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Originally Posted by eeediot  As an aside, what would you folks say is the easiest herb to grow indoors? By easiest I mean: not so sunlight needy, not picky about the kind of soil, not overly finicky about watering, can use fluorescent lighting, etc. Basically, just wants to be left alone and grow alot. Thanks. |
Basil should be okay, you might be able to do chives but they'll want a winter rest I think. Coriander would also probably do well. Maybe parsley but it depends on how much you need. The problem with growing herbs in the house under normal fluorescent is that for the aromatic ones, the flavors that we value in them come from oils that the plant secretes on the surface of their leaves. The reason for these oils is to help the plant conserve water (hence the intense scent of many of the Mediterranean herbs). If the plants don't get the intense sun, they don't produce as much of these oils.
As for nitrogen fertilization - it's good for the green leafy ones like parsley and coriander, also basil and dill. But you'd want to be a little more stingy with the nitrogen for the real aromatic herbs; they typically come from poorer soils and won't do so well with lots of nitrogen.
Finally as for basil - this is a truly tropical plant. Most failure with basil stems either from transplant shock as another poster noted, or from starting the seeds too early, before the weather is warm enough. Basil likes it warm, and I've found that if you start it too early, it might germinate but tends to be scrawny and never really catches up to plants that were sown in good conditions. Once the plant wants to flower, you really can't stop it; this is also a matter of daylength. What you want to do is get as much growth on as you can before that happens. So sow as soon as you can provide the necessary warmth and in the case of basil, use a good rich soil mix. On the bright side, the flower buds have some of the highest concentrations of the essential oils.
To the list of basils to try, I'd also add lime basil - I grew it a few years ago and it was amazing!
