 or 5 small pots. Just make sure that the pots have a hole in the bottom for proper drainage. You'll also want to purchase a drip tray to protect your windowsill from water damage (the kit comes with a plastic tray already). We found that the kit (which includes seeds) was cheaper than buying 4 pots, a drip tray, and seeds separately. The seed packets themselves range from $1 to $1.50 each.
You'll need a way to attach the light to the window blinds. We used 3 velcro strips. But zip ties would work just as well.
You can also purchase pre-grown starter herbs in 1/2 quart pots. This speeds up the process by several weeks. If you're impatient, this might be the right option for you. Our kit came with Chives, Parsley, Cilantro, and Oregano, but we decided to also purchase 1/2 quart pots of Cilantro and Rosemary. Our kit didn't come with Rosemary, and we wanted to get a head start on the Cilantro, so that's why we went with the 1/2 quart pots for those herbs.
2. Grow Light (bulb) - $8 from Home Depot
3. Windowsill Herb Garden Kit - $10 from Home Depot
4. Velcro strips or Zip Ties to attach the light to your window blinds (not pictured)
5. (Optional) 1/2 quart Starter Herbs (use these if you prefer not to grow your herbs from seed).
Pick a light fixture that is a suitable size for your window. We have a 24" kitchen window, so an 18" light was just the right size.
You'll need to replace the bulb with a proper grow light. A regular fluorescent doesn't provide the complete spectrum of light your herbs will need to grow big and strong. Make sure you find the right size (in both length and diameter) for your fixture. If your fixture takes an 18" T5 bulb, an 18" T13 bulb won't fit. Ask a sales associate for help to make sure you get the right replacement grow light for your fixture.
The windowsill herb kit is optional. You could also purchase 4 or 5 small pots. Just make sure that the pots have a hole in the bottom for proper drainage. You'll also want to purchase a drip tray to protect your windowsill from water damage (the kit comes with a plastic tray already). We found that the kit (which includes seeds) was cheaper than buying 4 pots, a drip tray, and seeds separately. The seed packets themselves range from $1 to $1.50 each.
You'll need a way to attach the light to the window blinds. We used 3 velcro strips. But zip ties would work just as well.
You can also purchase pre-grown starter herbs in 1/2 quart pots. This speeds up the process by several weeks. If you're impatient, this might be the right option for you. Our kit came with Chives, Parsley, Cilantro, and Oregano, but we decided to also purchase 1/2 quart pots of Cilantro and Rosemary. Our kit didn't come with Rosemary, and we wanted to get a head start on the Cilantro, so that's why we went with the 1/2 quart pots for those herbs.
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Great guide :) Do you need a "grow light" won't the light it came with work? Do the plants need watering often with the excess heat created by the bulb, does the bulb suppy more light than the sun?
Also, florescent lights do not generally generate a ton of heat.
Finally, no, it doesn't not make more light than the sun. If you are really worried about not having enough light, maybe look into other lighting sources such as high pressure sodium bulbs and ballasts. Though, to be honest, if you place this rig on a windowsill, the light from the florescent bulbs and the light from the sun coming through the windows should be far more than enough light for a number of plants to flourish.
i am trying to grow Knotweed and some Tomato.
1. Make sure your bulb doesn't get hot to the touch. If it does get hot don't allow anything to touch it (including the plants). Otherwise you might be risking a fire hazard. Our bulb barely got warm after several hours of use, so we weren't worried about strapping the velcro around the bulb.
2. You'll notice that the cover that came with the light fixture is removed leaving the bulb exposed. We did this because we didn't know if the plastic cover would diffuse and/or block out some of the light spectrum that the plants need to grow. To prevent this from happening we omitted the cover altogether.
If you end up building a similar setup, please post a picture of it. I'd like to see it!