Potted Herbs Indoors
It’s been a hectic year, and many of my potted herbs from the herb garden have been left outside way past the time that they should have been brought indoors. Alas, what else is new.
I usually start bringing my herbs indoors systematically, starting with those that do not tolerate cold, followed by my herbs that can tolerate some cooler temperatures.
This year, not so.
The weather had been nice, although the evenings had started getting colder. I was praying that the weather would hold up until after our Canadian Thanksgiving (October 8th). I was hosting this year’s dinner, and didn’t know what I would do with all my plants, should frost hit before then.
Wouldn’t you know, the night time temperatures dropped drastically during the week before Thanksgiving. We did not have frost, but my lemongrass, scented geraniums, and a few other warmth loving herb plants were showing signs of being stressed a little too much.
The vibrant overgrown Lemongrass leaves were turning brown quickly, and my Gotu Kola herb that was spreading really nicely suddenly lost its vitality.
On Thanksgiving, everyone came and enjoyed the feast, as my herb collection remained outdoors. The weather warmed up the following week.
By the end of that week, the temperature was dropping again, and there was a frost warning issued. All my precious tender perennials had to be brought indoors quickly
Aurora Hot Pepper
– my potted herbs, geraniums that I wanted to overwinter, and an Aurora Hot Pepper plant filled with colourful peppers.
And once they were in, they were in. There were just too many plants to take outdoors for the day, then bring them back in for the night.
Some of the herb plants are looking a little stressed, and others haven’t changed the way they look at all. Yet, that is. For this is just the beginning of their winter stay indoors.
I will need to keep a close eye on all the herb plants for bug infestations throughout the winter. Indoor dry conditions and lack of natural predators is a haven for aphids and spider mites.
My first order of business has been to find saucers to put under all the pots, so I can water them.
I remove the saucers from under the pots when I take the plants outdoors. Outdoors, I find all too often the plants will sit in water too long, especially during extended periods of rain, or from an overzealous family member watering plants whose soil is already wet.
Most herb plant roots do not like to sit in water, and will start to rot.
Standing water is also a breeding ground for mosquitoes, and I certainly did not need more of those in my backyard!
When I brought my herb plants in, they were all brought in together, and piled into an out-of-the-way area until I was ready for them.
Now all the herbs need to be moved to their winter homes by the windows.
To help protect and keep the surfaces in my house clean, I lay two padded plastic picnic tablecloths down on the table or floor.
These tablecloths prevent water and moisture from the plant pots from ruining the surface beneath. In the spring when the plants go out, I pick up the tablecloths and the floor underneath is clean.
I pick up the tablecloths at the dollar store. Sometimes pots or their saucers have rough edges, which may poke a small hole into the plastic of the tablecloth. For this reason, I double them up. If there is a small tear in the top tablecloth, the surface is still protected by the bottom tablecloth.
I found this system has worked beautifully for me for years. And, the tablecloths are reusable the following year, if they are not damaged. It’s very economical.
Now that my herb plants have somewhat settled in to their new home indoors, it’s time to turn my attention to some last-minute harvesting. Horseradish root and fennel seeds, here I come!
To your herb gardening success,
Barb
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