How to Start a Window Sill Garden.

Are you the type of person who loves to maximize every inch of space possible? How about a person who loves to save money on groceries? If you find yourself as one or both of these types of people then I have a wonderful solution for you, a windowsill garden. 

Whether you live in an apartment or own a house, we all have a window that’s not being used for anything other than looking outside. So adding a windowsill garden is an extremely easy and beneficial thing to do. It can give a dull room or kitchen some life (quite literally). A way to maximize every inch of space available inside and a way to save some money when we’re shopping at a grocery store. 

We’ll go over how we can get started on a windowsill garden and some of the things we can grow in one. 

There’s a few different paths one can take when starting a windowsill garden. You’ll find many stores sell kits that include the container, potting mix, and seeds. They are extremely convenient for people who aren’t well experienced in growing but they limit your creativity.

If you enjoy creativity or want total control of your windowsill garden than making your own is the way to go. You get to choose the container you want, the plants and potting soil. 

 

To have a successful windowsill garden we need to know what we can grow in one. You'll find most if not all windowsill gardens are made up of herbs. This is because they'll do wonderful with less than optimal sunlight. So we want to be looking for herbs like basil, parsley, cilantro, dill. You get the best bang for your buck with herbs, especially since they'll be fresh. 

When it comes to location of your windowsill garden we should be looking for a window that gets atleast 4 hours of sunlight. Herbs will thrive in these conditions especially if they are fertilized properly. What you can grow will depend on the location due to sunlight requirements. For example basil will need 4 hours but parsley and dill could use 4-6 hours so you may have to adjust the location. A great advantage to having a smaller container is the ability to move it to a different location. If you decide you do not like the location you can always move it to a new spot.

Now when it comes to watering we need to pay attention closely. When it comes to indoor plants we have a tendency to overwater which kills the plants. They're a few solutions to this problem. One would be the bulb waterier, it's just a bulb shaped object that holds water. As the soil dries out, the water will leech into the soil and water the plant as needed. Another thing we can do is every week stick our finger into the soil and feel for moisture. If there is moisture in the soil than no need to water. A more obvious solution which is a problem would be wilting. A wilting plant is a sign that it needs water ASAP. We want to avoid this as much as possible because it'll slow the growth down. 

Fertilizing is another important factor in the success of our windowsill garden. We want to maximize our harvest so proper fertilization is key. When it comes to herbs we grow them for their foliage so we need nitrogen based fertilizer. A lot of our potting mixes will have a slow release fertilizer in them already but we should still use a water soluble fertilizer as well. Try looking for one that has nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium all in it but has a higher nitrogen content. Whatever fertilizer you pick will have specific directions that should be followed. 

For many, what you grow depends on the space you have available indoors. Vegetables, flowers, even citrus trees are doable if you have an indoor patio. If you have a window that gets 6+ hours of sunlight you could try growing vegetables but you’re better off trying herbs since they don’t require nearly as much as vegetables. 

A windowsill garden is a wonderful thing for many reasons. It gives a room or kitchen a unique splash of color, saves us money on otherwise expensive herbs, and utilizes space we wouldn’t use for anything. A simple addition to our house that provides us with many benefits.